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To say that André 3000 is eccentric would be a grave understatement. If you survey his discography, you’d find organized chaos: a hodgepodge of complex rap techniques, influences from numerous other genres, and a host of topics that other rappers wouldn’t rhyme about with a straight face. And let’s not even get started on his fashion choices.
To André’s credit, it was never about putting on an act that would make the headlines of Billboard or The Source. There’s no way to describe André’s art other than oddball— or experimental, if you want to sound technical. No matter what the world calls it, there can be no dispute about the boundless creativity emanating from his inexhaustible mind.
When I first heard his music, I was seeing just the tip of the iceberg. At the dawn of the 2000s, young adolescents like me had three burning questions. One, will the real Slim Shady please stand up? Two, is this really the next episode? Three—and this was the toughest one—who the hell was Ms. Jackson, and why did she deserve an apology times a trillion?
As ubiquitous as the award-winning “Ms. Jackson” was, I could never unravel the depths of the song, or André’s body of work for that matter. (I guess I was too busy with my critical analysis of Eminem’s Shakespearean lyricism.) But now that I have taken the time to properly appreciate André’s creative legacy, I find myself helplessly hooked to the multitudes inside this man.
How did this poet manage to carve out a niche that is utterly distinct from anything that came before him (and, in all likelihood, will never be replicated by anyone that has come after him)? What wonders did this alien conjure to land a spot in many rappers’ top 5 lists; and to stand out in a hip-hop group that has but two members?
This man’s life (along with his career and significance) demands your attention ramped up to 3000.
Quick Facts
| Birth Date | May 27, 1975 |
| Birth Place | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Nick Name | Dré, 3 Stacks, Black Wolf |
| Nationality | American |
| Zodiac Sign | Gemini |
| Children | Seven Sirius Benjamin (b. 1997) |
| Most Successful Songs | “Ms. Jackson” (with Big Boi)
“Hey Ya!” (with Big Boi) “B.O.B.” (with Big Boi) |
| Net Worth | Estimated value of $35 million (as of 2022) |
| Social Media | twitter.com/outkastdre
instagram.com/andre3000 |
| Major Awards | 6x Grammy Award winner (as part of Outkast)
2007 Best Collaboration (for “International Players Anthem” by UGK and Outkast), BET Hip Hop Awards 1995 Best New Rap Group (as part of Outkast), The Source Awards |
| Last updated | July 30, 2022 |
Early Years
He was born André Lauren Benjamin on May 27, 1975 in Atlanta, Georgia. His parents—Lawrence Walker and Sharon Benjamin—were unmarried at the time that he was born. Though they moved in together in the hopes of making their relationship work, Sharon left Lawrence when it became apparent that he could not commit himself to an exclusive partnership with her.
As such, André grew up in a single-mother household. Not being financially well off, Sharon and André had to move around frequently because of Sharon’s inability to pay rent. They eventually settled down in an apartment complex across Bowen Homes, one of Atlanta’s last major housing projects.
Not wanting André to be consumed by the culture of gang-banging and drug dealing that was rampant in that neighborhood, Sharon signed up her son for the “majority to minority” program.
Under this program, which aimed to facilitate racial integration within Atlanta’s public education sector, black students were bussed to majority white schools. Through this program, young André got to widen his horizons by meeting new kids and being immersed in the suburban culture.
This cultural experience heightened André’s interest in artistic pursuits. For one, his buddies from his home neighborhood (as well as his own mother) noticed that his fashion sense was growing.
Tye-dyed shirts, sweaters, and colored pants made their way into his repertoire. On a deeper level, André displayed a passion for music. His musical preferences were diverse: ZZ Top, Madonna, and Duran Duran were among the artists that he listened to.
To me, the influence of Madonna goes a long way in explaining André’s artistic sense throughout his career. I do think that there are some dots to be connected between Madonna’s flamboyance and André’s flashy style. Plus, neither the Queen of Pop nor 3000 has ever shied away from the challenge of reinvention.
A Passion Burning, A Partner Found
Though he listened to a plethora of musical selections, there was no genre that captivated André quite like hip hop did. In the words of his mother Sharon, he “was eating, sleeping, and just living rap.” Like many other aspiring rappers in their teenage years, André wrote lyrics at a high volume—on notebooks, tissue paper, and even on walls!
He had a special affinity for Rakim, the Golden Age rapper whose innovative internal rhymes and multisyllabic schemes would become key elements of André’s style.
André would bring this passion for hip hop to the cafeteria of Tri-Cities High School, where he would engage fellow students in rap battles. He soon found himself colliding frequently with a lad named Antwan Patton. Over time, their rivalry gave way to a close-knit friendship rooted in personal respect and love for rap.
Outside the walls of their campus, André and Antwan showcased their rap skills at parking lots and malls all around East Point, just 7 miles southwest of Atlanta. They went by the collective name of 2 Shades Deep; André was Black Wolf, and Antwan was Black Dog. Aside from the opportunity to hone their performing skills, these excursions would get them one step closer to breaking into the industry.
The performances of 2 Shades Deep caught the attention of Rico Wade, a member of the Atlanta-based production trio known as Organized Noize. Immediately after meeting them at the parking lot of an East Point store, Wade drove them to “The Dungeon,” a studio located in his mother’s house.
Subsequently, André and Antwan would make frequent visits to The Dungeon, where they recorded tracks and befriended artists like Goodie Mob (CeeLo Green, Big Gipp, Khujo, and T-Mo).
Soon, the two young men would get the opportunity of a lifetime when Wade set them up for an audition in front of Antonio “L.A.” Reid, co-founder of the LaFace label. Reid, however, was unimpressed with what he saw in that audition. Though André was disheartened by this setback—even going so far as to contemplate going to college instead—Antwan coaxed him into giving it another go.
Their second audition went well, but they could not immediately sign the deal they were offered as they were both 17 years old at that time. Because of this, they had to wait a full year before they could become legitimate members of the LaFace roster.
The Rousing Debut of Outkast
In 1992, LaFace officially signed André and Antwan, who would go by the names Dré and Big Boi, respectively. Collectively, they were Outkast (a name that they had to go with after finding out that their intial ideas, 2 Shades Deep and The Misfits, had already been taken).
Their first appearance was on the remix of “What About Your Friends,” a 1992 track by their fellow LaFace artists TLC. In 1993, Outkast released their first single, “Player’s Ball,” which peaked at number 37 on the Billboard Hot 100. Both tracks showed but a glimpse of the duo’s potential, which banked on the innovative style of Dré and the technical brilliance of Big Boi.
That same year, Outkast started putting together their first studio album. They drew on material that they had recorded in The Dungeon prior to their signing, as well as freshly recorded tracks.
Then, on August 26, 1994, they made their official debut by releasing Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik. (I have to give it to Outkast: this might be the most difficult album name to pronounce in the history of hip hop!)
Southernplaya (a shortened name for the sake of our sanity) fuses Southern hip hop with elements of funk and soul. Produced by Organized Noize, the album is distinct for its use of live instrumentation (which, from that point on, became part of Outkast’s signature style).
Aside from “Player’s Ball,” two more singles were released from the album’s track list: “Git Up, Git Out” and the title track. Southernplaya ended up becoming a smash hit, peaking at number 20 on the Billboard 200 chart and going platinum a year after its release.
The rousing success of Southernplaya put Outkast—as well as the Southern hip hop community—on the map. In an industry dominated by West Coast and East Coast personalities, Outkast sent a clear message: overlook the South at your own risk.
Dré would say as much at the 1995 Source Awards when Outkast was named Best New Rap Group. Amidst jeers from an audience dominated by New Yorkers, Dré defiantly declared, “The South got something to say.”
I still can’t believe how historic that night was. On the same stage where Suge Knight fired the first salvo of the West Coast-East Coast feud, where an infuriated Snoop Dogg asked the raucous audience, “Y’all don’t love us?”, Dré spoke volumes with so few words. It was crystal clear that, as strong as their debut project was, Outkast’s music had many, many more things to say.
Onwards and Upwards
After the release of Southernplaya, there was nowhere for Outkast to go but up. Buoyed by the creative control and cash advance given by LaFace, Dré and Big Boi bought a new recording studio and went about their work with a higher level of confidence.
Indeed, change was the name of the game for Dré during this time: he went vegan, stopped smoking, and started wearing outlandish attire. For good measure, he went to night school in between recording sessions for their second studio album and eventually earned his GED (since he had dropped out of school in his senior year).
Over the next three years, Outkast would release a couple of albums that were characterized by outer space-themed production sounds. The first of these was ATLiens, which they dropped on August 27, 1996. Aside from Organized Noize, Dré and Big Boi themselves contributed to the production of this unique project infused with dub, gospel, and reggae.
The album spawned three singles, including the gold-certified track “Elevators (Me & You).” Thanks to its powerful lyricism, smooth sound, and audacious concept, ATLiens went on to be certified double platinum.
Their other cosmos-inspired album was Aquemini, which was released on September 29, 1998. Like its predecessor, Aquemini drew on a plethora of influences, which included G-funk, soul, and psychedelic rock.
However, its tremendous commercial and critical success was tinged with some controversy, as civil rights icon Rosa Parks sued both Outkast and LaFace Records for supposedly misappropriating her name in a track called, well, “Rosa Parks.” (A settlement was agreed upon by all parties in 2005.)
Nevertheless, Aquemini upheld Outkast’s streak of success as it went platinum just a couple of months after its release—and double platinum less than a year later.
The Birth of André 3000
The next time that Outkast dropped an album, Dré was already sporting an entirely new persona. Dubbing himself André 3000, he presented himself as a futuristic enigma—an idea reinforced by the number 3,000, which at the time was a leap of approximately a thousand years.
Aside from upping the ante in terms of pushing the envelope in his musical style, André unleashed the full might of his wardrobe. Wigs, furs, head-pieces, and other concept-driven articles of clothing were all fair game in this next step of his evolution.
I think it’s worth pointing out that the birth of André 3000 coincides with the commercial peak of Outkast. Their fourth album Stankonia, where 3000 made his debut, has gone 5x platinum on the strength of songs like “Ms. Jackson” (which, I have to say, is an indelible part of my adolescence) and “So Fresh, So Clean.”
At the 2001 Grammy Awards, Stankonia was hailed as the Best Rap Album, while “Ms. Jackson” won Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.
The stark contrast between 3000 and his partner Big Boi has never been more emphasized than the time they decided to release a double album in which each artist got a CD all to himself.
On 2003’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, the two long-time partners actually recorded their respective tracks separately (though they did provide feedback for each other’s body of work). The end result? Speakerboxxx exuded a strong Southern hip hop and conscious rap vibe, while The Love Below waxed sentimental as it offered an amalgamation of soul, jazz, and funk in the vein of Prince.
While it’s not particularly easy to pin down the form or genre of 3000, the outcome speaks for itself. With more than 11 million units sold, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below received the rare diamond certification in 2006. Two years prior to that, it won Outkast three more Grammys: Album of the Year, Best Rap Album, and Best Urban/Alternative Performance (for the smash hit “Hey Ya!”, which comes from 3000’s The Love Below disc).
New Chapters to Open…
On August 22, 2006—just three months after Speakerboxxx/The Love Below was certified diamond—Outkast released their sixth studio album Idlewild.
Serving as the soundtrack of the musical film that they’d release three days later, Idlewild was infused with elements of blues, jazz, and soul. It went on to be certified platinum, which meant that every studio album ever released by the duo had sold at least a million certified units.
Then, in a move that surprised millions of fans around the world, Outkast decided to go on hiatus.
Did André and Antwan go from boyhood friends to professional rivals? Did their record label favor one over the other, perhaps leading to contractual issues? While neither of these scenarios has ever been proven, I think the most reasonable explanation would be natural career progression. Simply put, both artists had new chapters to open in their storied careers.
Big Boi has since released three solo albums, whereas André pursued a variety of artistic ventures. Around the time that Speakerboxxx/The Love Below was dominating the airwaves, he started accumulating TV and film credits.
On the small screen, his most prominent project has been the animated musical series “Class of 3000” (2006-2008), in which he voices an Atlanta-based music teacher named Sunny Bridges. André also appeared in the ABC series American Crime (2015-2017) and the AMC drama Dispatches from Elsewhere (2020).
Meanwhile, André made his big screen debut in the 2003 action comedy Hollywood Homicide, which stars Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett. For the rest of the 2000s, André had quite a prolific movie career; he appeared in films starring big names like John Travolta (2005’s Be Cool), Mark Wahlberg (2005’s Four Brothers), Charlize Theron (2007’s Battle in Seattle), and Will Ferrell (2008’s Semi-Pro).
And, at the 2014 Independent Spirit Awards, André was nominated for Best Male Lead for his portrayal of legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix in the 2013 biopic Jimi: All Is by My Side.
Though André has evidently had a blast with his acting career, there are no indications that he has abandoned his musical craft. While the world continues to wait for the release of his debut solo record, André has—in the meantime—displayed a knack for stealing the show as a guest on other people’s tracks.
Whether it’s Rick Ross, Tip, Frank Ocean (twice!), Devin the Dude, or Unk, artists tend to take a backseat when André hops on their song.
…And One to Revisit?
I found it pleasantly surprising, then, to read about André’s appraisal of his rap powers vis-a-vis the skills of his long-time partner. In a 2017 GQ interview, he stated for the record, “Big Boi can rap better than me—I always said that. If somebody said, ‘Pick who you want from OutKast to go to battle with you,’ it wouldn’t be me.”
In the hypercompetitive sport of hip hop, this is a refreshing perspective that’s rooted in both respect and humility (as well as a tad bit of self-deprecation).
So, if André has kept his admiration for Antwan after all these years, is there any chance that Outkast will come out of hibernation and reclaim their spot on the summit of the industry? After all, when asked about the prospect of a seventh album drop for the duo, Big Boi said, “Whenever Dré is ready, I’m always ready.”
In my humble opinion, I think André and Big Boi would be better served if they never put out another album as Outkast. It’s seldom that a musical act can essentially wrap up their career and legacy after putting together an unparalleled streak of commercial and critical success. Outkast has done just that, and as such, they deserve every lofty tribute and lifetime award that will ever come their way.
Funnily enough, if André and Big Boi do decide with finality that the Outkast brand is retired for good, there’s no escaping the reality that one of them has had a more memorable (not to mention more influential) run than the other.
By the looks of it, history will be a bit kinder to the exuberantly garbed, wildly experimental musician who fancied himself an exemplar of the future. Generations of rappers will try their darndest to think outside the box, but there will never be another visionary who lives up to the title of Outkast as impeccably as André 3000.
Legacy
In a 2017 YouTube video, HipHopDX’s Justine Hunte raised an interesting question: can André 3000 contend for the title of Greatest Rapper of All Time, despite the fact that he has never released a solo record?
While both sides of the argument have merit, I think two pro-André arguments have significant merit. One, he was one half of perhaps the most successful hip hop duo in history. It is no slight to Big Boi if you say that Outkast would not have achieved its staggering success if André hadn’t been in the group.
And Two, superstars of the rap industry have a special spot in their heart for André. Apologies to Antwan, but the last time I checked, he’s never made a top 5 list compiled by the Rap God. Guess who made it?
On 2002’s “Till I Collapse,” Eminem told the world, “I got a list, here’s the order of my list that it’s in/It goes Reggie [Redman], Jay-Z, Tupac and Biggie/Andre from Outkast, Jada, Kurupt, Nas, and then me.”
Why is André 3000 Influential?
André has made a career out of pushing the envelope—or, indeed, pretending that it doesn’t even exist. His bold choices in terms of lyrical content, production, and overall presentation can be seen in the music of artists like Anderson.
Paak, A$AP Rocky, Janelle Monae, and Travis Scott. Plus, on a 2019 episode of his “expediTIously” podcast, Tip bluntly stated André’s influence on one of the biggest artists of contemporary rap: “Shit, Kendrick sound like him.”
FAQs
Answer: André has a son named Seven Sirius Benjamin, who was born in 1997. Sirius’ mother is R&B star Erykah Badu, whom André dated—and had multiple collaborative tracks with—in the late ’90s.
Answer: André has admitted that the song “Ms. Jackson” was addressed to Badu’s mother after he and Badu broke up. (No, the mother’s name wasn’t Jackson! Badu’s mother was actress Kolleen Maria Gipson.)
Answer: André had a short-lived clothing line called Benjamin Bixby, which he launched in spring 2008. In a 2017 interview with W magazine, he called the venture “an expensive lesson,” as he “lost millions” due to some financial decisions that weren’t quite sound.
Bottom Line
It is not hyperbole to say that André 3000 is in a category of his own. None of his contemporaries sounded like him, his disciples and admirers can’t quite measure up to him, and even his own partner was overshadowed by him.
Dare I say that his music is—forgive the cliche—out of this world? André 3000 appears to draw from the fundamental powers of the cosmos and, judging by the career that he has amassed thus far, the love for his art is universal.
Sources
- https://acclaimmag.com/music/outkast-changed-rap-game/
- https://www.gq.com/story/andre-3000-outkast-gq-style-interview
- https://www.xxlmag.com/andre-3000-facts/
- https://www.popmatters.com/195335-hiding-in-plain-sight-the-curious-legacy-of-outkast-2495508016.html#:~:text=They%20were%20instrumental%20in%20expanding,hip%2Dhop%20into%20the%20mainstream.
- https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2019/02/the-evolution-of-andre-3000-style
- https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/andre-3000-hip-hop-legacy/
- https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-history-composers-and-performers-biographies/andre-benjamin
- https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-oct-22-ca-40125-story.html
- https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/things-you-might-not-know-outkast-atliens-big-boi-andre-300-7487857/
- https://www.thefader.com/2015/11/27/erykah-badu-andre-3000-relationship-timeline
- https://thecelebritist.com/erykah-badu-was-exposed-to-the-arts-early-on-look-inside-her-childhood-and-path-to-fame/
- https://www.wmagazine.com/story/andre-3000-kanye-west-fashion-rants
- https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/richest-rappers/andre-3000-net-worth/
- Seven Sirius Benjamin, Son of Andre 3000, is an Upcoming Star