Andre 3000: Redefining Artistic Boundaries at 48

Andre 3000 is back. To critics he's known as 1 of the best rappers alive. But to most people, he's known for his massive records, like Hey Ya as part of OutKast.

20 years later he's releasing his first solo record with no rapping no singing just 87 minutes of flutes.

He told GQ last week He told GQ last week.

I think just in general when it came to figuring out what we would do creatively and where my creative juice is coming from within OutKast. There was a certain point where I just didn't know where else to go. Even now, people think, oh man, he's just sitting on raps or he's just holding these raps hostage. I ain't got no raps like that like it's it actually feels sometimes it feels inauthentic for me to rap because I don't have anything to talk about in that way like I'm 48 years old and not to say that age is a thing that dictates what you rap about, but in a way it does. And like, things that happen in my life, like what are you talking, like I gotta go get a colonoscopy, like what are you, like what do you rap about?

You know what I mean? Like my eyesight is going bad.

I can't help but find myself fascinated and sad by the choice. I feel a little let down. I've been a fan of Andre since middle school. I saw myself in him. We're both oddballs.

We're not captured by someone else's view of blackness. And we both made our living with words until now. That, for me, is the hardest pill to swallow. There's a quote on the wall of my home office that I truly believe in: Never relinquish your microphone. It is your hammer. It's what makes you the leader. That's what Andre is doing in my view.

What do you think? How does age shape creative expression?

André 3000 opens up about 'New Blue Sun,' his daring new solo album

https://www.npr.org/2023/11/14/1212661071/andre-3000-albumLet me know what you think in the comments at jamesbrowntv.substack.com

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