By Edem Latsu Nukafu
Just after earning two Grammy nominations for his 2023 duet with Killer Mike few days ago, André 3000 has astonished buffs with news that he is dropping his first album in over a decade and half, “New Blue Sun”, which will arrive Friday (November 17).
The Grammy-award-winning rap duo, OutKast co-founder’s album is eight tracks and 87 minutes long, according to NPR Music‘s Rodney Carmichael, who spoke to Dre.
According to a song title, the album departs from Andre’s hip-hop roots and emphasizes his jazz talents, including flute playing. It is produced by Spiritual Jazz veteran Carlos Niño (Miguel-Atwood Ferguson, Madlib, etc.). “One thing it is not, however, is a Rap record: No bars, no beats, no sub-bass. André doesn’t sing on this joint, either,” discloses Carmichael in the new report.
“What [André 3000] does do is play flute, and plenty of it — contrabass flute, Mayan flutes, bamboo flutes — along with other digital wind instruments. In place of lyrics, he provides eight provocative tunes titles, the first of which almost reads like a lowkey apology, with a wink of irony: ‘I swear, I Really Wanted To Make A “Rap” Album But This Is Literally The Way The Wind Blew Me This Time.’”
“New Blue Sun was something that I realized, whoa, I really want people to hear it,” André uttered. “I really want to share it. That’s my only gauge. I have to like it as a person, as an artist myself, because if I don’t like it I can’t expect nobody else to like it. I can’t pretend in that way. That’s always been hard for me.”
He proceeded and added that, “Once we started recording New Blue Sun, I think like three songs in I was like, Oh, we got something. I remember I had maybe four songs and I was just kind of testing it out ’cause I wanted to see how a younger audience would perceive it. I live in Cali now, so I reached out to [Tyler, The Creator] for him to check it out and I went to his house.” André describes Tyler’s Odd Future cohort (and past 3000 collaborator) crooner Frank Ocean being a trusted sounding board as well.
However, Killer Mike hinted Dre had new music coming this summer. Mike, a Dungeon Family member, suggested previewing an album while appearing on Sway On The Morning. Later, the MICHAEL rapper expatiated that he was kidding during the interview.
Writer’s email: edemlatsu093@gmail.com
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