Andre 3000 has not been feeling very creative lately.
The rapper, whose real name is Andre Benjamin, recently admitted as much on Rick Rubin's podcast, "Broken Record." There, he reflected on his challenges of recording and releasing new material.
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“I haven’t been making much music, man," he said. "My focus is not there, my confidence is not there. I tinker. I tinker a lot. Like, I’ll just go to my piano and just sit my iPhone down and just record what I’m doing. Move my fingers around, whatever happens. I haven’t been motivated enough to make a serious project. I’d like to, but it’s just — it’s just not coming."
Three Stacks added that he’s trying to learn where his place is in music today.
"In my own self, I'm trying to figure out where I sit," he said. "I don't even know what I am. And maybe I'm nothing. Maybe I’m not supposed to be anything. Maybe my history is kind of handicapping in a way. And so I'm just trying to find out what makes me feel the best right now. And what makes me feel the best is when I do these random instrumental kind of things. They make me feel the most rebellious."
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Andre 3000's last full-length release was 2006's "Idlewild" with fellow OutKast member Big Boi. Still, Three Stacks has released some collaborations with artists over the years. They include a feature on Anderson .Paak's 2019 single "Come Home" and a remix of fellow Atlantan DJ Unk's "Walk It Out" in 2007, to name a few. The "Roses" performer has also released some solo songs over the last decade, including two songs on Mother's Day in 2018.
But even releasing such tunes has not quelled Andre 3000’s anxiety.
"Any little thing I put out... people nitpick it with a fine-tooth comb. 'Oh, he said that word!' And that's not a great place to create from. And it makes you draw back,” he told Rubin.
Listen to Andre 3000’s conversation on “Broken Record” below.
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