Outkast rapper André 3000 is getting ready to release his first album in almost two decades, but he’s revealed that the album will be entirely instrumental and not feature any rapping.
André 3000 is known for his gravitas as a rapper and his clever lyrical skills, but fans who were expecting a hard-core album might be disappointed as the rapper revealed that he finds it hard to connect with raps, especially now at his stage in life.
The rapper is getting ready to release New Blue Sun on Friday, November 17, which is not a rap album but an instrumental project with eight tracks and features his flute-playing skills.
The Atlanta rap legend was featured by GQ cover story, where he spoke about his upcoming album. He explained why the album won’t have any raps or beats and noted that it has everything to do with his age.
“People [are] thinking ‘aw man he’s sitting on raps or like he’s holding it hostage’, I ain’t got no raps like that! Sometimes it feels inauthentic for me to rap because I don’t have anything to talk about in that way,” the rapper said when asked about him not rapping over the last two decades, although he has appeared on verses of other artists.
He continued, “I’m 48 years old and not to say that age is a thing that dictates what you rap about but in a way it does, and the things that happen in my life- like what do you talk about – like I gotta go get a colonoscopy, like what do you rap about? Like my eyesight is going bad?”
André 3000 also shared how he feels about rapping at present, which he says is something that comes with age. According to him, he and OutKast member Big Boi had a ‘rapper’s prayer’ which they prayed every night to be “good rappers,” but now he is ok with slowing down and enjoying life.
“Now that I am at a certain level, I miss certain things about normalcy and I’m an only child so I’m always with myself,” he said.
New Blue Sun is Andre 3000’s debut solo album.
