Pharrell Assures Fans That Andre 3000 Will Start Rapping Again

Pharrell is in legacy mode. The legendary producer is promoting his new biopic, Piece by Piece, and talking about the various ways in which creativity manifests. Pharrell has always been someone who has balanced his artistic muse with commercial sensibilities. It’s this threading of the needle that makes him uniquely qualified to speak on the career of Andre 3000. The Outkast rapper has seemingly abandoned hip hop to make experimental jazz. Pharrell is not worried, however. He predicted that Andre will find his way back to the genre that made him.

Pharrell got on the topic of 3K during a recent profile with GQ. Pharrell and Andre came up around the same time, and were at their artistic and commercial peak during the 2000s. Both men are also revered for their eclectic tastes and adoration of Prince. Skateboard P commended the Outkast rapper for taking a risk and following his muse. He also urged the fans to be patient, and let Andre 3000 return to hip hop on his own terms. “People got all this judgment and they don’t understand,” he asserted. “People should just give him his time. He’s going to be back. That feeling finds you—you can’t run from it.”

Pharrell also noted that the same eclecticism that’s driving Andre 3000 to experiment with jazz is the same eclecticism fans praised during his time with Outkast. You can’t separate one from the other, and so patience is the best approach. “He not running, he just saying he not going to force it,” he explained. “What you love about him was when he was compelled. It’ll be back.” P also voiced excitement over how good Andre 3000’s return to hip hop will be. “When [he] does,” he noted. “He’s going to come in hot.”

Pharrell and Andre 3000 worked together on the N.E.R.D song “Rollinem 7’s” from 2017. The latter drops an absolutely mind-melting guest verse, proving that he still has what it takes to out rhyme guys who are half his age. Pharrell’s iconic production duo, the Neptunes, was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2019, the same year as Outkast. We hope Pharrell’s assertions about Andre 3000 are correct, and we hope to see these two collaborate again in the future.