The one-half of Outkast clarifies that his recent works are not collaborations with former rap duo partner Big Boi.
- Jan 16, 2013
AceShowbiz - Andre Benjamin a.k.a Andre 3000 has just released a statement saying that Outkast are not officially back together. The hip-hop artist made the clarification in light of recent rumors that the best-selling rap duo was reuniting after almost six years. Fans were quick to assume that his and Big Boi featured appearance in Frank Ocean's recently-released "Pink Matter" remix was part of the Outkast reunion.
"It's important for me to be clear about the origins of my contributions to 'Pink Matter' and 'Sorry'. I was approached as a solo artist by both Frank Ocean & T.I.," Andre 3000 revealed. "I discussed musical direction with each artist and completed my verses. It was after that when Big Boi's name came up."
"I never want to mislead our audience - I worried that some would think these were Outkast collaborations. These songs are not Outkast collaborations," the rapper stated for the record. "I discussed this rationale with Big, Frank and T.I. and everyone agreed. That is why I was surprised to read about these remixes," the singer-songwriter confessed.
The original version of "Pink Matter" featured only Andre 3K's rhyming skills even though Ocean had initially wanted both Outkast members together for the track. Big Boi, who was said busy doing his own record, allegedly did not want to reunite with Andre 3000 on someone else's track. However, it was reported the rapper had a change of heart, writing the new verse for the remix version as well as committing to write a verse for T.I.'s track "Sorry" which Three Stacks had also collaborated on.
Award-winning duo Outkast is the first and only hip-hop group act to win an Album of the Year Grammy for their 2003 studio set "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below". After they went on hiatus in 2007, both Andre 3K and Big Boi have pursued their own individual careers, with Big Boi already releasing two albums while Andre continues to collaborate with other artists including Drake and Ke$ha.
