Andre 3000 Thanks Frank Ocean For "Blessing" Post-Outkast Career, Among Others

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GQ Men of the Year Party 2023 - Inside
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 16: (L-R) André 3000 and Leon Bridges attend the GQ Men of the Year Party 2023 at Bar Marmont on November 16, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for GQ)
The Atlanta legend reflected on how artists' desires to work with him gave him an opportunity to keep doing what he loves.

Andre 3000 isn't done breaking down the context, content, and general release of his new album, New Blue Sun. Moreover, he recently sat down on Questlove Supreme on Wednesday (December 13) with the legendary music figure and his co-hosts to speak on the project, his life, his career, and their experiences. One of many interesting tidbits happened when the Outkast legend spoke on what it was like to work with other artists after the duo released their last album (as of writing this article), Idlewild. While he doesn't feel this way about hip-hop as much these days, it's heartening to hear his gratitude and appreciation for people giving him the space to rap even as he wrapped up his run with Big Boi.

"A year after Idlewild at home, I was blessed to start getting asked to be on remixes,” Andre 3000 remarked. “And that was a blessing for me because it gave me a chance to rap. When I say a blessing, this is a town creating a new sound. DJ Unk actually came through another DJ friend of mine that know Unk, and Unk said, ‘Ask Andre if he’ll get on [the 'Walk It Out'] beat.’ It was no big production; I don’t know if I got paid for the [remix].

Andre 3000 On Questlove Supreme: Listen

"I think the trade-off was, ‘Hey Unk, can you do a couple beats that we scratched in the background of my cartoon for Class of 3000?’" Andre 3000 continued. "The beat was so jammin’ that you just wanted to get on it. So I say the blessing because any rapper just wanna be on a good beat and in the city. Or even later, like, new artists. Even if a Frank Ocean says, ‘Hey, get on my song’... Frank Ocean's a new artist, I don’t know him. When I say a blessing, that introduced me to a whole other generation, too.

"I say blessing because we just came off Speakerboxxx/The Love Below and Idlewild," he concluded. "Which was a musical, more focused, melodic kind of thing, so I didn’t rap a lot in those offerings. So I say a blessing because it gave me an opportunity to do what I enjoy doing." For more news and the latest updates on Andre 3000, check back in with HNHH.

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.
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