Clipse thinks that André 3000 still has a lot in him in regards to hip-hop.
Last month, the Virginia rap duo, composed of brothers Pusha T, 46, and No Malice, 51, guested on the live podcast Idea Generation, hosted by former Complex Editor-in-Chief Noah Callahan-Bever. Held on the night that Three Stacks released his solo debut New Blue Sun (Nov. 16), which showcases him playing the flute instead of rapping, Bever asked Clipse if being of an older age was a deterrent to rapping.
"Absolutely not, definitely not," said No Malice around the 44-minute mark.
"I think it's kind of stifling to the genre to even think like that," added Push. "Man, as long as you're living rap and you're living hip-hop in all capacities, and as long as you're still sharp with that pen, you got something to say. I mean, we want to hear it."
"Not only living hip-hop [but] also to add to that... living life," No Malice added. "If you have something to offer, if you have something to say, just information and you're still creative [...] I can even appreciate someone who says it ain't for them and they don't want to do it, and that's where they are with their life."
"But as far as who you are and what you have to offer, that should never stop."
On sharpening their crafts amid the rise of younger rappers, Push admitted that he aims to make music that's "so great that it competes with everything." "When you stop being great that's when you got to get out."
The LOX and Lil Wayne also spoke on 3000's sentiments, with the former urging him to rap again while on 105.1's The Breakfast Club. On his Apple Music show Young Money Radio, Weezy called Three Stacks's remarks "depressing," and that he hasn't run out of anything to talk about in his 40s.
Although No Malice briefly retired from Clipse following their 2009 album Til the Casket Drops, he's slowly made a comeback in the last decade, releasing two solo albums and featuring on tracks with Kanye West and Push. Older rappers are also present in the genre, including the aforementioned West and Pusha, along with Danny Brown, Freddie Gibbs, Lupe Fiasco, Boldy James and more.
Throughout the New Blue Sun rollout, 3000 told fans that he couldn't muster a full-length rap album, although he's contributed ocassional guest verses over the past 15 years. "I write down ideas and lyrics all the time," he said on CBS Mornings last week. "And maybe I haven't found the music that's inspiring enough for me to want to write raps to. Or maybe I got to find a new way to rap. If I don't feel like I'm doing something, it don't matter to me."
