18 December 2019
Newsdesk
Andre 3000 says he hasn't been able to work on new music because of writer's block and a lack of confidence.
The 'Hey Ya!' hitmaker - whose full name is André Lauren Benjamin - has admitted that being in the spotlight has also got in the way of him making new material.
In an interview with the Broken Record podcast, Andre told producer Rick Rubin: "I'd like to, but it's just not coming.
"I haven't been making much music, man.
"My focus is not there, my confidence is not there.
"Once the attention is on that world, the world goes away."
Andre's last studio album with his group OutKast was 2006's 'Idlewild'.
However, he's appeared on a number of collaborations since then, including on Frank Ocean's track 'Pink Matter' from 2012's 'Channel Orange' LP, Beyonce's 'Party' in 2011, and Gorillaz's 'DoYaThing' alongside LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy.
The 44-year-old star added that it doesn't help that everything he puts out is "instantly attacked" by critics and suggested that he no longer has "the space to experiment like he used to".
He added: "Any little thing I put out, it's instantly attacked, not in a good or bad way.
"People nitpick it with a fine-tooth comb.
'Oh, he said that word!' And that's not a great place to create from and it makes you draw back.
"Maybe I don't have the confidence that I want, or the space to experiment like I used too."
Andre previously questioned whether he still wants to be making music, as he admitted he didn't want to be "a 30-year-old rapper".
He said in 2017: "When I was 25, I said I don't want to be a 30-year-old rapper. I'm 42 now, and I feel more and more that way. "Do I really want to be 50 years old up there doing that?"
