Former Outkast rapper André 3000 has released a short film that's inspired and set to the music from his EP of piano music he released last year – 7 Piano Sketches.
Written by both André and Graham Mason, the film is only available to stream via the paid subscription service Mubi at the moment. However, we do know that there is a plot of sorts to 7 Piano Sketches: it follows André as he journeys to work, armed with a piano strapped to his back and a notebook full of sketches in hand. On his travels, he encounters a series of characters, each with their own unique identifiers, that complement the piano he carries with him.
You may recall that the ex-Outkast man turned up to the 2025 Met Gala with a piano strapped to his back, but it’s not known whether footage from that has ended up in the film.
Anyway, it all sounds suitably quirky. When the original EP came out last year André said of it: “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.’”
André’s last full length album proper, in fact his only solo album to date, 2023’s New Blue Sun, was a flute-led affair that at times verged on new age music. With a piano EP now behind him too, who knows where his creative curiosity will lead him next?
