There are a lot of things that make Andre 3000 exceptional — his ability to string together complex ideas into simple messaging, his intricate rap cadence that still manages to sound stress-free, the futuristic concepts he presents, while seamlessly weaving them into poetic tales about everyday living. For all of his far-out pondering, there's always a strong sense of humanity lingering just beneath the surface. It's why we relate to him.

Is he the greatest Hip-Hop writer of all time? There's certainly a strong case to be made. And while OutKast dropped what is likely their last official album in 2003 (not counting 2006's Idlewild soundtrack), the sonically vast Speakerboxx/The Love Below, Andre 3000 is always in the mix during Hip-Hop's beloved (if not redundant) Top 5 debates. That's in no small part because of his other-worldly guest appearances.

Yes, Three Stacks was already crowned one of the greatest MCs to ever pick up a pen even before OutKast's diamond-selling 2003 album. But his sporadic verses on songs with everyone from T.I. ("Sorry") and Beyoncé ("Party"), to Rick Ross ("Sixteen") and Frank Ocean ("Pink Matter") in the years since its release have served to further solidify both his legendary status and his mystique — earning him Hip-Hop unicorn status.

While he continues to pop up occasionally to deliver a verse of the year (see his raw, vulnerable outing on Erykah Badu's 2015 track "Hello" or his stunning 2021 verse on Kanye West's "Life Of The Party"), his 2007-2008 run is the stuff of legend. He has tracks with everyone from Devin the Dude to John Legend, and they're all incredible. We've ranked them below.

8. "Everybody" Fonzworth Bentley featuring Andre 3000, Kanye West (2008)

Kudos to you if you remember this gem of a track from 2008 that strangely flew under the radar. The video is just as epic as the song, with Kanye, Andre, and Fonzworth dancing as the Four Tops-esque group, COLOURS (Cool Outrageous Lovers of Uniquely Raw Style). Of course, Andre's verse was top-notch.

"One off, so I let em go like a pro/Sir Andre with an accent 3 triple 0/Ben-jamin, Lauren is the middle name/That was given by my mama, success was on her brain/Rain? Bentley Farns got the umbrellas/Benjamin got the sweaters, hey what more can we sell em?/Sun, spring will bring the parasol/Now watch him parasail to entertain us all..."

7. "I Want You" Remix - Lloyd featuring Andre 3000, Nas (2007)

Lloyd certainly pulled out heavy-hitters for this mid-tempo dance groove (the original features an inspired verse from Lil Wayne). On the remix, Andre shines with a funny verse about meeting a woman at Whole Foods.

"I said, "What time you get off?"/She said, "When you get me off"/I kinda laughed, but it turned into a cough/'Cause I swallowed down the wrong pipe/Whatever that mean—/You know, old people say it, so it sounds right..."

6. "Walk It Out" - DJ UNK featuring Andre 3000, Jim Jones (2007)

One of Andre's most surprising features has to be the time he hopped on the remix to DJ UNK's Atlanta club hit "Walk It Out." Atlanta was in the middle of its snap music phase, and an assist from Andre on the remix threw people for a loop. Of course, Andre is in top form over the bouncy track, playing the part of an annoyed, yet relatable and cool uncle.

"Now walk it out like an usher/If you say real talk I probably won't trust ya/If you wanna go to war, the gunz my pleasure/Even Jesus had 12 disciples on the level, trigger, whatever/Pyong, you don't want nan day of three thou'/I'm like jury duty, you're new to this part of town/Your white tee, well to me, look like a nightgown/Make your Momma proud, take that thing two sizes down/Then you'll look like the man that you are or what you could be/I can I give a damn 'bout your car, but then I would be/If it was considered a classic before the drastic change/In production when cars were metal instead of plastic..."

5. "What A Job" - Devin the Dude featuring Andre 3000 and Snoop Dogg (2007)

Both Devin and Andre paint a vivid picture about the ups and downs of writing rhymes and dealing with rap life, and both manage to do it without sounding like they're complaining or ungrateful.

On Andre's verse, he opens it by explaining what writer life is like: ("We work nights, we some vampires/Niggas gather 'round the beat like a campfire") before expressing his irritation that folks were illegally downloading his music: "You download it for free, we get charged back for it/I know you're saying, "they won't know, they won't miss it/Besides, I ain't a thief, they won't pay me a visit"/So if I come to your job, take your corn on the cob/And take a couple kernels off it that would be alright with you?

But it's where he takes the verse next that's makes it one of his most memorable, and illustrates why he's the best at drawing a circle around everyday life moments in a way that sticks. He talks about running into a couple of fans who tell him that his music has basically been the soundtrack the biggest moments in their lives, which puts everything back into perspective for him.

"See, we do it for that boy that graduated/That looked you in your eyes real tough and say "'preciate it"/And that he wouldn'ta made it if it wasn't for your CD number nine/And he's standing with his baby momma Kiki and she crying/Talkin' 'bout, that they used to get high to me in high school/And they used to make love to me in college/Then they told me 'bout they first date, listenin' to my tunes/And how he liked her fingernail polish/I say "Hate to cut you off but I gotta go/I wish you could tell me mo', but I'm off to the studio/Gotta write tonight"/"Hey, can you put us in your raps?" "I don't see why not"/Devin is the Dude, you gon' probably hear him talkin' 'bout–"

4. "Greenlight" - John Legend featuring Andre 3000 (2008)

When John Legend and Andre 3000 connected in 2008 for this groovy dance-ditty (linked by the legendary Kwan "KP" Prather), it was a win all the way around. It gave the Chicago crooner one of the best songs in his catalog, and allowed Dre to shine a light on his playful side.

"So I went hard like Medusa staring at me/I told her let's go, let's blow this lame nigga factory/She said, What type of girl do you think I are?/The kind that you meet in a bar?/You think you can get whatever you want cause you some kinda star/No I'm a comet, I just want you woman/Hey, If I were you then It would be me that I go home with/Three, the one and only, one thing you ain't considered/I heard you when you told your girl "ooh he can get it"/Admit it,/You did it/Let's hop a cab and split it/I'm kiddin' we both going to where you livin'..." 

3. "Int'l Players Anthem (I Chose You)" - UGK featuring OutKast (2007)

It felt overdue when UGK and OutKast, two trendsetting groups from the South, connected. Bun B, Pimp C, and Big Boi are expectedly in top lyrical form, as is Andre 3000, who offered up one of his most infamous lines, "Keep your heart, Three Stacks, keep your heart."

"So I typed a text to a girl I used to see/Sayin' that I chose this cutie pie with whom I wanna be/And I apologize if this message gets you down/Then I CC'ed every girl that I'd see-see 'round town/And hate to see y'all frown, but I'd rather see her smilin'/Wetness all around me, true, but I'm no island/Peninsula maybe/It makes no sense, I know crazy/Give up all this pussy cat that's in my lap/No lookin' back/Spaceships don't come equipped with rear view mirrors..." 

2. "The Art of Storytellin' Part 4" - DJ Drama featuring OutKast (2007)

Quiet as it's kept, this is a strong contender for Dre's top 10 verses of all-time, illustrating his unique ability to precisely weave a layered, nuanced story while remaining humorous, poetic, and insightful.

DJ Drama recalled the making of the song. "We just got raided, the cops ran up in my studio and took everything," Drama said. "At the time, I had this beat that [Don] Cannon had made. I called Marsha Ambrosius, I was totally inspired by the raid, and I was like, 'I need something, nothing is going to stop us, I'm here, I'ma keep the movement going' and she returned the hook for 'The Art of Storytellin' Part 4.' I sent the record to 3000—mind you, this was over a seven or eight-month period that I was trying to get him to do a record for my album—and he hit me within 24 hours. At the time, he wasn't doing a lot of records. And the next day, he returned this verse and it was the greatest thing I ever heard... He did the verse, I took it to Stankonia [and] let Big hear it, Big was like, 'Yo this is incredible, we need to call this 'The Art of Storytellin' Part 4.'"

"So I'm watchin' her fine ass walk to my bedroom, and thought to myself, "That's the shape of things to come"/She said, "Why you in the club, you don't make it precipitate?/You know, make it rain when you can make it thunderstorm?"/I'm like, "Why?"/The world needs sun/The hood needs funds/There's a war going on and half the battle is guns/How dare I throw it on the floor/When people are poor/So I write like Edgar Allen to restore - got a cord/Umbilical attached to a place that can't afford/No landscaping, or window draping/This old lady told me/If I ain't got nothin' good, say nathingThat's why I don't talk much/I swear it don't cost much, to pay attention to me/I tell like it is, then I tell it how it could be..." 

1. "Royal Flush" Big Boi featuring Raekwon, Andre 3000 (2008)

Big Boi, Andre 3000, and Raekwon had previously connected on the stellar, "Skew it on the Bar-B" from OutKast's Aquemini. And while everyone shined on the 1998 fan-favorite, this go-around, Andre steals the show, in spite of an insanely quotable verse from Big. Maybe it was meant to be that way. After all, Dre has way more bars than everyone else, and he puts his extra time to good use. This verse is one of his very best in his catalog.

"Styles will change. They say change is dang-erous/As a King standing on the terrace/While his partner pointing up at the riflemen/Coward shooter, never know when your life will end/Then live like there ain't no 'morrow/And if one come then this the motto/Now I put message in bottle/You go to the nearest beach and open your car door/And walk to the place where the sea meets the land/Yeah, it's easier to run the street than walk in the sand/Hey, I'm talking young man./As if chalk in my hand/I will take y'all little ass to school/It's cool when the kids call me Sunny, the hood calls me Stacks/The B's call me honey, Hollywood calls me back/Crack and I have a lot in common/We both come up in the 80's and we keep that bass pumping/That's a nega-tive comparison, embarrassing/Unfortunate that if you come up fortunate the streets consider you lame/Ha, I thought the name of the game was to have a better life/I guess it ain't, what a shame/I don't slang/Never slung but I'm one with the slum/That has a name well fitting, plenty cheese getting/No wonder why they call it the trap, so watch your tail/And I'm not kidding, the rats and mice would give advice/They say, "you can paint and draw, get out of here/Go show them that we're more than slanging raw"/That's when I broke into my Big Rube impression/And I tried to enlighten but that night I learned a lesson/That the morals that you think you got go out the window/When all the other kids are fresh and they got new Nintendo Wiis/And your child is down on her knees praying hard up to God/For a Whopper with cheese/Do you B) hit the street hard with a flair?/Or do you A) go to school for heating and air?/Dare make an honest living or make a crooked killing/Or do a bit of both until you're holding on a million?/Brilliant/You got one foot in, one foot out/You put your left foot back in and then you shake it all about/You do the hokey pokey til you turn your life around/That's what it's all about, 3000 out."