I love Latina women
Veteran
At 39, André Benjamin is a veteran entertainer and actor. But his is still "really not a performer's personality."
André 3000 and Big Boi performed together as Outkast in Atlanta last weekend, concluding a six-month, globe-spanning festival tour honoring the 20th anniversary of their debut album. In the years before this mostly happy reunion, André had been attached to several rumored Jimi Hendrix biopics, and now one, called Jimi: All Is By My Side, has finally been released in the U.S. He used to rarely sit for interviews, but he's given several lately. Stationed at the Manhattan office of his PR firm, he spoke about why he roots for immigrants, dislikes being a celebrity and the anxieties he shares with his teenage son. Wearing a leather kimono over a white waffle henley, he confirmed that there were once plans to release an Outkast Greatest Hits album this year, but said he didn't know for sure what would come of those plans.
At the beginning of this film, your character is being criticized by a woman for going by a stage name. Later, he drops the stage name and uses his own. You've said recently that fans don't want you, they want a character. Why is playing André 3000 something that works for you?
Sometimes when you play characters or you put yourself outside yourself, it gives you a freedom to be something else. And it's just fun, too, especially if you're not like a really outgoing person. It's funny: my personality is really not a performer's personality. I have to really work at being a performer. I grew up an only child, no brothers and sisters, so I basically played by myself. And if you watch early Outkast interviews, Big Boi's doing all the talking. He was the confidence part.
You've been attached to Jimi Hendrix projects for years. Is the Hendrix chapter of your life closed now?
It's definitely closed. I never want to go back to it ever again.
Two women furthered Hendrix's career in the late '60s: Keith Richards' girlfriend Linda Keith and Kathy Etchingham. This film takes care to point out that, behind great men, you often find great women.
That's true in any case. I don't care who you are. You can be Picasso, you can be Miles Davis, a politician, anybody. Unless you're a homosexual male, there's always a woman around—I mean, even then there's probably a woman around. I think it's because there's a certain closeness there. You let them in more than you would let a dude in, so there's a certain closeness there. And I think women are, like, maternal in a way, so they know the things to tell you or they can see things in you. They can help pull out things.
Is Erykah Badu your Linda Keith?
She's been a Linda. Erykah was definitely one of those people. She was definitely a cheerleader. But I mean, I've had a lot of Lindas. You always have different muses at different parts of your life. I've had those muses, people that turn me on to new music, that you never would have gotten in to. And they all affect you. Even just kinda letting you know what it's like to be a woman. To kinda influence what you're doing.
Do you consider yourself a feminist? Ah, yeah. Of course. Because I've grown up in this male-dominated world I think I kinda get beside myself sometimes about things, but for the most I am definitely a feminist. I want the equality of things.
You've said that it's "rebellious" to make music about loving women. Are you surprised by a song like K Camp's "Cut Her Off" which is so flagrantly foul toward women?
One thing rap has done is let people build up these personalities. Really, most of the guys that say that kind of stuff, it's for pure protection. They've probably been hurt at one point in time or they're tying to build this wall or trying to let future women know: "Don't try it with me." I've been guilty of it, too, in my earlier raps, and I know my mom raised me much better than what I'd been talking. But you do it because you wanna impress people around you, you wanna feel invincible, you wanna feel tough. And that's a part of rap. You never wanna have any kind of weak links. Part of that is you never let a woman be powerful enough to infiltrate and get to you. So to make it seem like it's nothing, it ain't nothin to cut that bytch off—and I mean, I can't speak for K Camp personally—but as a whole, you're always gonna have that armor. It's really armor. And "Cut Her Off" is a great song because it's an emotion, and he's being true about it in that moment, and it sounds great. K Camp really got down last year.
André 3000 and Big Boi performed together as Outkast in Atlanta last weekend, concluding a six-month, globe-spanning festival tour honoring the 20th anniversary of their debut album. In the years before this mostly happy reunion, André had been attached to several rumored Jimi Hendrix biopics, and now one, called Jimi: All Is By My Side, has finally been released in the U.S. He used to rarely sit for interviews, but he's given several lately. Stationed at the Manhattan office of his PR firm, he spoke about why he roots for immigrants, dislikes being a celebrity and the anxieties he shares with his teenage son. Wearing a leather kimono over a white waffle henley, he confirmed that there were once plans to release an Outkast Greatest Hits album this year, but said he didn't know for sure what would come of those plans.
At the beginning of this film, your character is being criticized by a woman for going by a stage name. Later, he drops the stage name and uses his own. You've said recently that fans don't want you, they want a character. Why is playing André 3000 something that works for you?
Sometimes when you play characters or you put yourself outside yourself, it gives you a freedom to be something else. And it's just fun, too, especially if you're not like a really outgoing person. It's funny: my personality is really not a performer's personality. I have to really work at being a performer. I grew up an only child, no brothers and sisters, so I basically played by myself. And if you watch early Outkast interviews, Big Boi's doing all the talking. He was the confidence part.
You've been attached to Jimi Hendrix projects for years. Is the Hendrix chapter of your life closed now?
It's definitely closed. I never want to go back to it ever again.
Two women furthered Hendrix's career in the late '60s: Keith Richards' girlfriend Linda Keith and Kathy Etchingham. This film takes care to point out that, behind great men, you often find great women.
That's true in any case. I don't care who you are. You can be Picasso, you can be Miles Davis, a politician, anybody. Unless you're a homosexual male, there's always a woman around—I mean, even then there's probably a woman around. I think it's because there's a certain closeness there. You let them in more than you would let a dude in, so there's a certain closeness there. And I think women are, like, maternal in a way, so they know the things to tell you or they can see things in you. They can help pull out things.
Is Erykah Badu your Linda Keith?
She's been a Linda. Erykah was definitely one of those people. She was definitely a cheerleader. But I mean, I've had a lot of Lindas. You always have different muses at different parts of your life. I've had those muses, people that turn me on to new music, that you never would have gotten in to. And they all affect you. Even just kinda letting you know what it's like to be a woman. To kinda influence what you're doing.
Do you consider yourself a feminist? Ah, yeah. Of course. Because I've grown up in this male-dominated world I think I kinda get beside myself sometimes about things, but for the most I am definitely a feminist. I want the equality of things.
You've said that it's "rebellious" to make music about loving women. Are you surprised by a song like K Camp's "Cut Her Off" which is so flagrantly foul toward women?
One thing rap has done is let people build up these personalities. Really, most of the guys that say that kind of stuff, it's for pure protection. They've probably been hurt at one point in time or they're tying to build this wall or trying to let future women know: "Don't try it with me." I've been guilty of it, too, in my earlier raps, and I know my mom raised me much better than what I'd been talking. But you do it because you wanna impress people around you, you wanna feel invincible, you wanna feel tough. And that's a part of rap. You never wanna have any kind of weak links. Part of that is you never let a woman be powerful enough to infiltrate and get to you. So to make it seem like it's nothing, it ain't nothin to cut that bytch off—and I mean, I can't speak for K Camp personally—but as a whole, you're always gonna have that armor. It's really armor. And "Cut Her Off" is a great song because it's an emotion, and he's being true about it in that moment, and it sounds great. K Camp really got down last year.
Seven is 17