Fans have been patiently waiting for a future André 3000 project, longing for either solo music or a new release from his hip hop mega duo Outkast. However, it appears new 3 Stacks music won’t be arriving any time soon.
“I haven’t been making much music, man,” André told Rick Rubin on the “Broken Record” podcast, co-hosted by Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam and Justin Richmond. “My focus is not there. My confidence is not there. I tinker a lot. I’ll just go to a piano and I’ll set my iPhone down and just record what I’m doing, moving my fingers and whatever happens, but I haven’t been motivated to do a serious project. I’d like to, but it’s just not coming.”
André explained how fame has inhibited his creativity and even went on to call his stardom a “handicap”.
“My history is kind of handicapping in a way,” he said. “I’m trying to find out what makes me feel the best right now. What makes me feel the best is when I do these random… instrumental kind of things. They make me feel the most rebellious.”
The Atlanta-born legend pointed to his one-off singles and multiple features that have further inhibited his confidence.
“Any little thing I put out is instantly attacked… people nitpick it with a fine-tooth comb. ‘Oh, he said that word!’ And that’s not a great place to create from,” he explained. “It makes you draw back. And maybe I don’t have the confidence that I want or the space to experiment that I used to.”
“Once that attention is on that world, that world goes away,” he said of his creativity. “So, I’ve gotta find a way to get back to that place where you can build those worlds again and not have those eyes or the judging.”
André last released his two-song EP, Look Ma No Hands, in 2018. Listen to his full interview with Rubin here.