Andre 3000, one half of the legendary rap group Outkast, must feel tons of pressure these days considering he’s playing one of the most well-respected and beloved musicians of all time.

As we previously reported, the 38 year old will be playing the role of Jimi Hendrix in the film Jimi: All By My Side and Danny Bramson, the film’s producer, said Andre couldn’t have played the role any better, and from the beginning he was the only choice.

Plus, Bramson said he has the utmost confidence in the Outkast member and expects everyone to enjoy his work fully. “We bet the house on our one and only choice, Andre Benjamin,” he said.

“Andre and I had ironically spoken once before, when I was producing music for Higher Learning. John Singleton had turned me on to the scene in Atlanta and the song they delivered to us predated their first album. I flew to Atlanta probably two and half years ago and sat down with Andre; I could finally thank him.”

If you’ve been following Andre’s career, then you probably know he’s learned to play the guitar in the last few years, and he’s not rapping much these days. However, he still had to learn a lot more before taking on the Hendrix role, and Bramson got him a wonderful teacher that taught him to play far better.

“I found a really patient teacher and put together a regimen for Andre when he came out to Los Angeles,” Bramson recalled. “He sat in a small studio, six hours a day, putting in dedication. His guitarmanship had to carry the idea of grace and fluidity. John and I declared that we didn’t want to have the camera cropped on his face and not the guitar. He kept working in a rehearsal room throughout the production.”

Jimi: All By My Side will premiere in the U.S. at the 2014 South by Southwest festival in Texas.

Image via Wikimedia Commons