When I put up Pill’s latest joint, I noticed a few heads in the c-section genuinely asking who he was? Well…

Andre 3000 gave the Atlanta MC kudos for his mixtape 4180: The Prescription.

“To have his stamp of approval, me being from the A and idolizing them — him and Big [Boi] — for him to hit you and quote your lines on the tape, I was like, ‘Oh!’ ” Pill said. “I was like, ‘For real? That’s what’s up! I appreciate it.’ He’s top-five to me. … I was like, ‘I might know how to rap a little bit.’ ” Pill is a former protégé of onetime Outkast affiliate Killer Mike but has since ventured out on his own. While handing out copies of his mixtape earlier this year, he bumped into Three Stacks and gave him a tape. Andre called the next day with compliments.

“I didn’t think he’d ever listen to it or ever say nothing about it,” Pill said. “That gave me some more fuel to keep going. I was like, ‘OK, yeah, maybe I need to actually keep on going.’ “

READ: Andre 3000 Gives Atlanta MC Pill His ‘Stamp Of Approval’

Episode 7 of Connect The Dots finds J.J. Brown on his old stomping grounds, New York Citys Theatre District. Follow J.J. as he takes you on a guided tour through the Big Apples most celebrated neighborhood, highlighted by the influences of his next official single The Worlds A Stage available October 20th, 2009 exclusively on iTunes!

Youll also see photos of Browns experiences as a childhood actor, complete with shots on stage with Rudolf Nureyev, on the Rocky set with Sylvester Stallone and sharing a microphone with music legend Willie Nelson! Watch as Browns past meets the present, with a little help from Outkasts Andre 3000.

PREVIOUS: J.J. Brown – Connect The Dots ep.6: Gender Bender f. Eternia & Miz Metro (Video)

Can Andre 3000 become one of the few MCs to make three consecutive Hottest MCs lists?

No question Andre has just about all of the credentials to reign on the Hottest MCs list — except one. To say we caught him between cycles is an understatement. The ATLien hasn’t dropped an LP since 2003’s The Love Below (OK, the “Idlewild” soundtrack if you want to get technical — but even that was three years ago). But making the list has never been about putting out albums — the roundtable talk is always about how he makes his guest appearances an event. Dre certainly lit up the airwaves late last year on John Legend’s “Green Light,” but his verses since then have been tougher to find. Stacks hasn’t been too prolific, so will the handful of gems be enough to get a ranking this year?

In a rare interview, Andre talked to us about the past Hottest MCs lists, the concept of them and where he’d like to see himself stacking up against the competition.

“The thing about these hip-hop lists … it’s like, ‘How can you make a list because it’s so many people you leave off that a lot of people may disagree with?’ ” Dre wondered. “If you have 10 guys in a room [debating], that’s their list. It can’t be a world list, ’cause it’s a lot of people … I’m surprised Ludacris is never on there — he’s one of the dopest. Black Thought ain’t on there — he’s killin’ a lot of people.

“Then you got too many opinions,” he added. “You have people that come up to me in the streets and say certain things. I’m like, ‘Well, that’s their opinion.’ I just say, ‘Man, everybody do your thing.’ I’d rather be #2 and everybody know I should be #1, than to be #1. Then I have somewhere to go.”

The polls close on September 21 so get your vote on (if you wish).

Now look who decided to show up again? And he’s rapping too! Off of Tapemasters Inc. and DJ Envy’s Purple Codeine Vol. 25.

DOWNLOAD: Andre 3000 – Lookin’ 4 Ya [Tags] | Mediafire

Honestly, I had no idea Mr. Benjamin Bixby would be into sneakers. I thought he was more of a hardbottoms-with-spurs kind of cat.

Here goes two more parts to Loud.com’s interview with DJ Clark Kent. Above Clark discusses the performance skills of Talib Kweli & Kardinal Offishall, reveals who the greatest West Coast rappers and emcees are and why any rapper would be kidding themselves if they thought they made a better album than Slick Rick. He also co-signs a dude we’ve been posting up for a little bit… Curt@!n$. That’s right marcus… it’s not just us who fucks with him. Hit the jump for part 4 which involves emceeing. Big, Jay, Em, Andre…

The above clip is all about emceeing and who does it best. Superman fleshes out his rationale behind tabbing Jay-Z as the No. 1 emcee and Biggie as the No. 1 rapper, the difference between emceeing and rapping, where Eminem and Andre 3000 fit in, and why everyone nowadays thinks they can rap.

PREVIOUS: DJ Clark Kent – Loud Interview pt.1-2 (Video)

Check the remixed version of Cook Classics’ reworking of John Legend’s single. Props to Tunji.

Andre 3000, Jessica Alba, Christina Aguilera and more participate in Declare Yourself’s Only You Can Silence Yourself campaign to help encourage every eligible 18-year-old in America to register and vote in the presidential primaries and 2008 presidential election. The rest of the shots are after the jump…

A post about al album’s release date? Really Shake? Yep! December 2nd is the day. I personally think dude should go against the norm and just drop it on that Thursday for his bornday. *shrugs. Also, Swagger Like Us part duece is official! Jeezy, Nas & 3 stacks have recorded their verses. There’s one change though. Can you guess? All praises to Lowkeeezy.

So lowkey just dropped some knowledge over at his plantation regarding a possible second part of Swagger Like Us that would most likely be featured on Hov’s Blueprint 3. The candidates? Jeezy, Andre 3000, 50 Cent & Nas! Wow, talk about a line up. I hope this comes to reality. Sidebar: Mrs. Carter is looking mighty fine in the pic above.

READ: Rumor Control: Swagger Like Us Pt.2??