I don’t care what anyone says: There’s never been a rapper like André 3000. From the moment Outkast debuted, he’s built a career defined by originality, poetry and the kind of truth-telling that stops listeners in their tracks. While many emcees chase punchlines or image, Mr. Benjamin has always leaned into depth, creativity and range, crafting verses that feel like short films or confessions from another dimension.

Throughout his iconic catalog (solo or team member), he painted portraits of Southern Black life, examined heartbreak with surgical precision, and even turned club remixes into lyrical clinics. He’s as likely to quote a great mind from another era as he is to drop a cold line about Cadillacs — and that balance of high and grounded is what makes his bars immortal.

In celebration of his birthday (May 27), we’ve pulled together 17 of André’s greatest verses from across time, genre and vibe. If aliens really did land, we’d start here.

1. Aquemini (Outkast)

André’s verse on the title track from Aquemini is one of his most metaphysical. Of course, Big Boi brought the heat as well, but it was Dre’s final bars that sent the song into another galaxy. Lines like, “My mind warps and bends, floats the wind, count to ten, meet the twin...” marked bars that saw the then-turban wearing artist exposing himself to the world through his life, experiences and, for the astrology lovers, designation as a Gemini.

2. Life of the Party (Kanye West feat. André 3000)

This tearjerker from the Donda sessions became an instant classic. André delivered an open letter to Ye's late mother about his own transitioned parents — a move that was so intimate, you felt like you were intruding. “Miss Donda, [if] you see my mama, tell her I'm lost,” he pleaded with a quiet devastation that undercut the soul sample. The verse, built on memory, vulnerability and spiritual searching, was a raw performance that made fans beg for an official release (which Ye eventually obliged to after editing the song).

3. Da Art of Storytellin’ (Pt. 1) (OutKast feat. Slick Rick)

André brought us Sasha Thumper, a character who went from childhood joy to drug addiction. “I said, ‘What you wanna be?’ She said, ‘Alive’,” he rapped before ending the story with haunting finality. His storytelling was cinematic, vivid and restrained, proving that he can create heartbreak with just a few bars. The verse was also a warning — not through preaching, but through quiet devastation. Every line added weight to the tragedy.

4. Sixteen (Rick Ross feat. André 3000)

Most guests get 16 bars. André took over the song entirely with a guitar solo (this also happened to be his Jimi Hendrix era), a two-minute rap verse and even the chorus. It’s a masterclass in being unpredictable. “I only get 16, that’s like a cage, you know?” he asked before spinning a detailed story about young love, grief and ambition. His verse moved like a short film, shifting tones and emotions fluidly, reinforcing the idea that for André, structure is just another tool to subvert.

5. Int'l Players Anthem (UGK feat. OutKast)

This opening verse is so iconic, it made wedding vows sound like scripture. “So, I typed a text to a girl I used to see...” kicked off a masterclass in storytelling, flow control and vulnerability. He floated without drums (something that initially irked Pimp C) and left the beat to chase him. What began as a message about settling down turned into a meditation on love, growth and pride. It’s funny, poetic and timeless — all in a single verse. Keep your heart.

6. Throw Some D’s (Remix) (Rich Boy feat. André 3000, Jim Jones, Murphy Lee, Nelly and The Game)

André opened Rick Boy’s remix with a hard-hitting verse that mixed humor, menace and wordplay in a way only he can. “Ain’t a hood n**ga, but a n**ga from the hood, see, mama stayed on me, so I turned out pretty good,” he rapped with self-aware confidence. The verse pivoted from street wisdom to vivid threats, police raids and economic commentary throughout. It was a cinematic, detailed performance — and proof that André could hijack a remix and leave everyone else scrambling to keep up.

7. Walk It Out (Remix) (Unk feat. André 3000)

One of the greatest beat takeovers of all time. “Your white tee, well to me, looks like a nightgown,” he sneered, schooling the South on style and bars in the same breath. He dismantled rap trends line by line, sneaking in references to political unrest and street codes, while never breaking his laid-back delivery. It’s a lyrical ambush hidden inside a dance track.

8. Everybody (Fonzworth Bentley feat. André 3000 and Kanye West)

This one feels like a jazz cipher on wax. Over lush, almost psychedelic production, André weaved fashion, flirtation and ancestry into a layered verse that felt theatrical in delivery. References to Savile Row tailoring, Navajo heritage and matador metaphors made it one of his most visually imaginative performances. Kanye was probably more than happy with being relegated to the song’s hook this go ‘round.

9. Elevators (Me & You) (OutKast)

This is a verse of survival, struggle and Southern pride. In the track’s conversational closing versed, he admitted, “True, I got more fans than the average man,” before reminding listeners that success doesn’t equal peace. The verse captured the dissonance between fame and reality, hometown respect and industry skepticism. It’s humble, grounded and honest — the core of what made OutKast relatable and revolutionary.

10. The Real Her (Drake feat. Lil Wayne and André 3000)

While Drake crooned and Wayne played it cool, André dove deep. He closed this introspective track with a dense, emotionally layered verse that dripped with romantic confusion and personal contradiction. “Shower her with dollar tips, shawty went and bought a whip, guarantee the city remember your whole name, you throw that h** a scholarship,” he began before flipping from critique to confession, from external judgment to internal vulnerability, all with brutal honesty.

11. What a Job? (Devin the Dude feat. André 3000 and Snoop Dogg)

A verse about the art of rap as labor and gift. “We work nights, we some vampires,” he said, drawing the line between passion and sacrifice. He then dived into his gripes with the digital theft of music before recalling a beautiful interaction with a longtime fan. The track became a meditation on purpose, pride and what it meant to dedicate your life to music that may outlive you.

12. A Life in the Day of Benjamin André (Incomplete)

Closing The Love Below with no hook, no chorus and no resolution, André 3000 delivered a long-form, stream-of-consciousness verse that played like a memoir in rhyme. From his early grind in Atlanta to the emotional complexities of fatherhood, fame and artistic reinvention, he covered it all. “Now, you know her as Erykah ‘On & On’ Badu, call Tyrone on the phone...” was one of the many personal references that root the verse in real life. One of Hip Hop’s most honest self-portraits. Speaking of Erykah...

13. Hello (Erykah Badu feat. André 3000)

This moody duet between André and Erykah Badu reimagined Todd Rundgren’s “Hello It’s Me” (by way of The Isley Brothers) through the lens of two ex-lovers with a complicated history. André’s opening verse was one of his most erotically charged and emotionally unsettled. “Leave your phone unlocked and right side up, walk out the room without throwin’ your b**ch off balance,” he rapped, setting the tone for a meditation on trust, temptation and transparency. The verse transitioned into surreal wordplay before dissolving into a spoken-word bridge full of insecurity and doubt.

14. Green Light (John Legend feat. André 3000)

André 3000’s verse on this uptempo, electro-funk single was one of his most charismatic and quotable performances. When he got to the verse proper, he unleashed a flurry of slick one-liners and personality: “I went hard like Medusa starin’ at me, I told her, ‘Let’s go, let’s blow this lame n**ga factory.’” What followed was part seduction, part comedy and full 3 Stacks charisma.

15. Ms. Jackson (OutKast)

Yes, it was a hit. But André’s verse is more than catchy. Sandwiched between top-tier bars from partner Big Boi, Dre’s contribution was a deeply nuanced look at breakups (including his own with Erykah Badu), family tension and regret. “Forever never seems that long until you’re grown...” cut deep for anyone who’s lived it. He spoke to mothers, children and former partners with clarity and care.

16. SpottieOttieDopaliscious (OutKast)

Technically a spoken word piece, but so iconic it had to be included. His monologue on club fights, rent checks and baby mama drama was poetic hood gospel. “While the DJ sweatin’ out all the problems and troubles of the day,” he narrated, “While this fine, bow-legged girl, fine as all outdoors, lulls lukewarm lullabies in your left ear, competing with Set It Off in the right. But it all blends perfectly, if you let the liquor tell it.”

17. Return of the ‘G’ (OutKast)

He addresses critics head-on: “It’s the return of the gangsta, thanks [to]...” It’s a rebuke of fake thuggery and a declaration of artistic independence. With surgical rhyming and righteous anger, he dismantled every stereotype thrown his way (“Is he in a cult? Is he on drugs? Is he gay?”). It’s an arrival, a return and a reminder: He’s been that guy. Get down.