Pitchfork

It's easy to forget how much we were looking forward to the release of Idlewild before it finally came out and failed to live up to our (maybe unreasonably high) expectations, but Andre 3000 and Big Boi pretty much earned all of our trust and awe back with "International Players Anthem".

Thus, the time seems ripe for the announcement of a new Outkast album. But while Andre recently told MTV.com that they are planning one, he also said, "I don't know how long that's gonna be; it could be two years."

So how do we satisfy our hunger for new Outkast material until then? With their respective solo records. As Andre also said, "Big Boi is working on a solo album right now. I'm working on a solo album as well because of all the remix work that's been coming out." What's more, he told MTV.com that he plans to add to his guest spot oeuvre with a verse on a remix of Sean Kingston's "Beautiful Girls".

For even more immediate satisfaction, there is Andre's "Class of 3000" soundtrack, a kid-oriented affair that actually features the MC assuming the character of a gorilla on the track "Banana Zoo".

Then there's the matter of film projects. Andre appears as an ABA player named Clarence Coffee Black in forthcoming basketball comedy Semi-Pro with Will Ferrell, and he also has a role in a movie about the 1999 World Trade Organization protests called Battle in Seattle. Contrary to a previous report's "expectations", however, he is not confirmed to play Sammy Davis Jr. in any forthcoming biopics, nor is he confirmed to play Jimi Hendrix (another rumor). As he told MTV.com, "It's been talk about Jimi Hendrix, Sammy Davis [but] until there's a script and I'm on the set and shooting, you can never say. But I'd love to [play those roles]. I'm around."

Big Boi's more general theatrical pursuits include his previously reported collaboration with the Atlanta Ballet and an appearance in Who's Your Caddy?, which features the following plot summary on IMDb.com: "When a rap mogul from Atlanta tries to join a conservative country club in the Carolinas he runs into fierce opposition from the board President-- but it's nothing that he and his entourage can't handle." IMDb.com also lists unstoppable hip hop entities Lil Wayne and...Andy Milonakis as cast members.