5 Classic André 3000 Verses
André 3000 surprised the music world when he announced his new album “New Blue Sun” a week before it dropped on Nov. 17. While it was technically the solo debut of the OutKast artist, the project was not what many were hoping for.
“New Blue Sun” features 3 Stacks playing his flute in a very peaceful and ambient project, but far from what his fans were used to during his illustrious days with Big Boi. In interviews conducted around the release of his latest LP, André 3000 explained how he doesn’t have many recorded raps in the chamber and has had an overall lack of inspiration when it comes to a return to recording Hip-Hop music.
It’s been 17 years since Dre and OutKast released their final album, 2006’s “Idlewild.” And while the former has surfaced as a featured artist on songs over the years, he still believes he doesn’t have the right mojo at the moment to provide the legendary verses everyone knows he’s capable of.
Perhaps we will get a solo André or another OutKast album in the future. Until then, we’d like to take a look back and remember some of 3 Stacks’ greatest verses over the course of his career. They’re what made him one of the best to ever touch the mic, and we’re here for him whenever he decides his colonoscopy is worth rhyming about.
Below are five of his best verses:
UGK (feat. OutKast): “Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)” (2007)
Album: Underground Kingz
Verse: 1
Who could forget André 3000’s legendary opening to one of the biggest records 2000s Hip-Hop gave us? “Keep ya heart 3 Stacks, keep ya heart!” The classic cut is about the women in each of the artists’ lives, with two verses about pimping out women for money and one a cautionary tale about getting women pregnant. And then there’s Dre’s, which is simply a beautiful tale of marriage and the fulfillment he hopes it will bring to his life.
OutKast: “Da Art of Storytellin' (Part 1)” (1998)
Album: Aquemini
Verse: 2
The first (and best) installment of “Da Art of Storytellin’,” the “Aquemini” classic has Andre detailing the tale of “Sasha Thumper” who takes on the role of love a interest in André’s world akin to Tupac’s “Brenda’s Got A Baby” from a few years prior, or what Kendrick Lamar did with “Keisha's Song (Her Pain)” over a decade later. It’s poignant and a classic example of 3 Stacks’ immaculate and vivid storytelling (no pun intended).
OutKast: “Elevators (Me and You)” (1996)
Album: ATLiens
Verse: 4
ATLiens was very much a transition album for OutKast as André’s flow began to really become formidable. On the project’s lead single “Elevators (Me and You),” 3 Stacks shined with his closing verse, which contained a masterful 16 that showcased his prowess as a wordsmith while relaying his relatability with his fans and Hip-Hop at large.
“A Life in the Day of Benjamin André (Incomplete)” André 3000 (2003)
Album: Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
Verse: 1
On “The Love Below’s” final track, 3 Stacks ditches the love ballads and soulful cuts that consume most of the album for “A Life in the Day of Benjamin André (Incomplete),” a song that has Dre returning to his rapping roots and showcases his prose as he raps about his past romance with Erykah Badu and OutKast’s beginnings as a group. The verse is nearly five minutes long, which in itself is unbelievable.
“Players Ball” (1994)
Album: Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik
Verse: 1
André 3000 simply snaps on this. Period, point blank. “Players Ball” was one of the first OutKast tracks to catch the attention of Hip-Hop fans far and wide. There’s no doubt that Dre’s witty bars and wordplay from the “Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik” single helped put OutKast on the rap map and kicked off the legend of 3 Stacks.
