André 3000 Admits ‘Idlewild’ Might Have Been OutKast’s One ‘Slip’

André 3000 is among the select few who can get away with saying something even remotely negative about OutKast, and he has now singled out their final album for potentially blemishing their résumé.

On Thursday (November 16), GQ shared an interview with the Southern rap icon as he prepares to release his first-ever solo album later this week. During the chat, he discussed the success he and Big Boi enjoyed at an early age and how it kept proliferating with each album.

“It was a blessing to be successful that young,” he said. “I think our career is kind of interesting because since our very first album, we’ve gone platinum and just kept rising. Like, so next album was double, next three — it just kept rising.”

The conversation then shifted to the duo’s second to last album, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, which recently became the best-selling rap album of all time after being certified 13x platinum.

“We haven’t taken a fall, y’know what I mean?” he added. “And I think sometimes you build character or you build something by failure. Idlewild may have been our slip. You never know — the only thing you can do is be honest about what you’re doing at the time.”

Watch the 48-year-old discuss OutKast’s discography at the 24:06 mark below:

The elusive Three Stacks made a surprise return to social media earlier this week to reveal that his new project, New Blue Sun, will drop on Friday (November 17).

It will serve as his first official solo album, although he did release a disc of his own material on Speakerboxxx/The Love Below in 2003.

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Earlier this week, NPR published an interview with the Atlanta legend in which he discussed the upcoming record as well as the woodwind instrument that is central to its sound.

He shared that New Blue Sun is not a rap record. In fact, it doesn’t even feature any vocals from him. Instead, it’s “a stunning 87-minute mind-bender, minimalist and experimental, tribal and transcendent” that finds the reclusive rap icon showcasing his talents on a range of flutes.

There are no guest appearances from fellow Hip Hop heavyweights either, though jazz musicians such as Carlos Niño, Surya Botofasina and Nate Mercereau have contributed to the tracklist.