Idolator: andre 3000

Fonzworth Bentley Invites Friends Over For Dressing Up, Rapping, Choreography

Michaelangelo Matos — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:00:00 EDT

"Like Lancome lipstick, scarlet/And frankly, I really do care, my dear." Besides entering Fonzworth Bentley in the mini-pantheon of R&B artists who've quoted Rhett Butler (the only other example I can think of is Chic's "You Are Beautiful," from 1983's Believer), "Everybody"—Bentley's new single featuring Sa-Ra, Andre 3000, and Kanye West—is more noticeable for who's on it than what any of them are doing. Sa-Ra have been mining this smooth-synth-funk vein for ages, and it's nice enough but not terribly compelling; ditto Andre's verse (can't win 'em all). Kanye sings the hook, because he is an all-around entertainer, and there is choreography (far better than the Dear Jayne video earlier, although that's not difficult), as well as tuxes and bow ties. Let us boldly predict that It will either sink like a stone or stick around the charts forever, and nothing in between. [Brightcove via kanYe West: Blog]

Big Boi And Andre 3000 Try To Erase The Memory Of "Idlewild"

Dan Gibson — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 12:30:26 EDT

ARTISTS: Big Boi feat. Andre 3000 and Raekwon
TITLE: "Royal Flush"
WEB DEBUT: March 20, 2008

ONE-LISTEN VERDICT: OutKast as a group has given us so much, it's hard to really complain. But still, every great track with Big Boi and Andre 3000 helps me forget the misstep of Idlewild a tiny bit."International Players Anthem" helped quite a bit, and if "Royal Flush" is any indication, Big Boi's solo album, Sir Luscious Left Foot, might finish the job. Big Boi sounds more like his Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik era self, and any appearance by Raekwon is appreciated. If nothing else, I appreciate Andre's (who apparently is going by "3 Stacks" somewhat officially now) rhyme of "Nintendo Wiis" and "Whopper with Cheese". Classic.

Big Boi, 3 Stacks & Rae - Royal Flush *CDQ* [Nah Right]

Andre 3000 To Finally Bring 19th Century Anglophilia To Hip-Hop

Jess Harvell — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 11:35:49 EST

Since he couldn't possibly fill all of that OutKast downtime with guest verses and Hollywood turns, the man born Andre Benjamin, who then branded himself Andre 3000 and who's now once again Andre Benjamin, has also spent the last few months exploring the world of fancy frocks, hoping to allow the common man (with a little dough) to borrow some of his infamous mix-and-match sartorial style. The rapper-turned-clothier currently plans for an autumn debut for his upscale fashion imprint—think more high-end department store than the place you pick up your remaindered G-Unit apparel—Benjamin Bixby. The line is so named not for the man who was once the Incredible Hulk, but because...well, probably because it sounded like a jolly Dickens urchin. And if your closet is full of throwbacks and manpris, but light on cravats and waistcoats, then it just might be for you.

That mix of application and instinct carries over to his personal style. It takes a certain serenity to rock the resplendent Bixby outfit he recently wore to a Fashion Week party: wide-brimmed fedora, green waistcoat, buttery brown leather riding boots ("vintage") that pushed his pants up, jodhpur style. He looked more like a wealthy, eccentric caballero than a thirties jock toff, but then, he wants the line to tell stories. Benjamin Bixby, he says, "is a character who's kind of like your uncle, or your granddad, and he has a closet full of experiences and clothes, and he's been around the world..."

Tearing pages out of magazines as a kid left Benjamin with a reverence for English style: He fetishizes "timeless" clothes, name-checks old-school brands like Turnbull & Asser, and calls his own style "classic spontaneity" or "rebel gentleman." What this means, in effect, is doing a little remix. Here, he's wearing a Façonnable shirt with Polo khakis and a tie from his new line worn as a belt. "There has to be something inventive about it," he says. "But not so inventive that it's a turnoff. So that some of the greats, like Beau Brummell or the Duke of Windsor, would nod and say, 'Well done.' Those guys killed it." Now, that's hip-hop.

Considering the good Mr. Brummell infamously "claimed to polish his boots with champagne," that might not be so wide of the mark as haters might think. Not even hip-hop's most ball-'til-they-fall spendthrifts have suggested scrubbing a pair of kicks fresh and clean using Cristal. That we know of, anyway.

Andre Benjamin Launches New Clothing Line, Benjamin Bixby [New York Magazine]

There's a movie coming out about the WTO ...

Dick Malone — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 11:22:47 EDT

There's a movie coming out about the WTO protests in Seattle—you know, the ones from eight years ago—and Andre 3000 is apparently going to be in it. If we're lucky, it'll be a Strindberg-style symbolist drama, and Andre will be playing Oppressive Trade Policies. (Woody Harrelson will play Flawed Social Consciousness, and there will be a climactic ballet expressing globalization's unintended negative consequences. Bill Clinton will play himself, but wearing a Bill Clinton mask.) Also, Andre loves pirates. "Pirates, pirates, pirates," he says. [MTV]

Liner Notes: Metallica Begins Process Of Atoning For "St. Anger"

mjohnston — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 13:13:48 EST

- Metallica, now old enough to enter the "credibility-restoring Rick Rubin album" phase of its career, swears that its next album is going to be influenced by Master Of Puppets. [NME]
- OutKast's Andre 3000 will be in the next Will Ferrell vehicle, which finds the fish-out-of-water comedian on the basketball court. [SOHH]
- Tommy Lee is starting a clothing line for kids. No word on whether temporary stomach tattoos are part of the deal. [Blabbermouth.net]