“Nobody can stop us, together or separate, and that’s not being cocky, that’s being real.”

In a recent interview with myAJC, Big Boi spoke about the potential of another OutKast record, uttering the words that fans of the ATL duo have been dying to hear: “I’m always ready.”

So all we need is for André 3000 to say the word and we’ll have a new OutKast album in our hands, right? Well, not quite.

Big Boi, obviously, has an immense respect for Andre’s personal pursuits and his need to grow independent of his 'Kast partner in rhyme. For two seasoned professionals, albums don’t come out of thin air; the timing has to be right. And based on 'Dre's October interview with GQ, it's clear that time isn't now.

“Right now [André 3000’s] focusing on different things, and we respect that as a brotherhood. We text each other every other day. That’s my brother,” he tells AJC.

If there is another OutKast album—in the works or just floating around in the creative cosmos—that brotherhood Big Boi mentioned is what will carry it. After all, certain things are just better together. “I say we’re two sides of the same coin. We’re equally matched,” Big Boi says, describing his and Andre’s rapping abilities. “Nobody can stop us, together or separate, and that’s not being cocky, that’s being real.”

Big Boi ends the interview with a leveling thought about the duo’s career. “We’ve done everything there is to do in music,” he admits. “We won the highest prize, we sold the most records. We started when we were 17 years old—let the man breathe a little bit.”

Big Boi, of course, is right, but can he blame fans for lusting after that victory lap album?