We can’t fully explain why André 3000 rocked up at last night's Met Gala with a grand piano strapped to his back - how could it ever make sense? - but it turns out that there was a reason. To coincide with the fashion spectacular, the star has released 7 piano sketches, a brief collection of what sound like improvised piano jams.
This mark’s 3000’s first release since 2023’s New Blue Sun, the jazzy instrumental wind album that was nominated for three Grammy Awards. The roots of 7 piano sketches go back almost a decade, though, when André was staying in a house in Texas with his son that contained only a piano, their beds and TV screens.
Having lived with the recordings he made in the house - possibly on his phone, based on their quality - André has decided that now, in the spring (“a time of year that promises that life, creativity, and possibility are ever-renewing”) the moment has come to release them.
Discussing the project, André says: “The original title for it was ‘The Best Worst Rap Album In History’ and here is an excerpt from the original liner notes: ‘It’s jokingly the worst rap album in history because there are no lyrics on it at all. It’s the best because it’s the free-est emotionally and best I’ve felt personally. It’s the best because it’s like a palette cleanser for me.’”
The 7 sketches have the strong whiff of off-the-cuff noodlings, with only one - album closer i spend all day waiting for the night - having drums on it. There’s also a nod to New Blue Sun’s love of long song titles: track 3 is called ‘when you’re a ant and you wake up in an awesome mood, about to drive your son to school, only to discover that you left the lights on in the car last night so your battery is drained’. We’ve all been there.
It’s all a long way from Outkast, the rap outfit that André 3000 made his name in alongside BigBoi and who will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame later this year.
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