In roughly the past five years, André Benjamin, a.k.a. André 3000, has begun a resurgence to add to his legend.
The last time the world was blessed with a new song by 3 Stacks was in the soundtrack to OutKast’s film Idlewild in 2006. Since taking time away from rapping to act, design clothing, become the face of Gillette and spend more time with his son Seven, by neo-soul legend Erykah Badu, the new generation of hip-hop has managed to keep him active with features.
In hip-hop circles, Andre 3000 has been considered one of the top five lyricists ever. Of course this is always up for debate, but there are 18 years of evidence that make a strong case for his standing.
With a collection of six Grammys, it’s hard to say that Andre’s abilities have been overlooked and they haven’t, at least not by critics. But the populous and their embrace of 3 Stacks came with the new generation of hip-hop. Everyone from Drake to Frank Ocean, and even Ke$ha and Beyoncé, have called upon the OutKast rapper to contribute as only he can.
How then is it that André 3000 is overlooked for his contribution to hip-hop? He’s overlooked because his legacy was built in tandem with Big Boi as the group OutKast.
Catalog-wise, André has technically only released one album The Love Below, the second disk to the 2003 Speakerboxxx/The Love Below album, for which the pair won two Grammys. So this leaves us with only verses to compare. But this is where André shines.
He has influenced everyone from Eminem to Lil Wayne to Drake. He pioneered hybrid rap with The Love Below, and that 9-year-old masterpiece still surpasses much of what’s available today from your favorite hybrid artists. His verses are second to none, and you’re almost always left wondering, how the f*ck did he think of that? Did he really just say that?
If you want political and honest, see “Humble Mumble,” “Red Velvet“ and “Jazzy Belle.” If you want love, well just go listen to The Love Below in its glorious entirety. If you want some gangster shit, go listen to “Gangsta Shit!” And for good measure, just take a listen to his verse on Kelis’ “Millionaire.”
Andre 3000 will out-rap any of the new crop of rappers. Now all we need is this mythical solo album that has been talked about for years. In the meantime, you can check out this compilation mixtape of his best verses.
-John Conyers
