The reason why André 3000 refuses to rap anymore
André 3000 was once considered to be the most erratic genius of hip-hop, a man who can appear on the stage with a wig on, rap in triplets, and continues to earn respect.
In recent years, the Outkast legend has replaced his microphone with a flute, found roving about airports and quiet street sides playing tunes, which are heard as they pass over the distance, well out of the commotion of the industry he used to dominate.
Several years after the world speculated about the reasons why he stopped rapping, André actually gave an explanation for it himself. The solution does not lie in ego or exhaustion but in a much more basic and human reason: He has transformed, and the world that used to give him his inspiration is no longer his.
André Benjamin is 48 years old and feels that rap does not suit his lifestyle anymore. “Sometimes it feels…it is inauthentic to me to rap because I have nothing to say in that respect. I’m 48 years old,” he told People. Age, he mentioned, does not disqualify an individual to be a part of hip-hop; it only changes the vocabulary: “Not saying that age is an element that determines what you rap about, but in a manner it does”. To him, it would be a stretch to write about the life he now lives, laughing at how boring the subject matter would be, regarding which he noted, “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”.
The humour is all André, and the sincerity is more profound. He does not want to create aggression and hunger that he does not experience anymore. Neither cynicism in even self-consciousness is involved, but rather it is merely self-consciousness, and in a culture where youthful energy is celebrated, he has made it his business to accept his age, marking it as his rebellion.
André claims that he did not quit rapping because he was lazy, rightly pointing out, “I have produced with the most current, new, youngest and the old school producers. I get beats all the time. I attempt to write everywhere, all the time”, and it is not a matter of opportunities but instinct. “People even now believe, ‘oh, man, he is sitting on raps’. I ain’t got no raps like that,” he flatly claims to silence all those who refuse to understand his position.
The phrases are not forthcoming, and instead of imposing himself, he has followed where inspiration has caused him to go: into the soundless speech. The interest became New Blue Sun, a 2023 album of ambient improvisation and meditative tunes, with the title of the first song being a tell-all: ‘I Swear, I Really Wanted To Make A “Rap” Album But This Is Literally The Way The Wind Blew Me This Time’. It was an apology masquerading as a joke, the tale of an artist who had ceased to pursue what people wanted but allowed his creations to be carried through the wind, channelled through an inconspicuous instrument.
Beyond all this, though, there is another fact, the burden of greatness, which means that André being one of the best rappers in the world is his crown and cage at the same time. “I place even the smallest thing out, and people will pluck it with a fine-tooth comb. And that is no admirable place to make out of. It causes you to shrink back,” he admitted to Rick Rubin. When creativity is inspected on a case-by-case basis, it becomes performance anxiety, and the musician claimed that he has lost faith: “I have not been doing much music, man. I have no concentration there, my self-confidence is not there”.
André 3000 does not identify himself just as a rapper anymore; he is a painter who is in the process of becoming, and wants to be left to follow his curiosity. “In my head, I would like to do a rap album”, he confessed, “So maybe that happens one day. But it’s only when I can think of a way of saying what I want to say in a manner that is interesting and appealing to me at this age.” So far, he is happy to go where the wind blows, or where he blows the wind. It is sad for those who have grown up with his word plays and swagger, but there is integrity to his silence, as André has always been on the fast track, so may this be just another manifestation of the same.