André 3000 Reveals The Last Song He Wants To Hear Before He Dies
In his forthcoming book, One Last: Conversations on Life Death and Music, journalist Mike Ayers conversed with an array of artists where he posed them a unique question: if you could choose, what would be the last song you listened to before you die?
An intriguing excerpt of his exchange with André 3000, one half of legendary hip hop duo OutKast, was obtained by Rolling Stone. Speaking to Ayers, the hip hop legend recalled how a cousin introduced him to Prince‘s 1985 song, “Sometimes It Snows In April,” which would later color his perspective on life after the deaths of his parents and stepfather.
“Both of my parents are gone and they both died early. Just out of the blue, when I least expected it. Even the lyrics ‘Sometimes it snows in April’ is kind of like...it’s not the time it’s supposed to snow. So it means something really serious happened when it wasn’t expected,” 3 Stacks explained. “The mood of the song always clicked in that sort of way. I never knew what Prince was talking about, but it sounded like he was talking about a life.”
His mother, Sharon Benjamin-Hodo, passed away in 2013, one day after his 38th birthday and his father, Lawrence Walker, died from a heart attack the following year. In 2018, he released two songs — “Look Ma No Hands” and “Me and My (To Bury Your Parents)” — about the loss of his familial figures.
The hip hop legend recalled a near fatal car accident that almost claimed his life when he was a child.
“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,” he recounted to Ayers.
Fortunately, as fate would have, a stranger witnessed the incident and was able to call for help.
“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 continued. “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.”
