GQ interviewed Big Boi today, asking him why Andre 3000 is not listed as a guest artist on the Sir Lucious Leftfoot tracklist that was released earlier today….. Meanwhile, The E.W./P.R. Power Movement got the drop on the album’s deleted collabo, “Lookin’ For Ya”, which you can hear below:

LISTEN: Big Boi feat. Andre 3000 + Sleepy Brown – “Lookin’ For Ya”

Read on:

This morning, the tracklist for the final version of Sir Luscious Leftfoot: The Son of Chico Dusty hit the internet, and none of the songs you’ve recorded with Dré are on there. No “Royal Flush,” and no “Lookin For Ya.” What gives?

Well, basically it boils down to Jive Records. That’s how they do it. Jive Records told me my album is a piece of art, and they didn’t know what to do with it. So I moved it over to Def Jam. And now Jive is trying to block Dré from being on my record. We can’t be on songs together now.

So because OutKast as a group is signed to Jive, they’re able to legally block the two of you from working together?

Au contraire! They cannot block it. Au contraire. Either they’re going to do it the right way, or they’re going to do it my way. How you wanna do it? The fans thirst will be quenched. You know, I’m no stranger to that internet, baby. So you already know what time it is. The thirst of the fans will be quenched.

“Royal Flush” with Dré and Raekwon has been out since 2008, but you’re saying we will be hearing “Lookin For Ya” [with André] even though it’s not on the album?

I guarantee it.

Can you speak a little bit about your frustration here? What you’re saying is that you and your friend from high school can’t rap on the same song and have it get an official release.

It’s plain stupidity. It’s stupid business and it’s stupid politics. I mean, Jive Records had [Big Boi's current Def Jam single] “Shutterbug” for three years. And [new Sir Luscious leak] “General Patton” for three years. You see what I’m saying? They told me to go in and make my version of Lil’ Wayne’s “Lollipop”! I love that song. That was my favorite song when it came out. But how you gonna tell me to go bite another MCs style? How are you even going to open your mouth up to tell me to go and do that? That’s the highest form of disrespect ever. So that’s when I wanted to get off Jive. And the only honorable thing they’ve done is allow me to do that. So I’ve had nothing to do with them. Dré tried to have a talk with Jive and they said, “No, we can’t. That’s gonna make us look bad.”

Let’s talk about how the records you made with André for Sir Luscious came together.

We’re gonna keep one of them for the next OutKast record. “Royal Flush” was supposed to be on the album. That was a leak that got nominated for a Grammy. The other track we did, “Lookin For Ya” was produced by Boi Wonda and it’s me, Dré, and Sleepy Brown—the Dream Team going back to “Playa’s Ball” and “I Can’t Wait.” They want to keep that from the fans, man, and I can’t have it. I won’t stand for that shit.

How’d “Lookin For Ya” happen?

I was outside the studio just chillin’ and Erik Sermon from EPMD rolled by the studio and said, “Yo, I got some music for ya.” I was like, “Word.” So he came in and played a beat, and then he played the Boi Wonda beat. I was like, “What’s that?!” So he was like, “We’ll let you get that one, then.”

The whole time I was working, Dré would come in and out of the studio. Like, he heard “Royal Flush” and said, “I wanna get on that.” And he heard, “Lookin For Ya” and said, “I wanna get on that.” The following day, he jumped on it. Two verses apiece, just raw lyricism. OutKast to the fullest. It was slated for the album. We tried to get everything solidified but Jive said, “Naw. Y’all can’t rap together.” Then I was going to take Dré off and make my own version, but then I thought, “No. Fuck that. If he can’t be on it, then I’m not using it.”

Did Dré do his verses at Stankonia or at a home studio?

Stankonia. Came right back the very next day and killed that shit. Matter fact, he put both his verses on there before I even had a chance to put anything on there.

Last time I interviewed Dré, he made it clear that sometimes he feels like he’s got something to say, and sometimes he doesn’t.

Right.

How does that affect you?

When he says he wants to get on something, you better go ‘head and let him get on it. That’s how we do it. Whenever he says, “Hey man, I wanna get on that,” he can do it. That’s my partner. He can get on whatever the fuck he wants to get on. He could’ve got on every song on the album if he wanted to. So they can’t stop us, man. I been knowing Dré half my life. And for these people that we don’t even know—that haven’t even had a hand in our career at all—that’s fucking blasphemy. So stay tuned.

     Mr. Brown packs the same sexy swagger found on one of Outkast’s most recognizable hits, “The Way You Move”, which was a breakout moment for Sleepy (despite the fact that he’s been around since “Player’s Ball”). The same type of crossover appeal is found here again on “Come Dance With Me”, yet this is hardly the best track on the album. More inspiring for the dancefloor is actually the beach cabana anthem, “Margarita”, which is driven home by a show-stealing Pharrell, plus guest verses from Big Boi. 

     But crossover appeal is not what makes Mr. Brown a good record; its strengths actually lie in the deeper album cuts. The Teddy Pendergrass sampled “I’m Soul” finds Sleepy seducing female listeners with hypnotic, breezy vocals over the classic, chopped groove. There’s a certain brand of familiarity also to “One Of Dem Nights”, but the more obscure samples found on both “Me and My Baby & My Cadillac” and “I Can’t Wait” lend to some of the album’s most catchy tracks, despite the fact neither garnered significant radio play as singles. 

     However Sleepy’s got it locked in terms of wooing the ladies with his brand of southern soul. The sultry “Dress Up” will have his targets in fact undressing, while back to back “pre” and “post” love jams “Till Your Legs Start Shaking” and “Sunday Morning” help seal the deal.

      At 13 tracks, there’s little room for error, but he does misstep on the trashy “Get 2 It”, where he confesses “I want to beat it up, girl, beat it up all night!”. Meanwhile, “Underwater Love” drowns itself out in experimentation, while the screwed-up “Oh Ho Hum” more or less lives up to its title. 

      Mr. Brown is no classic soul record, but definitely packs consistency. Organized Noize’s wall-to-wall production helps deliver a unified sound, carrying on the Dungeon Family tradition. If Sleepy continues crooning out those hooks for Big Boi, and follows this up with a more tightly knit, mature effort, eventually the fans will surely come running and screaming after him.