The opening track of André 3000’s upcoming brass album cheekily answers a fan’s question as to why he decided to record a flute album instead of rap — considering it’s called “I swear, I really wanted to make a ‘Rap’ album But this is literally how I this time the wind blew.”
Although the member of the beloved hip-hop duo Outkast (48) was quite accurate with the introduction of the album, he explained in one of the covers for GQMan of the Year series why spitting rhymes doesn’t come naturally to him right now.
André 3000 announces debut solo album entirely of flute music, says ‘Maybe’ will make rap project ‘One Day’
The hip-hop icon told the outlet that it’s not for lack of trying that he hasn’t tried to release solo raps since Outkast broke up. That’s because he’s been around — after debuting with collaborator Big Boi in Atlanta in the ’90s. “It actually feels… sometimes it feels inauthentic to rap because I don’t have anything to talk about that way. I am 48 years old,” he revealed.
The “Roses” rapper continued, “And you shouldn’t say age dictates what you rap about, but it kind of does.”
André 3000 in Pasadena in January 2020.
Tommaso Boddi/Getty
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The recording artist (whose real name is André Lauren Benjamin) even jokingly teased what his bars might sound like today. “And the things that are going on in my life, like, what are you talking about? “I have to go for a colonoscopy,” he joked. “What are you rapping about? ‘My sight is getting worse.’ You can find cool ways to say it, but…”
The hitmaker, who last released a full-length album with Outkast in 2006, also clarified how hard he tried to release rap music. “I’ve worked with some of the newest, freshest, youngest and old school producers. I get beat up all the time. I try to write all the time,” “Hey Ya!” the artist shared.
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He added, “Even now people think, Oh, man, he’s just sitting on the tails, or he’s just holding those tails hostage. I don’t have tails like that.”
He recently received a collection of flute arrangements that make up his upcoming debut solo album, New Blue Sun. The music legend announced the eight-track instrumental project on Tuesday, just days ahead of this Friday’s surprise release.
Every song on the album has an obscene title, from “Ninety Three ‘Til Infinity And Beyoncé” to “That Night in Hawaii When I Turned Into a Panther and Started Making These Low Register Purring Tones That I Couldn’t Control … Shit Was wild.”
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Outkast performs at one of their reunion concerts in 2014.
Tim Mosenfelder/Getty
André 3000 ‘turned into a panther’ during Ayahuasca trip in Hawaii: ‘I was a changed person’
While his Outkast partner Big Boi has released three solo albums and toured extensively since Outkast went on hiatus following the release of the album Idlewild 17 years ago, André 3000 kept a low profile. He joined other artists on their tracks, including Beyoncé, John Legend and Kanye West, among others. And billed as André Benjamin, the performer also explored his acting chops by appearing in the 2018 sci-fi drama Claire Denis, starring Robert Pattinson, Life on high.
After publication New Blue Sun, “Ms. Jackson” rapper opened up to NPR All songs considered podcast about his decision to release an instrumental project. “I’ve been interested in woodwinds for a long time, so it was a natural progression to start playing flutes,” said the musician, who previously recorded flute on Outkast’s 2003 track “She Lives in My Lap” and James Blake. The 2019 song “Where’s the Catch?”
“This is the most real thing to come right now,” the cameraman continued. “Not to say I never would [rap] again, but these are not the things that are coming now. And I have to present what was given to me at that moment.”
He admitted, “In my opinion, I would really like to do a rap album. Well, maybe one day, but I have to find a way to say what I want to say in an interesting way that appeals to me at this age.”
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Source: HIS Education