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Andre 3000 Clears Up Rumors About ‘OutKast Collaboration’ (Exclusive)

Andre 3000 / Photo by Getty Images

As André 3000 knows, “reunions” aren’t always what they seem. On January 12, a new remix of Frank Ocean’s A3K-guesting “Pink Matter” surfaced, this time featuring a jammed-in verse from OutKast’s Big Boi. If you’ll recall, it was Daddy Fat Sax who tweeted last July that he didn’t appear on the channel ORANGE version of the track because “Dre didn’t want an OutKast Record Coming out on anybody else LP.” 

Naturally, the appearance of both OutKast MCs on the same song led many, including Frank Ocean, to label the “Pink Matter” remix as an OutKast “reunion.” (We, too, are somewhat guilty as charged.) This came in the wake of a January 2 tweet from Big Boi wherein he further fanned the flames by suggesting that he would be working on a version of T.I.’s “Sorry” — a track that already featured an André guest verse

In response to the persistent rumors, André 3000 issued the following statement exclusively to SPIN:

“It’s important for me to be clear about the origins of my contributions to ‘Pink Matter’ and ‘Sorry.’

I was approached as a solo artist by both Frank Ocean & Tip. I discussed musical direction with each artist and completed my verses. It was after that when Big Boi’s name came up.

I never want to mislead our audience – I worried that some would think these were Outkast collaborations. These songs are not Outkast collaborations. I discussed this rationale with Big, Frank and T.I. and everyone agreed. That is why I was surprised to read about these remixes.

I understand that anyone can put out an unofficial remix to any song but I have an obligation to be honest with fans about what this is … and what it isn’t.”

Get that folks? These tracks do not constitute on OutKast reunion. 

And as André told us in November, he’s well aware of how badly fans crave new music from him, either solo or with Big Boi: “I hear it every day,” he said wearily. “I go to the grocery store and people are like ‘Hey, where’s that new album?’ It’s great that people care, but I don’t know what I’ll do. Maybe I’ll do an album and maybe not. Some days I feel like it and some days I don’t.”