Young Thug shaded André 3000 in a recent interview, despite the Outkast rapper having championed the fellow Atlanta artist on more than a couple occasions.
Although André 3000 has publicly advocated for — and is a fan of — Young Thug, it seems as if the feeling isn’t mutual.
During an appearance on T.I.’s expediTIously podcast series earlier this month, Thug offered some unfavorable comments about 3000 that came about when T.I. compared the two’s eccentric fashion choices when asking Thug about his Jeffery dress.
“I can’t rap you two André 3000 songs. I ain’t never paid attention to him, never in my life,” Thug said.
In response, T.I. said the two rappers need to work together, which Thugger doesn’t seem to outright deny, telling Tip, “We definitely do,” before T.I. goes on to reference Thug’s collaboration with Elton John.
“But the difference between Elton John and André is – to simplify it – Elton John likes to kiss ass, and Dre likes his ass kissed,” the rapper said.
“Elton John like, ‘Hey! I love you, I remember your first song, I remember Gucci first song, when is Guwop getting out?’ He a fan type of ni**a, to the point where I’m like ‘let’s do music,’ and he’s like ‘ni**a bet,’” Thugger continued, before going on to express that the Outkast rapper would instead refer the So Much Fun rapper to his secretary.
At that point T.I. comes to 3000’s defense, referring to him as an ally, which Thug disagrees with.
“He’s who ally? Yeah fuckin right. Why you don’t rap like him? You don’t talk like him, dress like him, look like him. You ain’t trying to portray none of that,” he said.
The exchange, which gained a notable reaction on social media over the weekend, isn’t bizarre in the sense that Thug says he can’t rap André’s songs. This has happened many times in rap where a rapper has voiced that they don’t listen to a particular rapper not out of dislike but indifference, especially when it comes to older rappers that don’t immediately precede them. And, in the case of Thug, although there are a number of Atlanta rappers that have preceded him, he has been vocal about a particular New Orleans rapper being his biggest influence.
Young Thug says he hasn’t worked with Andre 3000 because he feels Dre looks down on the new generation.
I feel like Thug made that up in his head.
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— Justin L. Hunte ?????? (@TheCompanyMan) November 27, 2020
Young Thug: “I’ve never paid attention to André 3000 in my life”
also young thug: pic.twitter.com/JEBdrnwRdq
— mariano ? #NonnieDay ? (@TheRapAgenda) November 27, 2020
Young Thug: “André 3000 wants his ass kissed”
André 3000: pic.twitter.com/X8ceqRfXMF
— WORLD SERIES CHAMPS (@_jaytrent) November 27, 2020
However, what is bizarre is how Thugger seems to view André as someone who wouldn’t be interested in collaborating with him, especially considering how much of a supporter 3 Stacks has been of Thug.
In 2016, he shouted him out during a surprise appearance on a Kidd Kraddick Morning Show interview with L.A. Reid; a couple months later, he name-dropped Thug again at Phife Dawg’s funeral, saying:
I had a conversation with [Q-Tip] and it shocked the shit out of me. One day, he said, “When y’all came out as Outkast, I knew that the tides had changed. I knew rap had changed.” And I knew what he was talking about because when I see [Lil] Wayne and Young Thug, I’m like, “Ohhh, I can’t keep up with that shit. It’s so dope.” It’s the connection. They’re them because of us and it has to keep going. All this old niggas hatin on the young niggas, that shit got to stop. It’s all music. It’s all influence. It’ll keep going because we’re all connected.
Back in 2016 at Phife Dawg’s funeral, Andre 3000 personally shouted out Young Thug when talking about the new generation of rappers changing the tide of music. Let this show that EGO is the death of men pic.twitter.com/PhNsOLSyuK
— LOCAL BLACK GIRL FOR HIRE (@IamNiaRae) November 27, 2020
Two years later, he offered more affirming words about Thug in an interview with Complex, saying:
He’s exciting. There’s no box. He’s all over the place. To do those things he does, you have to have big fuckin’ balls. It’s almost harder than the guy who’s portraying hard, you know? It’s kind of mind-fucking people. It’s saying, “Don’t get too comfortable with me.” That’s one of my mottos: Don’t let people get too comfortable with what you’re doing.
With these instances in mind, it’s hard to understand where Thug’s shade at 3000 is coming from. But hopefully, this will all indirectly lead to the two coming together and collaborating.