Andre 3000 has put an end to talk that pairing his guest verses with rhymes from Big Boi on remixes by Frank Ocean and, reportedly, T.I., constitutes an OutKast reunion, Spin reports.
A recent remix of Ocean's "Pink Matter" added a verse from Big Boi, who is also said to be on a rumored remix of T.I.'s "Sorry." Andre 3000 also appears on both tracks, too, leading to media characterizations of an OutKast reunion. Not so, Dre says.
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"I never want to mislead our audience – I worried that some would think these were Outkast collaborations," Andre said in a statement. "These songs are not Outkast collaborations. I discussed this rationale with Big, Frank and T.I. and everyone agreed. That is why I was surprised to read about these remixes."
Big Boi helped give the reunion rumors credence, tweeting in July that the version of "Pink Matter" he appeared on didn't make it to Ocean's Channel Orange because "Dre didn't want an OutKast Record Coming out on anybody else LP." More recently, the rapper wrote he was contributing to T.I.'s new track, "Sorry."
Andre says he rapped on the songs independently of his OutKast partner. "I was approached as a solo artist by both Frank Ocean & Tip," said Dre. "I discussed musical direction with each artist and completed my verses. It was after that when Big Boi's name came up."
Dre closed by saying: "I understand that anyone can put out an unofficial remix to any song but I have an obligation to be honest with fans about what this is . . . and what it isn't."
The dapper rapper also skirted OutKast reunion talk during a chat with Rolling Stone last November, and added that "things are kind of up in the air" with his own material, too.
