André 3000 Reveals Why He Skipped This Year’s Hip-Hop 50 Celebrations

André 3000’s conflicted feelings toward hip-hop were again highlighted in a new interview with CBS Mornings on Wednesday (Dec. 6). 

With this year dubbed the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, many heralded luminaries expressed their unconditional love for the culture, including Nas, LL Cool J, Will Smith and more. 3000 noted that while he received a bevy of offers to participate in this year’s festivities, he turned them down. “I wouldn’t want to be — I’m doing it just because I’m trying to meet an expectation,” he said. “I didn’t get into OutKast for that, you know.”

Last month, 3000 released his debut album, New Blue Sun, which is comprised of eight songs. To the dismay of many rap purists, he didn’t provide any bars, and instead devoted his attention to his newfound love for woodwind instruments. 

“When people ask me about a rap album, ‘Man, I would love a rap album,’ I’m with you,” he said. “But it’s like, I want to be with you when I’m really on it.”

He added, “I don’t sit and try to rap every day like when I was younger, and that’s all I did when I was younger. I miss those times a lot, but it’s like life changes: life moves on.”

New Blue Sun debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard New Age Albums chart and bowed at No. 5 on the Top Alternative Albums chart. New Blue Sun also earned 24,000 equivalent album units, according to Luminate, with 15,000 coming through streaming equivalent units and 9,000 via album sales.

Watch Andre’s interview with CBS News here. 

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