2007 in Review: Andre Benjamin

This is what the best rapper alive looks like.

On 2003's The Love Below, Andre 3000 used a combination of Prince-tinged pop, off-key singing, and free-association rap to position himself as a forbearer in a movement to change the sound of hip-hop. Anyone who had been listening to 'Dre on the Dungeon Family and OutKast albums preceding The Love Below's release could have anticipated this transformation (arguably, earlier attempted by Dungeon Family member Cee-Lo Green). However, to a wide swath of hip-hop fans, it seemed sudden and undeveloped and (rightly) few artists in his genre were quick to follow his lead. Indeed, those that did garnered precious little acclaim (I still blame The Love Below for ruining Mos Def's rap career). In the end, Andre 3K's last attempt to reinvent hip-hop isolated him as a lone figure chipping at the walls of a monolithic genre.

So, after the massive success of the album, Andre went into musical hibernation, shifting his focus to acting (eh) and cartooning (huh?). But, quietly in 2007, Three Stacks has reappeared with a series of off-kilter guest spots culminating in a new OutKast single, "The Art of Storytelling pt. 4." On each of these singles, the enigmatic Andre is no less ambitious than before - he still seems to intend to topple hip-hop, but now he works, like the mythical Trojan Horse, from within the empire's walls.



3000 in 2007:
Throw Some D's (remix):
On the only verse worth listening to, 'Dre proves that he can still threaten to do someone physical harm as well as any other multi-millionaire rapper.

Quotable: Sheep, count em for the rest of your life / Yeah, your partner got away, but now he's vegetable-like


You:
On Lloyd's first single, Andre tells a fairy-tale about a dewy-eyed loverboy (played by himself) unnerved by a fetching Whole Foods checkout girl. Awwww.

Quotable: We in the Whole Foods / And those fools aint supposed to beef / But you'd think they hated tofu


Walk It Out (remix):
On the remix to one of the smash-hit dance-rap singles of the year, 3000 plays the codger, wagging his finger at the kids for everything from their slang t0 their dress to their after-party habits

Quotable: Your white T, well to me, look like a nightgown / Make ya mama proud and take that thing two sizes down.


What A Job:
Andre, Snoop, and Devin the Dude wax lyrical about the joys and struggles of songcraft. Andre's verse is the standout, especially when he tries to explain exactly why he raps.

Quotable: ¡Exactamundo! / But we just keep recording / And it aint to get no condo / And candy Bentley, fanny with no panties in Miami / And that cute lil chick named Tammy that you took to the Grammys / See, we do it for that boy that graduated / That looked you in your eyes real tough and said 'preciate it


International Players' Anthem (video here):
Rap Song of the Year. The story goes that Andre was originally asked to appear on the song, but passed up on the offer. At the 11th hour, he asked if they still wanted him on the track. His final verse did not exactly match the beat, but it was so brilliant that UGK asked Three-6 Mafia to tweak the beginning so Andre could leave the verse unchanged.
Those Underground Kingz have a good ear. The entire verse is a treatise on what makes Andre reincarnate so wonderful. His verse stands totally apart from the rest on the song. There's no motor-mouthed pimp talk or jaundiced complaints about the ex-wife. Instead, he talks about new love with sentiment so assured that it could only be true love. Unless Dre was using a clever double-negative when he famously rhymed that his "heart does not go pitty-pat for no rat," a whole lot has changed.

Quotable: None. You should play this on repeat enough to memorize all the words.


Outkast ft. Marsha Ambrosius: Da Art of Storytelling Part 4
A new OutKast track emerged in November '07 and it was well-worth the wait. There are way too many clever turns of phrase and uses of imagery for me to analyze here. Big Boi and Andre are back - if they ever left.

Quotable: I started out starving / Now they got me Brett Favre-ing / Trying to see if I still got it