André 3000
A visionary hip-hop artist who fused Southern funk with psychedelic poetry, forever expanding the genre's sonic and emotional palette.
Born 1975 (age 51)·American rapper·Birthday: May 27·Generation X
Biography
André 3000 emerged from Atlanta's creative ferment not just as a rapper, but as a style icon and a restless musical philosopher. With Big Boi as Outkast, he helped put Southern hip-hop on the map, but quickly outgrew any regional label. His flow was a nimble, sing-song counterpoint, and his lyrical concerns—alienation, spirituality, the quirks of Southern life—were light-years from street-centric convention. The duo's masterpiece, 'Stankonia,' and the sprawling, genre-dissolving 'Speakerboxxx/The Love Below' announced a new ambition for rap, with André's half functioning as a solo album of funk, jazz, and vulnerable introspection. After Outkast's hiatus, he became an elusive figure, acting, designing clothes, and playing flute in public, seemingly more interested in artistic curiosity than commercial pursuit, cementing his status as hip-hop's most fascinating enigma.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
André was born in 1975, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When André Was Born
The biggest hits of 1975
#1 Movie
Jaws
Best Picture
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
#1 TV Show
All in the Family
André's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1975Born
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1980Started school
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1988Became a teenager
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1991Could drive
Soviet Union dissolves; World Wide Web goes public
Gas: $1.14/galHome: $82,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" — Bryan AdamsBest Picture: The Silence of the Lambs
1993Could vote
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
1996Turned 21
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2005Turned 30
Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans; YouTube launches
Gas: $2.30/galHome: $167,500Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"We Belong Together" — Mariah CareyBest Picture: Crash
2015Turned 40
Paris climate agreement; same-sex marriage legalized in the US
Gas: $2.43/galHome: $171,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Uptown Funk" — Mark Ronson ft. Bruno MarsBest Picture: Spotlight
2025Turned 50
AI agents go mainstream
Gas: $3.10/galHome: $385,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"APT." — Rose & Bruno Mars
2026Age 51 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Outkast's double album 'Speakerboxxx/The Love Below' won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 2004, only the second hip-hop album to do so.
- He co-wrote and performed on the global hit 'Hey Ya!,' a song that defied genre and dominated pop culture in 2003.
- He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Outkast in 2024.
- The Outkast album 'Stankonia' is included in the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry for being culturally significant.
Did You Know?
He is an accomplished visual artist and cartoonist, having designed many of Outkast's album covers and his own clothing line.
He took up the flute in his forties and has been seen performing impromptu flute solos on street corners and in airports.
He voiced the character of Sunny Bridges in the animated series 'Class of 3000,' for which he also wrote and produced music.
He is left-handed but taught himself to play guitar right-handed.
“You plan and God laughs, you know? So I just try to stay open.”
