Any devout hip-hop fan would consider André 3000 amongst the greatest rappers of all time. There’s hardly an argument against it. An unimpeachable discography with his Outkast partner Big Boi cements them in history forever. Moreover, André has some of the greatest verses of all time. Think “Da Art of Storytellin’ (Part 1)” or guest verses on Kanye’s “Life of The Party” or Rick Ross’ “Sixteen”. People feel like he’s the best part of one of the greatest songs of all time in “Int’l Player’s Anthem (I Choose You)”.
However, contrarians have one core argument. How could André 3000 be one of the greatest of all time if he doesn’t have a solo rap album? Big Boi made plenty after his Outkast career. Bun B and Pimp C operated separately. Wu-Tang Clan has plenty of members with classic albums like Ghostface Killah and Raekwon. Why hasn’t André done it?
This is the argument of Mal on the New Rory & MAL podcast. He proceeded to call André “the most overrated rapper,” though he was hesitant to stand by it because he’s unquestionably a legend. But never putting out a solo rap record leaves a stain on his resume, something that makes his co-star Rory aggressively roll his eyes.
André 3000 is Overrated to Big Time Podcaster
“Only because he never put out a solo rap project, and he gets GOAT status. You have to have a solo rap album,” Mal insists. Meanwhile, Rory argues, “He has an output of verses that could still rival somebody that is a solo artist with the amount of Outkast projects that were put out. If you put all verses side by side with solo artists, that we deem the best, how is Three Stacks not there?”
Mal remains firm, admitting that he used to put André 3000 in his top five of all time without questioning it. It felt like a given for a while, but he could never really get over the fact that André never put out something formally his own. Ultimately, the comparison isn’t fair to Mal. He likens it to Kevin Durant winning championships with the Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson-led Warriors. There’s an asterisk in his eyes that causes them to come up short in all-time conversations.
This is a flimsy argument against André 3000, insisting that there is some empirically correct way to be one of the greatest. We shouldn’t view art so strictly. Instead, it’s important to gauge the value of the work they provided rather than have them measure up to some contrived standards.
The post Is Andre 3000 in the Goat Conversation? This Prominent Podcaster Doesn’t Think so, but His Argument Is Questionable appeared first on VICE.
