Well, it looks like André 3000 has trolled us all again. The Outkast luminary and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee claimed to have lost a sketchbook somewhere in Amsterdam on March 29, with the “MISSING” posters to prove it. While many fans assumed it was part of an album rollout, his team denied it.
But on Monday (May 5), André 3000 showed up to the 2025 Met Gala in New York City with a piano strapped to his body around the same time he announced—yep!—his new album, 7 piano sketches. And, as the title suggests, Three Stacks ditched the flute in favor of the piano. It comes with a with a warning that reads: “NO BARS.”
The song titles, much like 2024’s Grammy Award-nominated album, New Blue Sun, are sprinkled with dashes of humor, especially evident on “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.”
“The original title for it was ‘The Best Worst Rap Album In History,’ André said in a statement, “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.’”
7 piano sketches was released via Epic Records around 8 p.m. ET, shortly after André 3000 arrived at the Met Gala in New York City, where he wore the piano number created by Burberry in collaboration with benji bixby. It adhered to the Met Gala’s Superfine: Tailoring Black Style theme, celebrating craftsmanship, structure, Black history and the evolution of dandyism. The event also marks the debut of benji bixby, an update on André’s late ’00s fashion line, Benjamin Bixby.
Partially composed and recorded prior to New Blue Sun, the beginnings of 7 piano sketches came about nearly 10 years ago, while André was staying in a house in Texas with his son that had only a piano, their beds and TV screens. André was compelled to compose more and share them in the spring, a time of year that “promises that life, creativity and possibility are ever-renewing.”
It’s going to be a busy year for André. On Saturday (May 10), he’ll receive an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Music from Berklee College of Music as part of their graduating Class Of 2025. On November 8, he and Big Boi will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.
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