The Andre 3000 Jimi Hendrix movie is set to open on Friday and music fans are very excited to see if the Outkast member, who is 39, will give justice to his role as the 20-ish Hendrix. Titled "All is by My Side", this drama film is directed by John Ridley and will also star Hayley Atwell as Hendrix's girlfriend as Kathy Etchingham and Bum Goman as Michael Jeffery, the manager of the late American singer.
For Andre, landing the role is perfect. Not only because Hendrix is one of the biggest names in music but also because he is one of Outkast's biggest influences in writing their songs. Rolling Down caught up with him to talk about the Andre 3000 Jimi Hendrix movie and the latest tour of Outkast.
In that interview, Andre talked about how one record company tried to stop them from playing a Hendrix-inspired piece.
"Definitely. When you hear the guitar solo break out on [2000's] "Bombs Over Baghdad," Jimi influenced that. One of the guys from our backing band played it. At the time - this is going to trip you out - the record company was like, "We've got to take that out. We should get Kid Rock to play it." No joke. They thought it would be a great marketing move."
Although the record company, which he didn't name, was persistent, he continued with the way he cmnposed the song saying he "don't want to go for the name thing."
As for his role in the movie, Andre was asked whether he's already alive when Jimi Hendrix was at the peak of his career.
"It felt like we were riding a nice wave [in Outkast]. I was just wide-eyed, taking in the world, figuring out what life is about. In the studio all the time, producing all the time, writing all the time. It was fun. Then, of course, at 39 you figure out you really don't know anything."
The Andre 3000 Jimi Hendrix movie team-up was not much of a huge success but it received great reviews from Rottent Tomatoes scoring 75% with critic's consensus saying it "offers a well-acted alternative take on the Hendrix myth."
To read more on Andre 3000 interview with Rollingstone, click here.
