Andre 3000 has expressed gratitude to Drake for leaking the track “Life of the Party,” a collaboration with Kanye West that might have remained unreleased otherwise. Speaking on The New York Times’ Popcast, the legendary Outkast rapper shared how the song came to life and his feelings about its controversial release during Kanye and Drake’s feud.
Andre explained that the song was born from a shared sense of loss. “I knew he was working on this album called Donda, and I knew he lost his mom just like I lost mine,” Andre said. “That subject matter is something you can’t explain until you go through it.” Kanye had sent him the full Donda album for feedback, later asking him to contribute. Andre chose “Life of the Party,” a track where he delivered a deeply personal verse reflecting on his late mother.
However, a disagreement over creative direction arose. Kanye reportedly asked Andre to rewrite his verse to remove explicit language. Rather than alter his heartfelt lyrics, Andre preferred to be cut from the song entirely. Before they could resolve the issue, Drake leaked the track on his radio show amidst his public feud with Kanye, which involved disses embedded in the song.
Reflecting on Drake’s move, Andre shared mixed emotions but ultimately saw a silver lining. “Finally, Drake puts it out. So, kinda have to thank Drake for letting that song see the light of day,” he admitted. Andre also cleared up misconceptions, noting that he was aware of Kanye’s diss verse beforehand. “Me and Kanye had a conversation about it. I told him, ‘Man, do you really wanna do this on this type of song? It’s kinda like going and shooting up your mom’s funeral.’ But he felt how he felt at the time.”
The song, which features Andre’s soul-stirring lyrics alongside Kanye’s controversial verse, remains one of the most talked-about moments in modern hip-hop. Despite its rocky release, fans and critics alike have praised Andre’s contribution as one of his most vulnerable and powerful performances.
