André 3000 isn't sure what to rap about at his age

The OutKast star, now 48, spoke frankly this week about why there's no rapping on his new album, New Blue Sun

By William Hughes  |  November 17, 2023 | 1:58am
Aux News André
André 3000 isn't sure what to rap about at his age
André 3000 Photo: Tommaso Boddi

Today, in “We have never identified more strongly with André 3000" news: André 3000 has explained that he made his new album out of experimental flute music because, well, what the hell is he going to rap about when he’s 48? “Not to say that age is a thing that dictates what you rap about,” the former OutKast star noted in a new, and very thoughtful, profile that ran this week in GQ. “But in a way it does. And things that happen in my life, like, what are you talking about? ‘I got to go get a colonoscopy.’ What are you rapping about? ‘My eyesight is going bad.’ You can find cool ways to say it, but….”

And, to be sure, he knows you want a rap album: The first track on New Blue Sun is titled “I swear, I Really Wanted To Make A ‘Rap’ Album But This Is Literally The Way The Wind Blew Me This Time.” But, he notes, “I’ve worked with some of the newest, freshest, youngest, and old-school producers. I get beats all the time. I try to write all the time. Even now people think, Oh, man, he’s just sitting on raps, or he’s just holding these raps hostage. I ain’t got no raps like that.”

Taken as a whole, it all suggests a dude who loves music, but is deeply ambivalent about returning to the life of a musical superstar. “I remember a couple weeks ago talking to my manager and publicist,” he notes. “I really had to ask myself, ‘Do I want to be famous again?’ ” The answer was: no. “But at the same time, I want to promote the music.”

New Blue Sun releases tomorrow; it contains, as far as we know, literally zero rap songs—but a whole lot of flute.

 
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