André 3000 has announced the release of his long-awaited debut album, New Blue Sun, which will arrive on November 17th. Update: You can now stream the album in full.
Right up front, however the OutKast rapper warns fans that the album is not a rap record. The cover artwork says as much, as it includes a label warning that the album contains “no bars.” Instead, according to NPR Music, New Blue Sun is an 87-minute collection of minimalist and experimental music featuring André 3000 playing a variety of flutes and other wind instruments. There are no bars, no beats, no vocals.
“I don’t want to troll people. I don’t want people to think, Oh, this André 3000 album is coming! And you play it and like, ‘Oh man, no verses,’ André 3000 said in an interview with NPR. “So even actually on the packaging, you’ll see it says, ‘Warning: no bars.’ It’s letting you know what it is off the top.”
“I love rap music because it was a part of my youth. So I would love to be out here with everybody rapping, because it’s almost like fun and being on the playground. I would love to be out here playing with everybody, but it’s just not happening for me,” he continued. “This is the realest thing that’s coming right now. Not to say that I would never do it again, but those are not the things that are coming right now. And I have to present what’s given to me at the time.”
Up until now, André 3000 has never released a solo album; the closest he had come was The Love Below from OutKast’s 2003 double LP Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. Since the duo’s final studio album, 2006’s Idlewild, his musical output has been limited to sporadic guest verses as he instead focused mostly on acting.
However, in recent years André 3000 gravitated towards the flute and was frequently seen playing the instrument in public.
“I’ve been playing flute for years. It got to a point where it’s kind of Instagram worthy, where people were kind of sneaking and filming me play — in space, in the public,” André 3000 explained to NPR. “I would just walk for hours and I’m a walker. I love to walk. So I would just walk and play for hours. I did that for years and it got to a point where, okay, I want to share. And so going into New Blue Sun, it was kind of like trying to figure out, well, how do I share it? And I had all these ideas and all these influences of how I wanted it to sound. And I think moving to Venice definitely helped introduce me to people I would be playing with.”
As there are no lyrics or verses on the album, André 3000 relies on the track titles to “give as much thought or information.” For example, the opening track is titled, “I swear, I Really Wanted To Make A ‘Rap’ Album But This Is Literally The Way The Wind Blew Me This Time.” Another track is called, “That Night In Hawaii When I Turned Into A Panther And Started Making These Low Register Purring Tones That I Couldn’t Control … Sh¥t Was Wild.”
“I been going through a phase where I love these really long titles,” André explained. “I was trying to find fun and I think that when people think of flutes they think of cymbals and chimes or meditation or this kind of ethereal kind of sound. They forget that we’re human, too.”
You can listen to André 3000’s full interview with NPR Music here.
Earlier this year, André 3000 contributed a rap verse to the track “Scientists & Engineers” off of Killer Mike’s latest album. Last week, the song received Grammy nominations for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance.
New Blue Sun Artwork:
New Blue Son Tracklist:
01. I swear, I Really Wanted To Make A “Rap” Album But This Is Literally The Way The Wind Blew Me This Time
02. The Slang Word P(*)ssy Rolls Off The Tongue With Far Better Ease Than The Proper Word Vagina. Do You Agree?
03. That Night In Hawaii When I Turned Into A Panther And Started Making These Low Register Purring Tones That I Couldn’t Control … Sh¥t Was Wild
04. BuyPoloDisorder’s Daughter Wears A 3000™ Button Down Embroidered
05. Ninety Three ‘Til Infinity And Beyoncé
06. Ghandi, Dalai Lama, Your Lord & Savior J.C. / Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, And John Wayne Gacy
07. Ants To You, Gods To Who ?
08. Dreams Once Buried Beneath The Dungeon Floor Slowly Sprout Into Undying Gardens
