André 3000 responds to LL Cool J's desire for him to do another rap album: "I’m not trying to uphold a thing that I’ve done before"

At the end of last year, André 3000 released his debut solo album, which was instrumental, and featured André heavily on his instrument of choice – the flute. LL Cool J revealed that he would've preferred to hear André get back to his roots: “I wanna hear him get with Big Boi, I want them to make an OutKast [album] or to do a solo album. Every time he does a verse, it’s enough material for an album! He’s so gifted. So it’s like, ‘Come on, B. Not the flute.’ That man needs to know the truth.”

Speaking to NPR, André revealed that the album was a long time coming, simply because he is unwilling to release a project unless he truly believes in it – that, and he's not the fastest when it comes to crafting songs. LL Cool J disagreed that André has nothing to say. “When you were 14, you weren’t rapping about pubescent growth spurts. So, why you have to get older and talk about prostate?” Referencing the notion that you can run out of things to say, he addeed: “With all due respect, I disagree with that because he has it in him.”

André 3000 LL Cool J back-and-forth pic.twitter.com/fnFbiNU5bM

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In response to LL Cool J's comments, André said: “To me, I feel like if it’s in you – cause I got homies my age and older than me that still rap – if it’s in you, you should rap until you die. You should perform until you die. But what I’m saying is, what it takes for me to do it, I’m always looking for the next. I’m not trying to uphold a thing that I’ve done before.”

He adds that this doesn't rule out the future prospect of a rap album, but he just isn't at a point where he wants to level up his game: “Of course, I have things to say now, but if I can’t say them in a fresh, innovative way, if I feel like I’m just hanging onto the same flow that I used to do, it’s not enough for me. So I can’t talk for another rapper about what they doing. I just say, 'Man, go for it. If it’s in you.'”