Remember Tretorn sneakers from back in the day? If you’re anything like André 3000, you probably either took markers or dye to custom-design a fresh pair of white ones. The sneakers were simple and made popular by tennis players, but they were a mainstay in the rapper’s attire when he was younger. And now he’s living out his designing dream after teaming up with the company as its creative director.
But what about the music, you’re probably wondering?
In an interview with Complex, it seems as though music is now on the back burner for the Atlanta rapper.
“I kind of like not being a part of [rap], now that I’ve done it,” he said. “As I get older, I start to see myself move more back from it—the hustle and bustle of putting out an album, the pressure of being in the studio trying to come up with something. Now it’s more like a hobby for me, so I don’t think about it in that way.”
Although he’s made a couple of guest appearances on tracks, the likelihood of his own album or even an Outkast reunion seems to be slim.
It seems as though whereas rappers like Jay-Z are still rapping in their 40s, André, even when he was 25, didn’t want to be a 30-year-old rapper. And now that lack of desire is even more obvious.
“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? When I watch other rappers that are my age, I commend them, but I just wonder where the inspiration is coming from. At this stage, I’m really more focused on what I am going to be doing 10 years from now. And I hope to God it won’t be rapping,” he continued.