The world almost lost a young André Benjamin before he had the opportunity to bless it with his extraterrestrial lyrics.
As pointed out by HipHopDX, André 3000 recalled being involved in a nearly fatal car accident as a child in journalist Mike Ayers' upcoming book One Last Song.
"When I was younger, me and my friend were in a car accident. We were riding with my friend’s mom, but we were so young, we didn’t know what happened until we woke up in the hospital. I didn’t know. I was a kid," André said.
"Fortunately, we were on this street in Atlanta and it was a non-busy street. And fortunately this guy who had money passed by—and he had one of the first working cell phones. It was like a suitcase. And he was able to call an ambulance," the rapper continues. "If we didn’t have that cell phone, we would have been out there for a minute — and might have died. Who knows. I don’t know if that’s a near-death experience. But I was definitely lucky."
André 3000's purpose for telling the story wasn't to show fans how blessed they are to have him in their lives. He was actually trying to explain how much Prince's song "Sometimes It Snows in April" meant to him. To him, the track personifies how quickly things can change. For 3 Stacks, "Sometimes It Snows in April" connects to his near-death experience and the deaths of his stepfather and mother. As a result, he wants it played at his deathbed when it's time for him to leave Earth.
"When I was younger, I heard ‘Sometimes It Snows in April’ by Prince. That was always a song that summed up what it is," he said. "Usually, when someone dies, unless they die of old age or sickness—it happens in a strange way. Both of my parents are gone and they both died early. Just out of the blue, when I least expected it."
