Andre 3000 Says New Artists Excite Him, Still No Plans for an OutKast Album

Andre 3000 is continuing to pop up.

After speaking with GQ recently and appearing on songs with Young Jeezy, B.o.B and the Gorillaz, the OutKast member sat down with The FADER and spoke on new artists, his connection to Drake, and the possibility of a new OutKast album.

"I’ve been excited about what new artists are bringing to rap," he told the site. "I notice how it’s really just a continuous conversation, a lineage thing. In high school it was all about A Tribe Called Quest and Souls of Mischief, and Too Short and 8Ball & MJG and UGK for us. And we just kept the torch going."

He also commented on Drake, who has not been shy about his admiration of Three Stacks.

"Now I talk to Drake, and I know he had to be like ten when he was listening to what we were doing," Dre joked. "You just never know who’s listening until you hear a connection. I didn’t even know Drake dug my music, I just liked him as a rapper because I felt he had a balance. I didn’t even know that he grew up listening to me. But it’s cool to know that it’s a real lineage thing. I’m happy to see Kanye and Wayne and Drake and all these new artists. They inspire me in a way because they reach back and they say, 'Hey, we want to get you on these songs.' I don’t rap every day. I don’t sit around writing raps like that. And when these artists call, it’s kind of like they get me going. And I really wanna just be good for them. I want to impress them or have them be happy to say, 'Okay, he did well on my song.' I don’t want to be messing their song up."

And, of course, the veteran MC had to address OutKast and whether or not he and Big Boi would be collaborating again any time soon.

"We’re not on the roster or on a schedule with a label to put out an OutKast album," he re-stated, following up on the recent interview with GQ where he also said there were no plans for a new album from the duo. "I can’t say if or when we will, but I’m going to be in Outkast forever in some kind of way. I can’t really say Outkast is over so it always trips me out when these things get on the internet, and [people] go, Andre said there’s going to be no more OutKast. There’s no plans for an OutKast album right now. Next year will be 20 years as Outkast, which is—I’m still amazed at it. I’m happy that we’ve been around that long. Happy that we have people that still care about OutKast." —Adam Fleischer