Andre 3000 Thanks Frank Ocean For "Blessing" Post-Outkast Career, Among Others

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GQ Men of the Year Party 2023 - Inside
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 16: (L-R) André 3000 and Leon Bridges attend the GQ Men of the Year Party 2023 at Bar Marmont on November 16, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for GQ)

The Atlanta legend reflected on how artists' desires to work with him gave him an opportunity to keep doing what he loves.

Andre 3000 isn't done breaking down the context, content, and general release of his new album, New Blue Sun. Moreover, he recently sat down on Questlove Supreme on Wednesday (December 13) with the legendary music figure and his co-hosts to speak on the project, his life, his career, and their experiences. One of many interesting tidbits happened when the Outkast legend spoke on what it was like to work with other artists after the duo released their last album (as of writing this article), Idlewild. While he doesn't feel this way about hip-hop as much these days, it's heartening to hear his gratitude and appreciation for people giving him the space to rap even as he wrapped up his run with Big Boi.

"A year after Idlewild at home, I was blessed to start getting asked to be on remixes,” Andre 3000 remarked. “And that was a blessing for me because it gave me a chance to rap. When I say a blessing, this is a town creating a new sound. DJ Unk actually came through another DJ friend of mine that know Unk, and Unk said, ‘Ask Andre if he’ll get on [the 'Walk It Out'] beat.’ It was no big production; I don’t know if I got paid for the [remix].

Read More: Yasiin Bey, F.K.A. Mos Def, Gives Andre 3000 Flute Track A Rap Verse At Dubai Show

Andre 3000 On Questlove Supreme: Listen

"I think the trade-off was, ‘Hey Unk, can you do a couple beats that we scratched in the background of my cartoon for Class of 3000?’" Andre 3000 continued. "The beat was so jammin’ that you just wanted to get on it. So I say the blessing because any rapper just wanna be on a good beat and in the city. Or even later, like, new artists. Even if a Frank Ocean says, ‘Hey, get on my song’... Frank Ocean's a new artist, I don’t know him. When I say a blessing, that introduced me to a whole other generation, too.

"I say blessing because we just came off Speakerboxxx/The Love Below and Idlewild," he concluded. "Which was a musical, more focused, melodic kind of thing, so I didn’t rap a lot in those offerings. So I say a blessing because it gave me an opportunity to do what I enjoy doing." For more news and the latest updates on Andre 3000, check back in with HNHH.

Read More: The LOX Label Andre 3000 The “Greatest Ever” & Plead For Him To Return To Rap

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About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a music and pop culture news writer for HotNewHipHop. He started in 2022 as a weekend writer and, since joining the team full-time, has developed a strong knowledge in hip-hop news and releases. Whether it’s regular coverage or occasional interviews and album reviews, he continues to search for the most relevant news for his audience and find the best new releases in the genre. What excites him the most is finding pop culture stories of interest, as well as a deeper passion for the art form of hip-hop and its contemporary output. Specifically, Gabriel enjoys the fringes of rap music: the experimental, boundary-pushing, and raw alternatives to the mainstream sound. As a proud native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, he also stays up-to-date with the archipelago’s local scene and its biggest musical exponents in reggaetón, salsa, indie, and beyond. Before working at HotNewHipHop, Gabriel produced multiple short documentaries, artist interviews, venue spotlights, and audio podcasts on a variety of genres and musical figures. Hardcore punk and Go-go music defined much of his coverage during his time at the George Washington University in D.C. His favorite hip-hop artists working today are Tyler, The Creator, Boldy James, JPEGMAFIA, and Earl Sweatshirt.