André 3000 Says A Stranger Used His ‘Suitcase’- Sized Cellphone To Save Him During Near-Death Experience As A Child

Andre 3000 says that a stranger with a “suitcase” size cell phone saved his life when he was a child.

Andre, 45, told Mike Ayers’ in his upcoming book One Last Song that he got into a nearly fatal car accident as a child. “Fortunately, we were on this street in Atlanta, and it was a non-busy street. And fortunately, this guy who had money passed by—and he had one of the first working cell phones. It was like a suitcase. And he was able to call an ambulance,” he said. “If we didn’t have that cell phone, we would have been out there for a minute — and might have died. Who knows. I don’t know if that’s a near-death experience. But I was definitely lucky.”

André says the moment makes him think about Prince’s “Sometimes It Snows in April.” “When I was younger, I heard ‘Sometimes It Snows in April’ by Prince. That was always a song that summed up what it is,” he said. “Usually, when someone dies, unless they die of old age or sickness—it happens in a strange way. Both of my parents are gone, and they both died early. Just out of the blue, when I least expected it,” the rapper said, saying it reminds him of the death of his step-mother. The artist said he wants that played when he is on his death bed.