André 3000 might be broadening his horizons regarding music these days, having dropped both a flute-based and piano-based record, but he recently admitted that he might need to work on his music theory.
The OutKast rapper was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Berklee College of Music last week, and to coincide with the honor, he delivered a speech to the class of 2025. At the start of his speech, he told the crowd that he was thrilled by the invitation because he “couldn’t wait to look directly at the future.” The multi-hyphenate, who also acts, suggested that he expressed a bit of impostor syndrome after he received the invite.
“I started to myself, ‘Why me?” he said. “What could I possibly say to these musically advanced individuals as they’re about to go out into the world? What can I offer them, you know, me being a rapper? If someone were to walk up to me right now and say, ‘André, I’ll give you $2 billion right now if you can look at this keyboard, and with only two seconds on the clock, [and] point to a key that would play the E-note.’ I would not be able to. I would lose that money!”
André then recalled how he got into the world of music making through the use of drum machines and samplers. “There were our first instruments we played with,” he said. “My first drum machines were an Akai MPC 3000 and the SP1200. Most of us didn’t have musical training of any kind, especially not from public schools. Most of the music programs had been cut out of schools by this time. But in search for the perfect samples, it forces us into a practice of patiently listening.”
André explained that through patiently listening to records, searching for the perfect sample, he took an interest in reading album credits and it inspired him to start picking up instruments.
André 3000 released a new project, 7 Piano Sketches, earlier this month. The project is his first new music since the divisive New Blue Sun, a new-age and jazzy ambient record that’s entirely instrumental and is led by his flute-playing. When he dropped 7 Piano Sketches, he warned his fans that he was once again not rapping on the material.
“These piano sketches are improvisations,” he said of the project. “To conjure them up, I spread my fingers out on the keys and randomly but with purpose move them around until I find something that feels good or interesting. If it feels really good I will try to repeat it. I cannot name which notes, keys or chords that I’m playing. I simply like the sound and mechanics of piano playing.”
