I Swear, This Is Not An André 3000 Diss Song

Are we out of time? I swear I want to like this Andre album
When they announced it, I got all excited
This artist I've admired is finally out of hiding
Somehow, he got inspired, then decided
It's time to break his silence, but he told us he's staying silent

Playing flute instead of rhyming
I'm like, "yeah, okay, that's cool, I'm behind it"
Something different, but something's missing
It felt way off, like watching Jordan play baseball

Then I got suspicious, like Andre
Did you let your inner critic win?
Did you convince yourself that you isn't Him?
Do you got hard drives full of hidden gems
Locked behind computers and won't let us in?

And listen, you don't have to, yeah, I get it, man
But who am I supposed to listen to? Lil who?
Or another rapper with ghost writers
Whose only asset is that they visual?

With all due respect, I'm sorta pissed at you
'Cause I've been hearing things you said in interviews
And it's got me a bit confused
Saying you too old to bring something new

That isn't true, but who am I supposed to listen to?
I'd rather hear from an old you than
Just be stuck with hearing all your old tunes
But who am I? Just one of your pupils with student pride

Sometimes, it feel like you dead, but you alive
I just pray before the day that you truly fly
You feel like the gift God gave you was fully utilized
And maybe this is foolish pride

Like, what do I think I'm doing?
I'm just a stranger out here asking this man for new music
And you never listen to nobody except yourself
So I know this is useless

You dropped "Hey Ya" at the height of G-Unit
And man, that's gangsta, you the ultimate non-conformist
You kept pushing boundaries, exploring
You taught us normal is boring

That's the thing I love about you the most
You reinvented yourself
You raised the bar on what you expect of yourself
But maybe, the bar got so high you can't even reach it

Unsatisfied, start calling all your heaters decent
Then you don't release it
Honestly, it's hard to believe it
'Cause I heard all your features

You got Killer Mike a Grammy, man, that joint was recent
And look, no disrespect to him either, but dawg, you tweakin
This all speculation, I don't know the reason either
But my guess is that it's pressure

It's probably easier to be a flute player
Than one of the greatest rappers ever, ever
And I know I'm sounding critical, but if I'm coming clean
This got more to do with me and isn't you

'Cause you're an artist I aspire to
Now you gone and retired
I think my deepest fear is that I see myself inside of you
It been three years and I've been quiet too

And all this time, I've been inside the stu
Everything I cook up feel meh, like it's kinda cool
Got me really thinking like, "man, maybe my time is through"
And you got nothing left to prove

I'm still playing festivals to pay my team
And fund the dreams that I'm yet to execute
And every day, I'm less enthused to write a rhyme
Or bless the booth

Every thought ain't fresh and new
Like when I was twenty-two
When music was the place I would express it through
I was fighting for respect, rapping like the rent was due

I wanted the world to love me
Now a couple friends will do
Tell the truth — are these the thoughts you had?
Is where you at where I'm headed to?

So every year that I ain't heard from you
The insecurities I'm working through feel like, for sure, they're true
So please don't take it personal, but you moved on from rap
And I don't think I got the courage to

But keep your heart, 3 Stacks, keep your heart
Share your art, 3 Stacks, share your art
Share your thoughts, 3 Stacks, share your thoughts

If I could be anyone, I'd be me, yeah yeah
If I could be anyone, I'd be me, yeah yeah
Maybe I'll start, 3 Stacks, maybe I'll start
Maybe I'll start, 3 Stacks, maybe I'll start
Maybe I'll start