André 3000 Turned Down Hip Hop 50 Celebrations, Didn't Want to Revisit Past

André 3000 and Outkast's absence from the dozens of hip hop 50th anniversary celebrations this year was all intentional ... 'cause reelin' in the years isn't André's thing at all!!!

In a new interview with CBS to promote his rap-less, flute-driven album "New Blue Sun," 3 Stacks explained he wasn't wired to go through the motions, even to celebrate his own lifetime achievements -- like, for example, their 6 Grammy Awards.

He notes that he and Big Boi started the group as kids just for their love of rapping, and his interests have now shifted to playing his flute. He owns around 30 of them now, so yeah ... he's deadly serious.

The retired rap legend dropped his instrumental album in November and already cut his teeth in the jazz genre.

The opening track "I Swear, I Really Wanted to Make a 'Rap' Album but This Is Literally the Way the Wind Blew Me This Time" runs over 12 minutes long and is now the lengthiest Billboard hit ever -- and sinister statisticians note fans would rather stream his vibes than some of the hottest rappers in the game!!!

Even without Outkast's participation, several rappers of all generations delivered tributes that celebrated the culture's highlights and the party even reached the White House.