Andre 3000 features in Killer Mike’s single Scientists & Engineers, which forms part of his June 2023 album Loma Vista. The rapper’s appearance on the song raised hopes that Andre 3000 would reignite his music career. However, producer and singer Sleepy Brown nipped those hopes in the bud. “[Andre 3000] is on a whole nother journey and he’s, you know, doing something,” Sleepy Brown told TMZ.
Andre 3000 is focused on fashion, despite losing millions in the industry
Andre 3000 is channeling his creativity into fashion. His first attempt at establishing a fashion line failed. The rapper launched Benjamin Bixby, a brand inspired by 30s and 40s fashion, at Barney’s New York in 2008. At ComplexCon in 2017, Andre explained the inspiration for Benjamin Bixby:
“The reason I️ took that route was because hip-hop had this image of ‘we don’t wear these types of things’ and I️ knew we wore different clothes. So Benjamin Bixby was my personal way of trying to say, ‘This is how we do it.’ The clothes I was trying to make were all my sketches and designs.”
Andre 3000 said his mistake was using his money to finance the brand. “Unfortunately, I lost millions,” he said. “It was an expensive lesson.” The rapper, also known as Three Stacks, said he learned plenty from the experience. He understood the difficulties of running a fashion brand without investments. Andre 3000 said at ComplexCon that thanks to his experience, he resonates with Kanye West’s frustrations:
“When I see Kanye and Pharrell killing it, they’ve both opened doors. It’s a beautiful thing. Kanye is passionate about what he’s doing. Now when I see Kanye rant I totally understand. If you lose millions trying to do it, it’s a funny thing.”
In an interview with GQ Style, Andre 3000 said he wanted to collaborate with Anita Baker on a fashion project. The rapper said he was inspired to create an Anita Baker-centric fashion line after seeing clothes with Anita’s likeness on sale online. “Then I started thinking, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to design a line of Anita Baker tees and present the line to Anita?’” Andre 3000 said.
Designer Frank William Miller Jr. said that he and Andre 3000 made sketches for the Anita Baker line. However, t-shirt company Tees in the Trap released apparel inspired by Anita Baker before Frank and Andre 3000 finalized their designs.
Andre 3000 has yet to launch another fashion brand. However, he is heavily involved in the fashion industry. In 2020, the rapper collaborated with Tretorn, a Swedish footwear line, as the face of the brand’s fall campaign. He formed part of Supreme’s fall/winter lookbook two years later.
Andre 3000 said he’s no longer in tune with music and is learning to play new instruments
Though Andre 3000 collaborates with other artists, getting him into the studio takes a lot of work. “Everybody knows how hard it to get Andre to do anything,” Anderson .Paak said as he accepted the Best R&B Performance Grammy in 2022 for Come Home, a title featuring Andre 3000.
The rapper told GQ Style that he longer feels in tune with music. He told the outlet that he and modern hip-hop don’t mesh. Andre 3000 explained: “Hip-hop is about freshness. You can always hop, but you won’t always be hip. At a certain point, you just won’t. And this is how I know: All the people I grew up with, none of them, not a one, is thriving. Not a one.”
Andre 3000 told the outlet that he was learning to play new instruments. The rapper is often spotted walking with his patented flute. When recognized, he plays a tune for his adoring fans. In May 2023, he was spotted in Japan carrying the flute.
Though he told GQ Style that he has ‘hours and hours of files’, the rapper is hesitant to return to music. However, in September 2021, Andre said that there are several rappers he would like to work with.
In a statement explaining why he didn’t feature in Kanye West’s album Donda, Andre 3000 said: “I just want to work with people that inspire me. Hopefully, I can work with Kendrick on his album. I’d love to work with Lil Baby, Tyler, and Jay-Z. I respect them all.”
Fans questioned why Andre 3000 omitted Big Boi, the other half of Outkast, from the list. Andre 3000 respects and admires Big Boi: he told GQ that Big Boi is a better rapper than him. Big Boi told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Andre 3000 is the key to Outkast’s return:
“I’ve always said, whenever ‘Dre is ready, I’m always ready. Right now he’s focusing on different things, and we respect that as a brotherhood. We text each other every other day. That’s my brother. We’ve done everything there is to do in music. We won the highest prize, we sold the most records. We started when we were 17 years old — let the man breathe a little bit.”
Andre 3000 has shown increased interest in film productions in recent years. In 2022, he starred in White Noise and Showing Up.