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OKP News: Andre 3000 Speaks On New LP, Gorillaz, The Future Of Outkast + More

Lenny Kravitz, Grace Jones, Lauryn Hill, Lion Babe, Thundercat, SZA & More Rock The Afropunk Festival 2015 in Brooklyn, NY.andre-3000

Lately Andre 3000 has been popping up in the oddest places: Beyoncé tracks, Gillete commercials and even the Gorillaz' cereal cupboard. It all points to a new solo LP dropping in the near future and the natural result has been more conversations with the press from the elusive and highly-rated rapper. And varying answers to the question that's on everybody's mind--what about Outkast?  A recent Q&A with GQ seemed to put hopes for a reunion to rest (see quote below) and was much-cited in the blogosphere as death-knell for the group.

GQ: So does that mean we can expect to hear the album we've all be waiting on?

Andre 3000: It depends on which album you're talking about.

GQ: A new 'Kast album!

Andre 3000: There's been a lot of talk on the Internet about an OutKast album and I have to say that as of now, there are no plans for another OutKast album. There's a lot of music on the horizon. I've been living off the excitement of new artists. I've been privileged to have these new artists kind of reach out and grab back and say, "Hey, Andre, we want you on this song." So I've been taking those calls and for the last two years, I've been doing collaborations. So these new artists have kind of been keeping me alive. I've just really been feeding off of that and this year I think I'm planning to do a solo project. I don't know when it will come out, but hopefully it'll come out this year. As far as OutKast, I really don't know if or when that will happen.

In a subsequent interview with FADER mag, however, Andre says some things--in between talking about his own project, the making of the Gorillaz track and how annoying it is to be constantly asked about Outkast-- that seem to leave the coffin-door open a crack:

Any time you do an interview or there’s an announcement about something that you’re doing that’s not Outkast, everyone asks about when the next Outkast project is coming. And every time, words get misconstrued, or casual statements get blown out of proportion. Is it difficult for you to have to talk about it every time?

It’s expected. I guess the unfortunate thing is how the internet is today—is that it’s all about shock and it’s all about getting attention. So they always take out the parts that seem shocking and blast it. Sensationalize whatever they want to sensationalize. It’s always been, No, there are not any plans right now. We’re not on the roster or on a schedule with a label to put out an Outkast album. I can’t say if or when we will, but I’m going to be in Outkast forever in some kind of way. I can’t really say Outkast is over so it always trips me out when these things get on the internet, and [people] go, Andre said there’s going to be no more Outkast. And then me and Big Boi get on the phone like, Oh, that’s unfortunate that they said that kind of thing. But I just have to say that because we’re in the information age, and there’s a lot of misinformation—you may have tweets from somebody saying, I saw them together, or I saw them in the studio. And there even may be close friends that are just so excited about seeing me and Big Boi together, they may say we’re in the studio together. It’s totally not true. Like, I may stop by the studio to hear what Big Boi’s doing for his album, just to say hey as a friend and see what’s going on. And next thing you know it’s, Oh, they’re in the studio together. No, not at all. There’s no plans for an Outkast album right now. Next year will be 20 years as Outkast, which is—I’m still amazed at it. I’m happy that we’ve been around that long. Happy that we have people that still care about Outkast. There’s a lot of guys that came out around the same time that are not around anymore. So it’s really a blessing. So I think when I hear things on the internet that Outkast is over, I think, that’s a shame. Because I don’t have the power to stop Outkast, you know? I didn’t start Outkast by myself. I don’t have the power to stop Outkast. If we do another Outkast album one day, I would be super happy. Because I’ll know that the vibe is right, and we’ll put our all into it. But if we never do another Outkast album, you know, I won’t be sad because we’ve been blessed. We’ve been around.