André 3000 on working with Beyoncé: "people from a certain era, we have a kinship"

The pair have collaborated on "Party", which features on Beyoncé's fourth studio album, 4, as well as the track, "Back to Black", which features on the 2013 soundtrack for The Great Gatsby. For his debut solo album, New Blue Sun, André 3000 paid homage to the singer on the track, “Ninety Three ‘Til Infinity And Beyoncé” – on which, he had to ask for permission to include her name.

Speaking of how they first crossed paths, André recalls it being ”during the 'Hey Ya!' times in England". He says that they've "always had respect for each other and been fans", so when she reached out to him to feature on "Party", he said: "I’m like, ‘Hell, yeah, you know I’m with it.’ It was a cool musical family thing. I think people from a certain era, we have a kinship.”

André 3000 on what he remembers about working with Beyoncé ✨

"Really just being excited about working together because we performed together during the “Hey Ya!” times in England [in 2003]. That was some of the first times I’ve met her, so being able to record, I think we’ve… pic.twitter.com/bO87s2k8j0

— Beyoncé Press. (@beyoncepress) December 16, 2024

“The title was really a play on words, just referencing things that I was into,” he said of the nod to Beyoncé on his solo album. “Souls of Mischief, one of their most famous songs was called ’93 ‘Til Infinity,’ and that’s when I was coming out of high school. That was one of my favorite rap tracks. Then I thought it was funny to put that together with a Toy Story proclamation, ‘Until infinity and beyond'.”

“That was a thing that the character would say in the movie, and I would say, 'Why not Beyoncé?,” he continued. ”It was funny; it was a play on pop culture stuff. I reached out to Jay-Z and Beyoncé and asked if it was cool. She’s like, ‘Yeah.’ So I was happy.”