André 3000, one-half of arguably the greatest hip-hop group of all time, Oukast, explains in great detail why he and his former bandmate Big Boi are further apart than ever before.
André 3000 cannot visualize himself going back
“I’ll say maybe 10, 15 years ago, in my mind, I thought an OutKast album would happen. I don’t know the future, but I can say that we’re further away from it than we’ve ever been,” André, 49, told Rolling Stone. “I think it’s a chemistry thing. We have to be wanting to do it. It’s hard for me to make a rap, period, you know? And sometimes I’m in the belief of ‘Let things be,’” he added.
Outkast, which formed in 1992, soared into orbit right from takeoff with the release of their debut album, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik. It was both a critical and commercial smash hit as it displayed the duo’s originality and penchant for catchy hooks. Since then, the group released six albums and has won six Grammys, including their final project, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below which won Album of the Year and sold more than 13 million albums worldwide.
Outkast has since been named the greatest rap group of all time by Billboard magazine and ranked among the best ever by Rolling Stone.
André doesn’t think greatness lasts forever — and neither should it
André, 49, whose full name is André Lauren Benjamin, waxed nostalgically at those magical moments from yesteryear, but in the end, he believes great artistry has a certain time limit.
“It was a great time in life, and our chemistry was at a certain place that was undeniable,” André told the outlet. “And I think the audience sometimes believes that something has to last forever, and I don’t think that. Any kind of art form, I think that’s probably the opposite. It probably should not last forever.
“In the end,” he added, “we did give a product, but what made that product was a certain time in both of our lives. It’s not like we’re Coca-Cola, where it’s this formula that you can always press a button and it’ll happen.”
André is not a big proponent of reminiscing too frequently and is more apt to keep looking forward and just letting great things be as they once were.
“I know, for the rest of my life, people will be like, ‘One more OutKast album.’ And I try to put myself in the shoes of other people, and I’m like, ‘Man, if we ain’t do an OutKast album in 20 years, do y’all really think it’s going to happen now?’ I don’t know, maybe I just think differently. I know I wouldn’t be sitting around waiting,” André said.
