André 3000 Reflects on Working With Beyoncé: ‘We Have a Kinship’

André 3000 and Beyoncé have teamed up for collaborations in the past and he even named a song after Queen Bey on his New Blue Sun album.

The Hollywood Reporter caught up with Three Stacks on Monday (Dec. 16) for a rare sit-down interview, where he reflected on working with the pop icon.

“Really just being excited about working together because we performed together during the ‘Hey Ya!’ times in England [in 2003],” the Outkast legend recalled. “That was some of the first times I’ve met her, so being able to record, I think we’ve always had respect for each other and been fans.

He continued: “To be reached out by Beyoncé, ‘Hey, can you get on this song?’ I’m like, ‘Hell, yeah, you know I’m with it.’ Yeah, it was a cool musical family thing. I think people from a certain era, we have a kinship.”

Three Stacks and Bey joined forces for “Back to Black” from The Great Gatsby soundtrack in 2013 and “Party” a couple of years prior. He detailed the vision of naming his “Ninety Three ‘Til Infinity And Beyoncé” after the Houston-bred music deity.

“The title was really a play on words, just referencing things that I was into,” he began. “Souls of Mischief, one of their most famous songs was called ’93 ‘Til Infinity,’ and that’s when I was coming out of high school. That was one of my favorite rap tracks. Then I thought it was funny to put that together with a Toy Story proclamation, ‘Until infinity and beyond.’”

Dre even received Jay-Z and Bey’s blessing: “That was a thing that the character would say in the movie, and I would say, “Why not Beyoncé?” It was funny; it was a play on pop culture stuff. I reached out to Jay-Z and Beyoncé and asked if it was cool. She’s like, ‘Yeah.’ So I was happy.”