André 3000, or André Benjamin as he goes by when wearing his acting cap, appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman Thursday to promote his new biopic, Jimi: All Is by My Side.
During his appearance the rapper revealed he didn’t hear Hendrix’s music for the first time until his late teens/early twenties.
“As a Black kid I grew up on rap and all that kind of stuff so, Hendrix was just like a wild, big haired image to me growing up,” said Benjamin. “[I heard Hendrix’s music for the first time when] I was watching Apocalypse Now and I heard this music come on, “All Along the Watch Tower,” and I was like woah, what is this.”
The Outkast member also shared regretting his decision to take on the burden of playing a musical icon. “Midway through shooting, ‘I was like man why did I take this job? Who plays Hendrix? He’s the coolest guy in the world.'”
“There were times when I was like man, ‘I think I’ve done more than I can handle,'” he said.
Are you excited for the film? Watch the entire interview above.