Hip Hop

Andre 3000 Explains Why No New Music Is Coming Anytime Soon

Andre 3000 opened up about why he has been away from the music scene for so long.

Andre 3000 of the legendary Atlanta duo Outkast is arguably one of the most talented and respected rappers of our generation. Like most hip-hop icons that peaked in the 90s, 3 Stacks has been relatively quiet in today’s music landscape, only blessing fans with a feature here and there. But he has never actually dropped a full solo project — besides his half of the Outkast double LP Speakerboxxx/The Love Below in 2003 — and a recent interview revealed he might never drop new music again.

Andre 3000 recently sat down for a conversation on Rick Rubin’s “Broken Record” podcast, where he opened up about his struggles to create new music and his insecurities about releasing a project today. “I haven’t been making much music, man. My focus is not there, my confidence is not there,” Andre said. “I tinker. I tinker a lot. Like I would just go to a piano and sit my iPhone down and just record what I’m doing, move my fingers around, and whatever happens. But I haven’t been motivated to do a serious project. I’d like to, but it’s just not coming.”

The “Hey Ya” rapper went on to say he has trouble finding his place these days and talks about how hard it is to live up to what he’s already accomplished. “In my own self, I’m trying to figure out where do I sit?” he said. “I don’t even know what I am. And I’m nothing, maybe I’m not supposed to be anything. Maybe my history is kind of handicapping in a way. And so I’m just trying to find out what makes me feel the best right now, and what makes me feel the best is when I do these random kind of instrumental kind of things. They make me feel the most rebellious.”

The six-time Grammy winner told Rick Rubin that he knows whenever he drops a verse or a feature that people are expecting to hear greatness, which adds a lot of pressure on him when writing rhymes.

Fans were saddened to hear one of the GOATs in hip hop feels a lack of confidence, especially when we think so highly of his skills. Would you be excited for an Andre 3000 project in 2020?