André 3000 Says He Had “Out-Of-Body Experience” Revisiting Outkast’s Music

André 3000 recalled how strange he felt listening to Outkast’s music years later in an interview with the Recording Academy. The rapper-turned-flutist admitted he rarely revisited the duo’s work, but he recently found himself relistening to their albums and various guest verses in a hotel room.

“Recently, a friend of mine sent me a video of an interview that I was doing, and I was talking about a certain song that I hadn’t heard in a long time,” André 3000 said. “So, I went back to listen to that song and that sent me down the rabbit hole of all my guest verses and Outkast stuff. So, one day I was in my hotel room listening to all this stuff for hours — five hours of albums and guest stuff. And it was surprising because you’re listening as a fan and not remembering where you were at the time when you did them. It’s almost like you’re having an out-of-body experience listening to yourself. Then you realize how much time has gone by and how different of a person you are, which is even crazier.”

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André 3000 pivoted away from Hip-Hop and released his ambient jazz album New Blue Sun in 2023. The Outkast member explained why he called himself the Lil B of jazz in his chat with the Recording Academy.

“I’m almost the Lil B of this type of music,” he said. “Lil B is, they call it based rap. My son actually turned me on to Lil B … A person like Lil B is not studied at all. But the way the kids respond to him, it’s because of that. It’s kind of like a punk way of rapping, and I like it. [And what I’m doing is] almost like punk jazz or punk spiritual jazz. It’s pure feeling.”

André 3000 is currently touring in support of New Blue Sun. The tour’s last show is scheduled for November 14.