Andre 3000 Says Outkast Are Still Tight

08/09/06 7:00pm

by Scott Bryson (CHARTattack)

Rumours of an Outkast break-up have been swirling around the music industry ever since the award-winning duo split their efforts on 2003's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.

When Andre 3000 decided not to tour for the album (leaving partner Big Boi to do it on his own), it seemed as though the nails were finally being driven into the Outkast coffin.

Tired of the mounting rumours about the duo's future, Andre contacted MTV News this week in an attempt to clear the air.

"Yesterday I got a phone call from Big Boi and he said that on some hip-hop websites that the headlines were reading something to the effect of, 'It's Official: Outkast Is Broken Up,' or something like that," Andre said. "And man, we're looking at it like, where is this shit coming from?

"I was on TRL today to release a new video, and I meant to say something on the air. But the way they had the questions set up, I didn't have a chance to do it."

Andre said that not only were the false breakup rumours spreading across the internet, they were plaguing him on the street as well.

"Niggas hit me in the street like, 'Yeah man, I heard the bad news. Sorry to hear about that.' I'm like, 'Man, what are you talking about?' Everything is still tight, most definitely."

Also adding fuel to the rumour fire lately is the fact that Andre and Big Boi appear separately in the videos for two solo songs — "Idlewild Blue (Don'tchu Worry 'Bout Me)" and "Morris Brown" respectively — to promote the impending release of their soundtrack and movie, Idlewild.

Other songs on the soundtrack such as "Mighty O," which features both men rapping, haven't been turned into videos. Andre blamed that on not being able to find the right way to present "Mighty O" in a timely fashion.

"Really, we were supposed to shoot the 'Mighty O' video, but we were shuffling around with too many treatments and it got too late," Andre explained. "The record company and film company felt that it was probably better off to help sell the movie to go with these songs ['Idlewild Blue' and 'Morris Brown']. But originally we were supposed to come out with just one single."

Andre also cleared up recent untruths that have surfaced about Outkast's apparent snubbing of The Oprah Winfrey Show. The pair had planned to appear on the show to promote Idlewild, but a shifting release date forced scheduling conflicts that couldn't be resolved.

"Really man, this album, it's been a whole bunch of crazy rumours," Andre said. "[One source said] we turned Oprah down and all this type of stuff which was totally not true... They make it seem like we're jumping on the bandwagon with 50 Cent and Ludacris and some people boycotting, which is totally not the case."

Andre also confirmed that he and Big Boi are at work on a new Outkast album, but was unwilling to reveal any details.

"We're holding it under wraps. We want to keep it on the low so expectations won't be a certain way. But we're still doing music."