Now that Outkast's massive blast of reunion dates this year has wound down, André 3000 has a bit of a confession for you: he felt like a bit of a sell-out while undertaking the nostalgic trip back to the player's ball.
An interview with The Fader conducted by Nicolas Jaar at this week's Art Basel in Miami had the rapper explaining that he wasn't as excited about re-teaming with Big Boi for their 20th anniversary celebrations as the group might have led on.
"I felt weird about going out on stage and doing it again," André 3000 said. "I felt like people would be like, 'Y'all are doing all these festivals, y'all are just doing it for money.' And I felt like a sellout, honestly. So I was like, if I'm in on the joke, I'll feel cool about it."
Further defending his position, he added, "I'm 39, I got a 17-year-old kid, and I gotta support certain things. And my partner Big Boi is like, 'This is a great thing for all of us.' So I felt like there was a certain sellout in a way, because I didn't wanna do it — I knew I was doing it for a reason. So maybe if I'm telling people, 'I am selling out,' then it's not as bad as pretending. It's being honest about it like, 'Shit, I did these songs when I was 17 and I'm out here pedaling them now.' But it's the honest thing, that's what it is."
While conflicted about busting out the hits for the festival crowds, the Atlanta MC cooked up costume plans that would see him sporting a series of message-emblazoned jumpsuits. According to Andre, this helped him add something fresh to the formula each night. The suits sported pensive messages ("Across cultures, darker people suffer most. Why?"), as well as innuendo ("Wet Poseidon).
"I'm like, how am I gonna present these songs? I don't have nothing new to say," he said. "So I was like, maybe I can start saying new stuff while doing these old songs. It became a theme where I was more excited about this than the actual show. This is fun, running out in these."
André 3000's costumes are currently hanging in display at Art Basel in Miami. Outkast's reunion schedule wrapped up in November at New Orleans' Voodoo Festival.
An interview with The Fader conducted by Nicolas Jaar at this week's Art Basel in Miami had the rapper explaining that he wasn't as excited about re-teaming with Big Boi for their 20th anniversary celebrations as the group might have led on.
"I felt weird about going out on stage and doing it again," André 3000 said. "I felt like people would be like, 'Y'all are doing all these festivals, y'all are just doing it for money.' And I felt like a sellout, honestly. So I was like, if I'm in on the joke, I'll feel cool about it."
Further defending his position, he added, "I'm 39, I got a 17-year-old kid, and I gotta support certain things. And my partner Big Boi is like, 'This is a great thing for all of us.' So I felt like there was a certain sellout in a way, because I didn't wanna do it — I knew I was doing it for a reason. So maybe if I'm telling people, 'I am selling out,' then it's not as bad as pretending. It's being honest about it like, 'Shit, I did these songs when I was 17 and I'm out here pedaling them now.' But it's the honest thing, that's what it is."
While conflicted about busting out the hits for the festival crowds, the Atlanta MC cooked up costume plans that would see him sporting a series of message-emblazoned jumpsuits. According to Andre, this helped him add something fresh to the formula each night. The suits sported pensive messages ("Across cultures, darker people suffer most. Why?"), as well as innuendo ("Wet Poseidon).
"I'm like, how am I gonna present these songs? I don't have nothing new to say," he said. "So I was like, maybe I can start saying new stuff while doing these old songs. It became a theme where I was more excited about this than the actual show. This is fun, running out in these."
André 3000's costumes are currently hanging in display at Art Basel in Miami. Outkast's reunion schedule wrapped up in November at New Orleans' Voodoo Festival.
