Featuring: Andre 3000

Photo: Soul Culture

Andre 3000 – half of the duo Outkast – should easily make it in the list of any hip hop fans’ list of favorite rappers. Producer, rapper, actor and singer, Andre does it all – and with much style and storytelling genius to accompany it all. 

Though he has played the background these past few years while his group-mate Big Boi has released several albums since their last one together – Speakerboxx...The Love Below – Andre has made several appearances since then. Andre’s presence hardly goes unnoticed on any record that he graces as his style is undeniably witty and eccentric. 

Even on his records with Big Boi, Andre always had a way of commanding your attention. A way of telling a story so vividly that it places you right there. 

Photo: 2K Music

The Art Of Storytellin' Part 4" (Feat. Outkast & Marsha Ambrosius)

V1:

So I'm watchin' her fine ass
Walk to my bedroom, and thought to myself
"That's the shape of things to come"
She said, "Why you in the club, you don't make it precipitate?
You know, make it rain when you can make it thunderstorm?"
I'm like, "Why?"
The world needs sun
The hood needs funds
There's a war going on and half the battle is guns
How dare I throw it on the floor
When people are poor
So I write like Edgar Allen to restore - got a cord
Umbilical attached to a place that can't afford
No landscaping, or window draping
This old lady told me
If I ain't got nothin' good, say nathing
That's why I don't talk much
I swear it don't cost much, to pay attention to me
I tell like it is, then I tell it how it could be
The hood be
Requesting my services
Oh don't get nervous it's
Step yo game up time
These ain't them same old rhymes
Designed to have you dancin' in some club
Niggas ride to me women be off in they tub
Ex-foliating with they poms-poms
Yelling, "Go 3000!"
I'm in my whatever bumpin' N.W.A
"A 100 miles and"
Runnin' Runnin' Runnin' Runnin'
Summon
Woman
Come in
Sit down, heard you need some plumbin'
Done in
I'm in
A swell mood
A rather swole mood
Until she told me that she told dude
That she'll be back, she's going to the store
I didn't know she had a boyfriend, so the door
I pointed her to
I said, "Call me when ya'll break up"
"I don't fuck nobody bitch
And never owned a Jacob," know what time it is
Nigga just
Tryin' to live like a Nigga supposed to live
If I still drank that malt liquor
I'd pour the beer
On the ground for niggas not around;
I started off starvin'
Now they got me out here Brett Favre'n
Trynna' see if I still got it... (got it...)
I guess it's like a bike think about it...
[Lyrics: Rap Genius]

One of my favorite Andre verses – there’s so many – andre gives you more than one reason to write home about this verse.  In this version of the 4-part series of “storytellin’,” ‘Dre details an encounter and conversation that he has with a woman. 

When she asks him why he doesn’t “make it rain” in the club like most rappers who foolishly throw away their money, he explains to her that though he has had mainstream success, he has not forgotten about his foundation. He hasn’t forgotten the neighborhoods in which he grew up and how he could barely afford to survive, so why would he throw it all away now? Just like a baby attached to it’s mother by the umbilical cord,

Andre is still connected to his youth and neighborhood. So instead of abiding by the typical rapper persona, ‘Dre uses his money and poetic words to restore the community in order to help build and not tear it down by being wasteful. He continues to “tell it like it is, and it how it could be,” by continuing the conversation with the woman he started the verse out with. 

Not only is he a great rapper, he’s also a stand-up guy. Unlike every other rapper today who glorifies breaking up happy homes, Andre excuses the woman after finding out that she has a boyfriend, and lied to her boyfriend to kick it with ‘Dre.

Photo: Wikipedia

Chronomentrophobia

At some point in time or another, I think it’s pretty safe to say that we’ve all had that anxious feeling that we’re racing against time. There’s so much that we want to do before we leave this earth, and Andre discusses this fear of time in one of my favorite records, Chronomentrophobia.

[Verse 1]
High as the cost of living
I take what I've been given
Pastor say "be strong"
Ooh hey hey
I ain't got time leave me alone
I ain't got much time left
I've got to funk you now
[Lyrics: Rap Genius]

Though very short, Andre begins the first verse by stating that he’s trying to make the best of the life that he’s been given. However with that, he feels as though he may not have time to live the life that he wants. He even prays and talks to his pastor about it, but it just isn’t enough. 

[Verse 2]
Lord be havin mercy on my soul
I'm havin the impression that my life gon be a bowl
Of cherries but its very hard for me to cope
Got tired of bein broke
This ATLien ain't got no time to sit and mope
Made up my mind while y'all made up y'all beds
On a cold wooden floor is where I laid my head
Born in 1975 never thought I'd make it this far
Still battlin in this racial war
Tryin to find solutions to the situation I'm facin
Only thing thats free is my flow that y'all be chasin
Lettin my niggas know before I go I drop that knowledge
Like droppin books lets stop the crooks
From robbin you of your brains and such usin welfare as a crutch
I'm in it for good you into my hood you won't be findin much
Hope that when I'm gone y'all remember this
What we stood for "fuck that fame and that glitz"
It's beginnin to look a lot like the endin
And got to be more careful know what corners you be bendin
Revelations gettin impatient and now I'm dead
Remember what I said I'm gone bow ya heads
[Lyrics: Rap Genius]

The second verse is more extensive and Andre really takes the time to delve into his fear of clocks and time. He explains in the opening lines that he thought life would be more simple than what it is “I’m having the impression that my life gon’ be a bowl of cherries but its very hard for me to cope, got tired of being broke...” Even though life hasn’t been as grand as he’d hoped, he refuses to sit around and complain about it. 

Overall, I feel as though this record is about more than the fear of time, but of premature death. All we really have in this life is time, and as the saying goes, “time is money.” Time is that and so much more though. It’s what we do with our time that makes it invaluable. There’s so much that we all want to do, but the key to accomplishing what we want is staying at it and not falling prey to distractions and various other hindrances – including racial war that andre references.

Photo: TheMusicNinja

Sorry (T.I. Featuring Andre 3000)

Easily one of my favorite Andre verses is his most recent feature on T.I.’s “Sorry.” The songs general theme is being sorry for your past mistakes and tribulations, and though T.I. delivers two notable verses, Andre completely takes over the song with his captivating verse.

V3:

What it ain't, What it is? 

Even if you gotta live
I learned that apartment is way more exciting than a big ass house on a hill
I used to be a way better writer and a rapper
When I used to want a black Karmann Ghia
Now a nigga speeding in a Porsche
Feeling like I'm going off a course
Cut these fuck niggas off
Negative in my life, scream that till I'm hoarse
Duck these get the f**k off me projectiles, b***h he ain't really got a choice
I'm living my life live yours
I don't even like rapping fast, but that's how the world come to me
Talk to me sideways nigga that's your ass
Slow it down, this that shit that'll make you call your momma
Say hey I'm sorry for begging for all them clothes you couldn't afford
And this the type of shit that'll make you call your rap partner
And say I'm sorry I'm awkward, my fault for fuckin' up the tours
I hated all the attention so I ran from it
Fuck it if we did, but I hope we ain't lose no fans from it
I'm a grown-ass kid, you know ain't never cared about no damn money
Why do we try so hard to be stars, just to dodge comments
And this that shit that'll make you call your baby mama
When you gone on half a pill, don't know why but that's how it is
Then you take a flight back to the crib, y'all make love like college kids
And you say all the shit you gon' do better, we can try this shit again
'Round the time the dope wear off, you feel stupid, she feel lost
That's dopamine, I mean dope, I mean you think Cupid done worn off
Waiting in the hallway with her arms crossed
Baby boy face full of applesauce
Maybe should have stayed but it ain't yo fault
Too much pressure, I peel off, I'm sorry
Was young and had to choose between you
And what the rest of the world might offer me, shit what would you do
Well I'd probably do it differently if second the chance
Only if some cool ass older man would've let me know in advance
There's this quarry, that is dug so deep in a father's chest
When he feel that he's broken up his nest
And he figured shit he was just doing the best that he could
Which end up being the worst that he could
And all some pussy nigga on the internet can say is that verse ain't good
It's boring? Boring? Really?

Well I'm disgusted with this world and I can hardly breathe and
Told so many lies, don't know what to believe
I discussed it with this girl, and this is what she said
She said, "Lay down baby, baby, rest your weary head up"
A lovely distraction but my mind don't wanna rest
But my body disagree so I laid up on her breasts, yes
"Ooooh, you so fucking fine"
I woke up the next morning with new purpose on my mind

Ooooh, who pulls your ponytail
Who knows your body well huh?

[Lyrics: Rap Genius]

Wasting no time, Andre gets right into it as he speaks about the down sides to success – specifically success within the entertainment industry. We’ve all heard various successful artists speak on their admiration and appreciation for the days when they “couldn’t” – the days pre-success where they once struggled. It’s what inspired and fueled their passion. Even though things weren’t the best financially, those were probably some of the best days experienced. But once you’ve made it, you’re now looking for something else to drive you. Something else to fuel your hunger and love for the craft aside from material possessions.

He further explains this with the bars that follow where he talks about being a better rapper back in the days when he “used to want a black karmann ghia - which is a volkaswagon. “ he had something to work towards. But once the money and fame comes, you find yourself looking for inspiration, because what yu once wanted, youve attained, now you want – need – something fat. 

On the flip side, ‘Dre begins to talk about other things he’s sorry for. Like begging his mother for clothes and things that he didn’t need, and things that she couldn’t afford. Unbeknownst to him the struggle of survival his mother had to endure, he just wanted to be cool. But being older now and understanding life as a parent, he regrets his selfish ways as a child. He also speaks on his rumored beef with group mate Big Boi. Andre admits that he’s a bit odd and quirky, but through it all his unequivocal passion has always been for the music itself and not the money and fame. And once it came, it turned him off and away from the business. Hence, his disappearance from the industry. 

Last, he ends his verse by speaking on his brief relationship with artist Erykah Badu. He apologizes for leaving her during her pregnancy, as he was under too much pressure. He thinks the world could’ve offered him more than staying with her and his son, but he regrets not staying with her. He further explains that he never had a father figure giving him advice while growing up, so he didn’t know any better. So when he left them, he felt as though he was making the right decision, but looking back at it he feels otherwise.