Atlanta-born recording artist André Benjamin, the former OutKast member known as André 3000, has contributed an unreleased song for a compilation album released by many artists on Jan. 20 to benefit those affected by the recent fires that spread across several Los Angeles neighborhoods.
The project, Staying: Leaving Records Aid To Artists Impacted By The Los Angeles Wildfires, can be purchased online on the Bandcamp website. André 3000 is just one of nearly 100 artists who have contributed songs to raise money to help artists affected by the fires.
It’s a 98-track compilation that can be downloaded for $15 or $40 for a 2 LP album that will be delivered to the purchaser.
Leaving Records‘ Emmett Shoemaker said, “Everything has changed, and it is changing still. The early days of 2025 (an already baleful year, vis-a-vis America’s darkening political horizon) have wrought heretofore unimaginable destruction in the land we now call Los Angeles. The wildfires that began on the morning of Tuesday, January 7th—and which are still raging—are, in scope and intensity, unlike any other disaster, natural or manmade, in the city’s living memory. Thousands of
homes destroyed. Twenty four lives lost at the time of writing (that number will almost certainly rise), and innumerable lives forever altered. The devastation arrived suddenly, and has persisted over the course of a punishing and surreal week.”André 3000, the biggest and most recognizable name on the LP, contributed a song titled, “This is Where my room used to be.” The song, which was not included in his debut solo project, “New Blue Sun,” features Carlos Niño, Alex Cline, and Pablo Calogero. The talented and highly respected lyrical genius, who performed as one-half of the Atlanta duo OutKast,
released his only solo album on Nov. 17, 2023. The album disappointed hip-hop fans who waited nearly 20 years for him to release a solo hip-hop project. Instead, music lovers were treated to an instrumental album with him playing the flute throughout the project.Although hip-hop fans would still welcome Andre’s solo project, they would also love a joint album with Big Boi. However, Andre 3000 recently told Rolling Stone that that may never happen.
“I’ll say maybe 10, 15 years ago, in my mind, I thought an OutKast album would happen,” André said.
“I don’t know the future, but I can
say that we’re further away from it than we’ve ever been. I think it’s a chemistry thing. We have to be wanting to do it. It’s hard for me to make a rap, period, you know? And sometimes I’m in the belief of ‘Let things be.’”RELATED CONTENT: André 3000 Doesn’t Consider Himself A Flautist, But ’New Blue Sun’ Is His Most ‘Honest’ Work