André 3000 stepped out onto this year’s Met Gala carpet with a grand piano strapped to his back and paired the look with a surprise album titled, 7 piano sketches.
The 16-minute collection is his first body of work since his 2023 flute-based album New Blue Sun, which Rolling Stone praised as “a gorgeous, deeply contemporary, prismatic breath of fresh incense.” Similar to his previous music, 7 piano sketches fully embraces its instrumentals and puts André’s solo talents on full display. A press release for the album included the note: “Warning: No Bars.”
The cover for the new music features an illustration echoing the artist’s bespoke piano ensemble, which was created by Burberry in collaboration with benji bixby and styled by Law Roach, as part of the event’s theme “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.”
Per the release, the new project was partially composed and recorded prior to New Blue Sun, while André was staying in a house in Texas with his son that had only a piano, their beds, and TV screens. “These piano pieces weren’t recorded with the intention of presenting them in any formal way to the public. They were personal, at home recordings. I would sometimes text them to my family and friends,” said André in a lengthy social media post alongside the cover art. “Pardon the sound quality,” he added, explaining that all the songs, with the exception of “Blueberries,” were recorded on his “iPhone sitting directly on the piano or my laptop microphone.”
André wrote that the original title was The Best Worst Rap Album In History and offered 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.”
Last month, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced that André and Outkast bandmate BigBoi will join the class of 2025 in the performer category, along with Bad Company, Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Cyndi Lauper, Soundgarden, and the White Stripes.
7 piano sketches Track List
1. “bluffing in the snow”
2. “and then one day you’ll …”
3. “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”
4. “hotel lobby pianos”
5. “blueberry mansions”
6. “off rhythm laughter”
7. “i spend all day waiting for the night”
