Andre 3000 'Hopes To God' He Won't Be Rapping Ten Years From Now

For every Outkast stan holding out hope that the ATLiens will link back up in the studio for one last album, or even that Andre 3000 might venture out on his own and produce a solo record, you might want to stop holding your breath. In a new interview with Complex, Three Stacks splashed a whole bucket of cold water over both propositions.

“It’s really just an excitement thing, and where I am in life,” he said. “I kind of like not being a part of [rap], now that I’ve done it. As I get older, I start to see myself move more back from it—the hustle and bustle of putting out an album, the pressure of being in the studio trying to come up with something. Now it’s more like a hobby for me, so I don’t think about it in that way.” Adding, “When I was 25, I said I don’t want to be a 30-year-old rapper. I’m 42 now, and I feel more and more that way. Do I really want to be 50 years old up there doing that? At this stage I’m really more focused on what I am going to be doing 10 years from now. And I hope to God it won’t be rapping.”

That doesn’t mean however he isn’t opposed to lending a verse here and there to the next generation of hip-hop artists now and then. “I work better with other people. I clearly see that now. Like, I haven’t put out an album in years, but if Frank Ocean or Travis Scott calls and says, ‘Hey, man, I want you to be a part of this,’ it’s like I have a goal, a target. When I’m on my own, I’m sitting around twiddling my thumbs, like, ‘Ah, I’ll do it tomorrow.’ It’s different. There’s a kind of certain magic when you work with other people.”

And as for his relationship with Big Boi? “We have such an understanding that it’s never friction,” he said. “There’s never pressure of, ‘Hey, man, let’s get back in.’ Of course there’s always money on the table, but it’s never seen that way. We’ve been blessed to not have to scratch for that money. Maybe it’ll be an issue in the future, but maybe not.”

Whether they’re making new music or not, it does seem like the two still enjoy hanging out.