André 3000

By Rob. Walton

When OutKast arrived for their Celebrity Guest Photographer shoot promptly at noon, their shocked manager joked, "This is the first time you've ever been on time for a press call!" And why wouldn't they be punctual? André 3000 and Big Boi, who once arrived at an MTV Video Music Awards on the back of a flatbed truck outfitted with a brass stripper pole (and a barely dressed dancer), wanted to spend as much time as possible bending and posing the Playboy models in their own private photo shoots.

As the hip-hop duo's genre-defying movie Idlewild and accompanying soundtrack hit theaters and stores, we recall bringing our own tempting models to Stankonia, OutKast's Atlanta recording complex. While partner in rhyme Big Boi indulged local newspapers with interviews in the green room, awaiting his turn behind the camera, André hunkered down in the mixing booth with gorgeous Venezuelan model Alejandra Lares.

André—born André Benjamin 31 years ago in Atlanta—tackled his photo assignment with the same slow, artsy approach he used on his breakout CD The Love Below and on OutKast's ambitious new soundtrack, which grafts together ragtime, jazz rhythms and funky hip-hop beats. Using his trained, artistic eye, Dré warmed up slowly before climbing atop the control panel and lying on the floor to capture Alejandra from her finest angles.

"I have to keep going. Think about football," the tentative André joked out loud, trying not to get carried away by the naked woman in front of him. "Football, basketball, baseball. It keeps you going."

To loosen up the model, as well as himself, in between rolls of film André took sweet pleasure helping the stylist rub glow lotion, a.k.a. "pimp juice," all over Alejandra's bronze body. As with taking his pictures, he took his time helping Alejandra slather herself in "special sauce."

André soon conquered his nerves. In fact, midway through the shoot, Dré got so close to Alejandra with his camera that it wouldn't focus. When told he needed to pull back, Dré countered, "We need to get a better lens, brother."

After Dré's marathon session came to a close, he admitted, "I was a little bit nervous at first, because I didn't know how far to go with it. It was more than taking pictures for me. I was actually enjoying looking at her. It was more than what I expected. I had a beautiful girl with a nice attitude, which made her even more beautiful."

Singer, poet, painter, actor, filmmaker and, now, photographer, André 3000 is OutKast's multi-disciplined Renaissance man. As you can tell by the photos in his Playboy portfolio, he has mastered yet another medium.

See all of the nude photos from this shoot inside the Cyber Club.

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