André 3000 has a theory behind a common criticism of contemporary Hip Hop — that many of today’s artists “sound the same.”
Appearing on LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s The Shop alongside Sexyy Red, Jerry Lorenzo and others, the OutKast legend — whose flute album is further proof that he’s one of the game’s most singular talents — offered his take on the hot-button topic.
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Highlighting how the music ecosystem has changed since he and Big Boi were honing their craft in the Dungeon, 3 Stacks said: “If we were to come out as OutKast when we thought we were ready, we wouldn’t be around today ’cause we sounded like everybody else, we sounded like who we were listening to.
“Now, I don’t think artists have time to cultivate themselves so a lot of artists sound the same. You can quickly jump on a microphone — it’s awesome because you’re getting an immediacy, but you don’t get time to hone who you are.”
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He then used Future and 2 Chainz‘s artistic evolution to illustrate his point: “Even Future came up in the Dungeon [Family]. I know Ray [Murray, one-third of Organized Noize] has Future recordings where Future sounds different; Future was rapping. It takes a minute. Even 2 Chainz. Like, Tity Boi was rapping.
“What I’m saying is, over time you develop a thing and you figure out, ‘Okay, this is most effective for me.’ And we see it and we love Future for what he does now, but I don’t know if it would’ve been as successful.”
André 3000’s sentiment was echoed by fellow rap veteran E-40 last year, albeit in more critical fashion.
In an interview with CBS Mornings‘ Nate Burleson to coincide with Hip Hop’s 50th anniversary celebrations, the Bay Area legend was asked for his thoughts on the current state of the genre.
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“I don’t like where it’s at ’cause I feel like there’s not enough creativity. A lot of people sound the same, bro. A lot of copycats. And a lot of them are saying the same things over and over and over, instead of mixing it up,” he said.
“I’m not trying to act like I’m hella positive, but I’m a storyteller. It’s really positive ’cause I talk about the repercussions, the consequences that can happen if you do this.”
Not everyone feels this way, though. Also last year, Charlamagne Tha God defended modern Hip Hop from its critics, claiming that the genre is doing just fine.
“I think Hip Hop is in a great place,” the radio personality said on Million Dollaz Worth of Game. “I think people that don’t like Hip Hop now are just mad that it’s not what it used to be. They’re stuck in an era. I love all these new dudes. My favorite dude is Kodak Black right now. I love LaRussell, I love Symba. I love Rapsody. I love fucking 21 Savage.”
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His Breakfast Club co-host DJ Envy also chimed in: “I love it not only for that — musically, the music is great — I love the fact that these brothers get money. They’re keeping themselves out of the hood, they’re paying for their families, paying for their mama’s cribs and all that.”
