Andre 3000 Defends His Flute Album From LL Cool J‘s Criticism

Andre 3000 has responded to LL Cool J‘s criticism of his new album after the hip-hop legend took issue with his decision to transition into making ambient instrumental music. “Listen, he is amazing. His bars are all the way up. Not the flute, B. Not the flute,” LL Cool J had said during an appearance on LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s The Shop. “Let’s not lie to ourselves. I don’t wanna hear him do the flute. You wanna hear me do a violin album?” Appearing on the latest episode of the show himself, Andre defended his latest album, New Blue Sun.

“To me, I feel like if it’s in you — ’cause I got homies my age and older than me that still rap — so if it’s in you, you should rap until you die. You should perform until you die,” he said. “But what I’m saying is, what it takes for me to do it, I’m always looking for the next. I’m not trying to uphold a thing that I’ve done before. Of course, I have things to say now, but if I can’t say them in a fresh, innovative way, if I feel like I’m just hanging onto the same flow that I used to do, it’s not enough for me. So I can’t talk for another rapper about what they doing. I just say, ‘Man, go for it. If it’s in you.’”

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – FEBRUARY 02: André 3000 performs at Blue Note Jazz Club on February 02, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Astrida Valigorsky/Getty Images for ABA)

Andre dropped New Blue Sun back in November of last year after going 17 years without releasing a new project of his own. It received mixed responses from fans as Andre shifted away from hip-hop with the album. During an interview with GQ afterward, he admitted that he didn’t feel like he had anything interesting to rap about at his age.