There’s a reason Andre Benjamin, best known under his stage name Andre 3000, wore 47 custom jumpsuits during this summer’s Outkast reunion tour.
In a recent interview with The Fader, Benjamin revealed that the jumpsuits, which are currently being shown in an exhibit at Art Basel in Miami, were his way of expressing his feelings about the hip-hop duo’s 20th anniversary tour. “Honestly—I didn’t wanna do the tour,” Benjamin said.
The rapper may have reunited with Outkast partner Big Boi for the first time onstage in 10 years, but he wasn’t excited about the music. “I’m like, how am I gonna present these songs? I don’t have nothing new to say,” Benjamin told the magazine. To add something fresh to his performances, Benjamin said that he came up with the idea to create jumpsuits with unique slogans on them. “It became a theme where I was more excited about this than the actual show,” he said.
But overall, the rapper still feels that he let his fans down and is doing the Art Basel exhibit to make up for it in a way. “I felt like a sell-out, honestly,” Benjamin said. “So I was like, if I’m in on the joke, I’ll feel cool about it.”
A film by Greg Brunkalla titled “Trumpets” is also playing alongside Benjamin’s exhibit. It will project the quotes from the suits along with images to provide further commentary.
For the full interview, head to The Fader.