Pharrell gives hope to André 3000 rapping again: “He’s going to be back”
André 3000 has recently turned his attention away from hip-hop in favour of the jazz space, as a result of his love for playing the flute. Despite his lack of output as a rapper as of late, Pharrell believes he’ll return to hip-hop once again when the time is right.
During a recent interview with GQ, the Virginia rapper called Three Stacks one of the greatest rappers of all time and claimed he just needs “time” to get back to spitting again. In fact, he thinks he’ll return better than ever before.
“He’s going to be back,” he said. “That feeling finds you—you can’t run from it. He not running, he just saying he not going to force it. What you love about him was when he was compelled. It’ll be back. And when it does, he’s going to come in hot.”
Pharrell collaborated with André 3000 on ‘Rollinem 7’s’ in 2017 for his N.E.R.D album NO ONE EVER REALLY DIES. The collaboration almost didn’t happen due to 3000 disliking his original verse; although the producer understood where he was coming from, he “didn’t give a shit.” He then came back with another verse, which is what we hear in the final version.
André 3000 released his debut solo album, New Blue Sun, in November 2023, which served as an instrumental project. The album recently gained recognition from the Grammys, being nominated for ‘Album of the Year’ and ‘Best Alternative Jazz Album’ ahead of the 2025 ceremony.
The Atlanta rapper is so aware of fans wanting a hip-hop album from him that he named the album’s opening track ‘I Swear, I Really Wanted to Make a ‘Rap’ Album but This Is Literally the Way the Wind Blew Me This Time’. Speaking to GQ, André 3000 explained that writing raps doesn’t come naturally to him anymore due to feeling like he doesn’t have anything interesting to say.
“I get beats all the time. I try to write all the time. But rap is not what comes,” he said. “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. Sometimes it feels inauthentic for me to rap because I don’t have anything to talk about in that way. 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.”
The wait for a new Andre 3000 album continues.