It used to be unusual and surprising to hear your favorite rapper sing. (Think Biggie on 'Playa Hater'.) Instead they would farm the melodies out to a Nate Dogg-type. However, these days performers who both spit and sing are pretty commonplace.

Andre 3000 has been doing both for years. The OutKast member talked to Vibe about the progression of singing in Hip Hop.

"It’s funny because now most rappers have to have some type of vocal melody," he explained. "It’s just a progression of things, man. Back then it was scary to even try something like that. Not everyone was just breaking out singing verses [laughs]. People would tell me, 'Come on, dude. We want them raps. We not trying to hear you sing.'"

Andre's singing skills came in handy for his role of Jimi Hendrix in the biopic "Jimi: All Is by My Side," which hits theaters October 24.

Dre definitely bares a physical resemblances to the rock legend, but says he still had to lose some weight for the role, and also had to lose his Dirty South diction to portray the Seattle-born guitar ace.

Are you going to check out Andre 3000 in "Jimi: All Is by My Side?" And do you think the rapper/singer style Dre helped pioneer is good for Hip Hop?