Andre 3000 is a rare breed of rapper. He’s universally respected for his lyrical skills, yet never beefed with anybody. It’s like there’s an accepted hip-hop rule that nobody can (or should) test Three Stacks in a lyrical competition. Andre 3000 was unsurprisingly silent during the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar battle. It was actually far more surprising to hear the Outkast rapper address the situation months after the fact. He finally gave his thoughts on the battle, and who the ultimate loser was. It’s not who you think.
Andre 3000 told Crack Magazine that the battle made him sad for the music business. In particular, the people who work for Drake and Kendrick Lamar, and feed their families off of their respective success. In his estimation, those people were the ones who were truly at risk. “You got people with 100 employees,” he lamented. “You have livelihoods, empires, companies, deals – all of it can be jeopardized. If you don’t have anything to lose, sure, go for it. But if I already made it, I’m not sure it’s even worth it any more.”
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Andre 3000 contrasted the elevated stakes that Drake and Kendrick Lamar are playing it versus the rap battles he experienced as kid. As far as he’s concerned, it’s night and day. “I got a little sad, at a certain point,” he admitted. “In early rap battles, you had kids in the park rapping against each other. But it’s not just people rapping now.” Andre 3000 occupies an interesting place within the Drake and Kendrick Lamar narrative. He’s collaborated with both artists in the past. He worked with Drake on “The Real Her” and “I Do (Remix).” He’s linked up with Lamar a few times, most notably on the N.E.R.D. song “One of You,” but none of their collabs have been officially released.
Both Drake and Kendrick Lamar hold Andre 3000 in high regard, though. The latter referenced Stacks on the diss song, “Like That.” He likened Drake and J Cole’s tough talk to the trend of seeing Andre carrying woodwind instruments with him. “Lost too many soldiers not to play it safe,” Dot raps. “If he walk around with that stick, it ain’t Andre. 3K.” Despite the context, Andre 3000 appreciated the nod. “As a 49-year-old rapper, you’re just happy to get a shoutout,” he told the aforementioned outlet. “I had to say: ‘Yeah, he got it.’”
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