Andre 3000

In His First Post-‘Donda’ Interview, Kanye West Previewed An Andre 3000 Collaboration

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Generally, album release cycles include a lot of promotion via interviews with and profiles in journalistic publications. That was firmly not the case with Kanye West’s Donda, as the only dispatches on it from West came via occasional social media posts. Now, though, he has given his first post-Donda interview.

West is in Berlin at the moment, and while there, he spoke with German tabloid Bild for a filmed on-the-street interview. In the clip, West’s voice is inaudible as it was dubbed over in German. According to a translation, though, West noted that he’s in Germany to meet with architects and artists. He also noted that he won’t be in the country for long, and he intends to get back to making music soon. There’s also a video clip of him playing a new piece of music featuring vocals from Andre 3000.

If the audio snippet is in fact from a West/Andre collaboration, it wouldn’t be their first time working together. Aside from Andre’s contributions to West’s “30 Hours,” the two also appeared together on songs like Chris Brown’s “Deuces (Remix)” and Fonzworth Bentley’s “Everybody.”

In completely opposite news, it looks like West may be keeping his feud with Drake alive by buying up Toronto billboards to promote Donda.

Outkast Drop An Animated Video For ‘Two Dope Boyz’ To Celebrate Their 25th-Anniversary ‘ATLiens’ Reissue

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This Friday, August 27, the iconic Atlanta-based rap duo who put the Dirty South on the map with their cosmic slop-washed ethos is reissuing the album that saw them break through to the mainstream 25 years ago. Andre 3000 and Big Boi, better known as Outkast, are putting out a 25th-anniversary edition of ATLiens and to celebrate, they’ve shared a new Rafatoon-directed animated video for the album’s fan-favorite track “Two Dope Boyz (In A Cadillac).” The psychedelic visuals capture the duo in their mid-90s aesthetics (you know, before Andre started dressing like a mid-century dandy) and yes, cruising in a Cadillac convertible.

The ATLiens reissue will come with newly mixed, hi-res 24-bit sound with the previously unreleased instrumental tracks, in multiple formats. Legacy Recordings is dropping a limited-edition four-LP version, Get on Down’s version will come with a custom gatefold jacket and a glow-in-the-dark 45rpm single of “Elevators,” and Vinyl Me, Please has a two-LP neon green and blue galaxy vinyl. You can find out more here.

In addition to the collector’s edition vinyl re-releases of ATLiens, the boys will celebrate their breakthrough classic with a mobile video game being produced by F That digital agency that will find them defending their hometown from — what else? — an alien invasion. The release date is still TBD.

Watch the “Two Dope Boyz (In A Cadillac)” video above.

Outkast Drop An Animated Video For ‘Two Dope Boyz’ To Celebrate Their 25th-Anniversary ‘ATLiens’ Reissue

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This Friday, August 27, the iconic Atlanta-based rap duo who put the Dirty South on the map with their cosmic slop-washed ethos is reissuing the album that saw them break through to the mainstream 25 years ago. Andre 3000 and Big Boi, better known as Outkast, are putting out a 25th-anniversary edition of ATLiens and to celebrate, they’ve shared a new Rafatoon-directed animated video for the album’s fan-favorite track “Two Dope Boyz (In A Cadillac).” The psychedelic visuals capture the duo in their mid-90s aesthetics (you know, before Andre started dressing like a mid-century dandy) and yes, cruising in a Cadillac convertible.

The ATLiens reissue will come with newly mixed, hi-res 24-bit sound with the previously unreleased instrumental tracks, in multiple formats. Legacy Recordings is dropping a limited-edition four-LP version, Get on Down’s version will come with a custom gatefold jacket and a glow-in-the-dark 45rpm single of “Elevators,” and Vinyl Me, Please has a two-LP neon green and blue galaxy vinyl. You can find out more here.

In addition to the collector’s edition vinyl re-releases of ATLiens, the boys will celebrate their breakthrough classic with a mobile video game being produced by F That digital agency that will find them defending their hometown from — what else? — an alien invasion. The release date is still TBD.

Watch the “Two Dope Boyz (In A Cadillac)” video above.

André 3000 Has Been Cast In Netflix’s Don DeLillo Adaptation, ‘White Noise’

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Outkast favorite André 3000 has reportedly been cast in the upcoming Netflix film White Noise, which is directed by Noah Baumbach (who helmed Marriage Story) and also stars Adam Driver, Don Cheadle, Greta Gerwig, and Jodie Turner-Smith. Based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Don DeLillo, the movie, according to Netflix, “dramatizes a contemporary American family’s attempt to deal with the mundane conflicts of day-to-day life while grappling with the larger philosophical issues of love, death, and the possibility of happiness in an uncertain world.”

Since leaving Outkast in 2007, André has acted in a handful of roles over the last 15 years, notably appearing as Jimi Hendrix in the 2013 biographical drama Jimi: All Is By My Side, for which he was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead.

In 2019, the Atlanta rapper delved into why he has no interest in releasing a solo album, telling Rick Rubin on the Broken Record podcast, “I haven’t been making much music, man. My focus is not there. My confidence is not there. I tinker a lot. I’ll just go to a piano and sit my iPhone down and just record what I’m doing. Move my fingers around and whatever happens, but I haven’t been motivated to do a serious project. I’d like to, but it’s just not coming. In my own self I’m trying to figure out where do I sit? I don’t even know what I am and maybe I’m nothing. Maybe I’m not supposed to be anything. Maybe my history is kind of handicapping in a way.”

White Noise is currently filming in Cleveland, Ohio and is expected to hit Netflix sometime in 2022.

A Collaboration Between Lil Baby And André 3000 Is Apparently In The Works

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Since his breakout moment, Lil Baby has not held back with his collaborations. The rapper has songs with Travis Scott, Megan Thee Stallion, and even made an entire joint album with Gunna. But for his next collaboration, Lil Baby is setting his sights on someone a bit more elusive: André 3000.

Lil Baby recently sat down for a cover interview with Billboard where he talked about his rise to fame, his responsibility as a role model, and what he has in store next. The rapper sparingly divulged details about his third studio album, saying he has reached out to André 3000’s team in hopes of securing a feature from the Outkast rapper.

“I’m in a whole different head space than I was at with My Turn — I’m going to be at a different level every time I drop because I’m at different levels in life,” he said about his upcoming effort.

That wasn’t the only bit of information Lil Baby let loose about his next LP. Apparently, the rapper is vying for André 3000, who he labeled “a cold motherf*cker,” to lend a verse on a track. “I talked to somebody who be talking to him, and he’s on it right now,” he said of the potential collaboration. “We’re in third-party communications.”

Other than occasionally being spotted with his flute in public, André 3000 has been laying low lately. The rapper did end up making a rare appearance on Goodie Mob’s Survival Kit track “No Cigar.” But other than that, a song with Lil Baby would mark André 3000’s first new music in quite some time.

Read Billboard‘s Lil Baby cover story here.

Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Outkast Fans Are Calling A Tweet Praising Andre 3K A Case Of ‘Big Boi Erasure’

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“Big Boi” trended on Twitter today as Outkast fans leaped to the Atlanta rapper’s defense over a case of “Big Boi erasure.” When a fan pondered whether Andre 3000 had ever been bested on a song, fans were quick to point out he was a member of an equally-matched duo.

“Has anyone ever washed Andre 3000 on a song?” reads the original tweet. “Because … I haven’t heard such a song.” While the original poster clearly meant to compare Andre to the dozens of MCs with whom he’s collaborated over the years, longtime Outkast fans read a certain level of disrespect into the statement, since Three Stacks has shared a considerable amount of mic time with Big Boi and the tweet seemed to be overlooking his rap partner’s accomplishments.

“It’s okay to praise Andre 3K without disrespecting Big Boi,” wrote one fan. Another posited that “Big Boi done cleaned him up a plethora of times.” Meanwhile, Andrew Barber of popular Chicago-based blog FakeShoreDrive used the opportunity to point out how the debate only highlighted the duo’s impact on hip-hop. “Big Boi and Andre are just out in the world minding their own business yet still end up trending on Twitter for something every other week, despite not dropping album together in 15+ years,” he observed. “Their legacy is untouchable.”

He’s right; Outkast recently trended because of comedian Ron Fuches’ tweet comparing the tag team to another legendary group, The Beatles. While Outkast always seems to be the subject of some controversy or another, it’s only because they have an undeniable effect on the pop culture landscape since they first declared “the Souf got sum to say.”

Check out more responses to the “Big Boi” trend below.