7 Piano Sketches

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May 5, 2025, will stand now as a historic benchmark for André 3000. Famously elusive since the split of his iconic Southern hip-hop duo, Outkast, André arrived at the Met Gala—a celebration of Black dandyism that raised a record-setting $31 million—with a massive model of a piano strapped across his back. Beneath a red cap and round glasse, he beamed for red-carpet camera. The night represented not only the surprising relaunch of his erstwhile fashion line, Benji Bixby, but also the surprising release of <i>7 piano sketches</i>, his first full project since his surprise 2023 entry into serene spiritual jazz, <i>New Blue Sun</i>. <i>7 piano sketches</i> began to take shape a decade ago, when André and his son temporarily lived in a Houston house with spartan furnishings—some TV, some bed, a piano. Around the time of the final shows of the most-recent Outkast reunion, he began recording little piano pieces and even pondered releasing several as <i>The Best Worst Rap Album in History</i>. The liner notes were set to read, “It’s the free-est emotionally and best I’ve felt personally.” But he shelved them, leading first to lingering questions about when he would return to music and, ultimately, to <i>New Blue Sun</i>, a stunning break with expectations for one of hip-hop’s best-ever mind. .

via Apple Music

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