André 3000 reacts to his comments on ageing in hip-hop
André 3000 has responded to the backlash he received regarding some comments about ageing in the rap world. In an interview with GQ last year, he claimed that he’s not rapping anymore because of his age, upsetting fans who viewed the response as ignorant.
André 3000’s career took a strange and surprising turn last year when he released his solo album, New Blue Sun. While fans expected more of the same energetic rapping they were used to from his role in OutKast, the record was actually a fully instrumental album that sees the rapper playing the flute instead.
When asked about the album by GQ, who wondered why he was no longer rapping, he said, “I’m 48 years old.” He added, “And not to say that age is a thing that dictates what you rap about, 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.’”
People were taken aback by the comment, surprised that the artist would have such a limiting view on ageing and the seeming belief that a person can ‘age out’ of the rap world.
However, in a new interview with Crack magazine, he seemed to have doubled down on his original point. “I’ve heard some rappers reply to what I’ve said about age, and I have to ask, ‘What are you rapping about?'” he said.
In particular, he seems to be separating rappers from the world of diss tracks, claiming that attacking or bragging lyrics are far easier to write. He said, “Some are the best braggadocious rappers in the world, and we love them for that — but it’s so much easier to do that for the rest of your life.”
But that’s not the kind of rapper André 3000 is or ever wanted to be, claiming that finding inspiration for his own type of music, especially as he ages, is what’s hard. “I don’t necessarily rap like that. Our formulas are different,” he said, defending his original comment. “He doesn’t know what it takes for me to do what I do. I don’t know what it takes for him to say the same thing over and over again and still keep it creative,” he continued, adding, “But I love him for doing it.”
In the same interview, André 3000 discussed the feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar, claiming that the whole thing makes him sad. Perhaps it’s these two artists that he refers to as the “him” in his earlier quote, possibly implying that rappers focused on diss tracks like them are the ones doing the same thing over and over. Either way, the musician seems to be standing by his comment that the older you get, the harder it is to come up with original and exciting rap music.