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André 3000 Admits His Outkast Wandering Is Him Being ‘Lost’ Over Death Of Mother

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Drake may have spoiled Kanye West’s chances of a ceremonious comeback by leaking his “The Life Of The Party” single — but that didn’t make André 3000’s lyrics any less potent, despite not being mixed and mastered.

The Donda non-cut showcased the reclusive rap legend lamenting over the death of his mother (who passed away in 2013 — a day after his 38th birthday), questioning the afterlife and his mortality and even quelling notions that his infrequent “flute-playing” sightings weren’t clips of a deeper period piece.

He’s searching.

“Miss Donda, if you see my mama, tell her I’m lost…” André 3000 raps with casual conviction on part of the track. “I’m supposed to smile, as if God knew that I would be troubled/Keeps me around, for what I don’t know but I do know that it’s crucial that we do so pronto/I don’t know how much long though?”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QcQpGHiK1I

Mrs. Sharon Benjamin-Hodo died in her sleep on May 29, 2013 — a day after André 3000 turned 38 years old. Elsewhere on Life Of The Party, the pioneering Atlanta MC searches for signs in life to speak to her rapping, “Maybe she has [spoke to me] in the form of a baby’s laugh I heard passing by in a stroller, remindin’ me, ‘Hey, keep rolling on’ I don’t know, maybe she has with a prick of a blade of grass I’ve been layin’ on way too long, got me itchy/Got up and roamed a lil’ more.”

André 3000’s wordplay correlation to Kanye’s own loss in addition to the sample usage from 1970s R&B soul band The Dramatics gave the record a sense of quality and direction the overall project deviated away from.

With over 20 million (physical) albums sold (including a diamond certification for 2004’s SpeakerBoxx/The Love Below, 6 Grammy Awards, and even more than 14 million existing Spotify monthly listeners, André 3000 and Outkast’s legacy has been solidified multiple times over.

However, the group’s last release came courtesy of 2006’s Idlewilde and fans have since grown accustomed to collecting 3 Stacks’ random appearances akin to Pokémon GO or NFTs in the open space.

Yet evidenced from his constant trending on Twitter through the dissection of his cultivated lyricism over the years, André 3000 is yearning for a deeper meaning in life, which has kept him away from rapping on a consistent basis.

While Kanye West is undoubtedly plotting his next battleship move, G.O.O.D. Music capo Consequence went ahead and stated his disapproval regarding Drake’s radio boom — and his intentions for a response.

“Since “Life of The Party” got Leaked… I guess it’s Party Time,” the “Spaceship” rapper tweeted on Saturday (September 4).

Time will reveal what that truly means for Drake and OVO.