Though OutKast's reunion this past year was one of the most anticipated in recent memory, the critical response of the Atlanta duo's festival appearances was often less than stellar, and in a recent interview with The Fader, Andre Benjamin (a.k.a. Andre 3000) reveals why. Talking with electronic musician Nicolas Jaar, Benjamin admits that he didn't actually want the reunion to happen, and that he felt like a "sell-out."
"Honestly, just, you know — I didn't want to do the tour," Benjamin says about his reunion with musical partner Big Boi. "I felt weird about going out on stage and doing it again...I felt like people would be like, 'Y'all are doing all these festivals, y'all are just doing it for money.' And I felt like a sell-out, honestly. So I was like, if I'm in on the joke, I'll feel cool about it."
Benjamin goes on to reveal that the distinctive jumpsuits he wore during OutKast's reunion performances were attempts at "saying new stuff while doing these old songs," though the jumpsuits only came about after a rocky debut at Coachella 2014. "My first Coachella show, which was a horrible show...I didn't know what to wear on stage," he says, "so it was my overalls."
However, Benjamin also suggests that being up front and honest about "selling out" is a preferable alternative to pretending you're not. "I"m 39, I got a 17-year-old kid and I gotta support certain things," he says, "And my partner Big Boi is like, 'This is a great thing for all of us.' So I felt like there was a certain sell-out in a way, because I didn't wanna do it — I knew I was doing it for a reason."
"So maybe if I'm telling people, 'I am selling out,'" he continues, "then it's not as bad as pretending. It's being honest about it like, 'S**t, I did these songs when I was 17 and I'm out here pedaling them now.' But it's the honest thing, that's what it is."
As for Big Boi's thoughts on the OutKast reunion, you can check out this interview with Complex:
