André 3000 seems to be warming up to the idea of making another rap album and fans may have two other heavy hitters to thank for that.
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In a new sit-down interview with Rolling Stone, the rap legend confirmed that spending time with Drake and Kendrick Lamar, separately, of course, inspired him to think about returning to his hip-hop roots.
“I think what would help me make a rap album is being around rappers,” he said. “When I moved to California, I wasn’t writing. I’ve talked to Kendrick [Lamar]. We talked, listened to beats. Same with Drake.
He continued,
“And as a rapper, they would be surprised to hear me say this, but at one point, I was like, ‘Man, it would be cool to just hang out with them to get the energy of rapping.’ Because when they’re doing it so constantly, something got to drip off. They do four, five songs a day, and I’m like, ‘What?’ I don’t even go to the studio like that. I haven’t touched my drum machine in ages. I’m just now getting back to producing songs.”
Not sure if 3 Stacks is playing peacemaker or not but he clearly felt motivated by the work ethic of both artists.
“I never expressed this to them, but I was so inspired because of their output. Like, when you’re in a groove it can be infectious — as opposed to approaching it in a casual way, which, that’s where I am now.”
Though rap fans may be giddy at the thought of the wordsmith getting back in the booth, Outkast diehards should put any hopes of the group reuniting far behind them.
“I’ll say maybe 10, 15 years ago, in my mind, I thought an OutKast album would happen,” he said. “I don’t know the future, but I can say that we’re further away from it than we’ve ever been. 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.’
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Sheesh. Well, the group has more than enough music and history for current fans to be introduced to but it would be nice to hear thee Big Boi and André Benjamin trade 16s one last time.