André 3000 is coming to tv screen this week. The Atlanta artist-actor will star in season two of the ABC drama American Crime, which premieres tonight (Jan. 6). The show, which was nominated for 10 Emmy Awards and three Golden Globes, is directed by John Ridley, who previously worked with André in the Jimi Hendrix biopic Jimi: All Is by My Side.

In a rare interview, André 3000 speaks with Billboard on reuniting with Ridley, playing Regina King’s husband in American Crime, aspirations of directing and screenwriting, always recording new songs and figuring out which direction he wants to go musically, bumping Kid Cudi’s new album, working with Erykah Badu on But You Caint Use My Phone, and reflects back on touring with Big Boi as OutKast in 2014.

Continue after the jump…..

Have you had time to work on music lately?
I still get time to think about music. [Shooting TV and film projects] is not so bad — it kind of puts you in the place where you’re fiending to do music. I’ve been holding [back] for a long time, so now I’m really interested in figuring out some type of music to do. I’m always recording.

Can you say what you’re working on or with whom?
I can’t say that I have a target right now. I’ve gotten in trouble before for saying when or what is coming, so I like to just kind of let it be. I’d like to put out some kind of music project, but we’ll see.

What music are you listening to now?
I always listen to a lot of jazz, a lot of Thelonious Monk. The new Kid Cudi album [Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven] is awesome to me. That’s kind of like the most recent thing that I think is really great. But other than that I’ve kind of just been working in the studio and listening to what I’m doing.

How did your “Hello” duet with Erykah Badu, from her recent mixtape But You Caint Use My Phone, come together?
Our son Seven and I were trying to figure out songs that could help her — songs that were related to the subject of the mixtape: phones. We came across [The Isley Brothers’ 1974 cover of Todd Rundgren’s] “Hello, It’s Me.” Ron Isley repeats the phrase “hello, hello” as if he was answering the phone. I told Erykah, “You should make this into a new song and get somebody to rap on it.” She was like, “Well, you should rap on it!” I’m happy it happened. It was a great reunion, because I don’t think people have heard a song from us in ages.

After you finished the Outkast tour, you said you felt like a sellout. A year later, how do you feel about it now?
It was a great thing; everybody enjoyed themselves. The fans got something they really didn’t expect. And I didn’t expect that at the time — we just went out and had a good time.

Read the full interview over at Billboard.

Previously: Download Erykah Badu’s But You Cain’t Use My Phone Mixtape Featuring Drake & André 3000