Andre 3000 has said that he will be releasing a new solo album at the top of 2014, this according to BET executive Stephen G. Hill.


This conversation apparently happened backstage at the America's Most Wanted tour stop in Washington D.C. And it has gotten the whole world in a frenzy, eagerly anticipating what would be Andre's first full-length solo release (not counting 'The Love Below,' which was packaged as an Outkast double album). The last Outkast project, 'Idlewild,' released back in 2006.

But don't hold your breath waiting on this release to come out just yet.

The talk of an album is exciting, but ultimately, it's just talk. Plenty of albums go through this stage of hype and discussion, only to end up never coming out. For example, every other year we get an update that a new version of Dr. Dre's 'Detox' has been completed and is ready to come out in a few months, only for us to find out that the news alert was a hoax.

Sure, certain much-delayed albums have come out, most notably Raekwon's 'Only Built For Cuban Linx II' and Saigon's 'The Greatest Story Never Told.' Just this year saw the release of two albums that seemed to be mythical for many years: 'The H,' a collaborative project between Rick Ross and Birdman, and 'The Nacirema Dream' by Papoose. Of course, both albums flew under the radar (until Papoose decided to headline Summer Jam).

But for every 'OBCLII,' there is D'Angelo's 'James River.' For every Saigon there is a Jay Electronica. At some point, reading Questlove say that the album is almost done and is a masterpiece does not suffice for a music fan eagerly awaiting a release.

When it comes to Andre 3000, his publicist has already told Billboard "Regarding reports of a specific plan to release an album in early 2014, there is no official confirmation on that report." Meanwhile, there has never been an announcement regarding a label deal for Andre's solo career. Outkast as a group has been signed to LaFace throughout its run and is currently under Epic Records. Meanwhile, fellow Outkast member Big Boi's solo career has gone through Def Jam Records. Considering the absence of any label information, it is difficult to believe something could come out as quickly as five months down the line, but then again, if Andre follows the Jay Z "New Rules" playbook, anything could happen.

Perhaps the most surefire way of not getting burned by these false promises regarding mythical albums is to wait for the release of a proper single. Once actual music starts to come out, then it's more likely that an album will shortly follow. Of course, the obvious exception to this rule is 'Detox,' for which we've already seen at least two supposed "lead singles" (or whatever you want to call the disaster that was 'Kush').

As for that next Outkast album... Don't even bother.

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