It’s hard to imagine the world without just about any Outkast song. But it would be especially jarring if “Hey Ya!” didn’t essentially devour 2003 and become the duo’s biggest hit.
The joyous sing-along juxtaposed with the stark rumination on modern relationships makes for one of the most interesting pop songs in a long time. “Y’all don’t wanna hear me, you just wanna dance,” André 3000 sighs at the end of his second verse.
However, there was a possibility that “Hey Ya!” didn’t come out if he listened to one of his friends. In a 2023 interview with GQ, André admitted he thinks about how others would perceive his music. “You may get someone that cries, you may get someone that immediately starts to do yoga. Then you got the homie that’ll be like, ‘Y’all gonna put some beats on that s***?’” André 3000 said. “My friends don’t always like my music, which is hilarious to me.”
André 3000 Recalls How One of His Friends Absolutely Hated ‘Hey Ya!’
Then, he recalled how one of his friends in particular told him that “Hey Ya!” would almost certainly spell the end of Outkast. “One of my homies told me, like after I finished ‘Hey Ya!’ and I played it for him, he said, ‘Man, if you put that out, man, your career is over,’ André recalled. “And in my mind I’m like, ‘Damn, but I like this s**t.’”
The way “Hey Ya!” comes across makes it sound like the Atlanta legend was speaking from a personally jaded point of view. However, in a 2013 Huffington Post retrospective, the song didn’t come from a completely singular experience. Instead, he was trying to capture different moments throughout his life and compile them into a fictitious story.
“The song isn’t autobiographical; it’s more like fantasies or tangents based on real life. Moments from my life spark a thought when I’m writing,” André 3000 said. “The story was set in the 50’s, so the song was me trying to do a Woody Allen kinda thing, a humorous kind of honesty.”
In addition to the Woody Allen inspiration, André also cited the Queen of Soul for inspiration behind the song, particularly with its structure.
“I had to tell Aretha Franklin that ‘Say A Little Prayer’ had a lot to do with the song ‘Hey Ya!’. They’re similar [time signatures],” André 3000 told Okayplayer in 2018. “It’s hard to explain, but listening to that song, the way the loop comes back around, is kinda how I devised ‘Hey Ya.’ And I had to tell her that she is a big part of that song.”
The post André 3000 Thankfully Didn’t Listen to His Friend’s Bad Advice About Outkast’s Biggest Song: ‘If You Put That Out, Your Career Is Over’ appeared first on VICE.
