André 3000 has released a statement in response to Drake leaking a new song he is featured on with Kanye West.
On the track, titled "Life of the Party," Yeezy takes multiple shots at Drizzy, while Three Stacks asks Kanye’s late mother, Ms. Donda West, to send her his heartfelt messages to his deceased mom Sharon Benjamin Hodo.
In statement to Rolling Stone on Saturday (Sept. 4), André explained the creative process behind his heartfelt verses on the track.
“A few weeks ago Kanye reached out about me being a part of the Donda album. I was inspired by his idea to make a musical tribute to his mom. It felt appropriate to me to support the Donda concept by referencing my own mother, who passed away in 2013," he stated. "We both share that loss. I thought it was a beautiful choice to make a clean album but, unfortunately, I didn’t know that was the plan before I wrote and recorded my verse. It was clear to me that an edited ‘clean’ format of the verse would not work without having the raw, original also available. So, sadly, I had to be omitted from the original album release. The track I received and wrote to didn’t have the diss verse on it and we were hoping to make a more focused offering for the Donda album but I guess things happen like they are supposed to."
André added that he’s disappointed that the song was released amid the backdrop of a feud between Kanye and Drake. The OutKast member also wanted to be on Drizzy’s Certified Lover Boy album and hopes that he can contribute on Kendrick Lamar’s upcoming project.
"It’s unfortunate that it was released in this way and two artists that I love are going back and forth," he said. "I wanted to be on Certified Lover Boy too. I just want to work with people that inspire me. Hopefully, I can work with Kendrick on his album. I’d love to work with Lil Baby, Tyler, [The Creator] and Jay-Z. I respect them all.”
You can listen to Kanye West’s song "Life of the Party" here.