A majority of rap fans are inclined to have André 3000 in their GOAT conversations. Whether it’s the illustrious Outkast discography or his lauded feature run, he has a remarkable resume. Anyone suggesting he’s anything but great has to be a contrarian. But what if I told you he doesn’t think of himself in such high regard?
In a 2017 GQ interview, the Atlanta legend mused about the different music projects he’s done since The Love Below in 2003. He admitted that he had several hard drives’ worth of music. They might not necessarily be full songs, though; instead, it’s a lot of rough ideas, tinkering with instruments.
“It’s hard drives of me just in the house alone playing horrible guitar. Me playing piano. Me playing a little sax. I was trying to find out: What can I be excited about?” André 3000 said.
Outkast formed in Atlanta in 1992 and went on a lengthy hiatus in 2007
It’s that pursuit of excitement that made him feel like he’s not great at anything. Rapping, producing, writing, he never thought of himself as exceptional in any avenue. But as a result, it only motivated him to go harder.
“I always felt that I was less than everybody else, so I fought harder. My only gauge to know when something was good was how I felt it. Like, ‘Oh, man, this is dope.’ Or, ‘This is new,’” André added.
This mindset made the Outkast rapper feel trapped after a while. He just sat around with a bunch of ideas, where even his son took notice. “So when my parents passed away, and he went off to college, it was like, ‘Man, what am I gonna do?’ So I felt like it was time to come and study or replenish myself,” André 3000 explained.
André 3000 felt that Big Boi deserved more of the credit for Outkast’s success
“In New York, they have the fashion thing, and they have the stage thing,” he continued. “I’ve never done stage before. And they have music. So I saw myself coming to study an instrument, coming to learn Spanish, and probably try stage. I’ve only done one.”
Additionally, he gave most of the credit for Outkast’s greatness to Big Boi. All the way back to high school, his partner was the one who graduated instead of him. “When you watch early OutKast videos, Big Boi’s the leader. He always had the confidence, where I was kind of like the shy one. Big Boi can rap better than me—I always said that,” André 3000 argued.
“If somebody said, ‘Pick who you want from OutKast to go to battle with you,’ it wouldn’t be me,” he added. “Cause like, what I’ma do? Say some mind s***? You can’t have thoughts in a battle—nobody gives a s*** about that.”
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