7 piano sketches
So, we all know André 3000. Even if you weren’t bumping Outkast in middle school, you've definitely heard Hey Ya! at a wedding or caught wind of how he basically shaped a whole era of hip-hop with Big Boi. Outkast wasn’t just big—they were genre-bending, weird in the best way, and just plain untouchable. André, in particular, became a kind of mythological figure in music: a top-tier rapper who basically ghosted the industry right as people were begging for more.
After Outkast slowed down, Big Boi dove into solo projects, but André? He just kinda… wandered. He’d pop up on features every now and then and absolutely kill them—like his verse on “Sixteen” with Rick Ross? Insane. But the solo album everyone wanted? Nowhere to be found. Until New Blue Sun in 2023.
But here’s the thing—New Blue Sun wasn’t a rap album. It was this deeply meditative, flute-heavy ambient project that sounded more like a guided forest meditation than anything you’d expect from someone once known for spitting the wildest bars. And people were confused. Some were into it. Some were like, “Where’s the rapping??” But honestly, it was cool to see André just doing whatever weird, spiritual thing felt right to him. He wasn’t chasing trends, he was just vibing.
And now—completely unannounced—he drops a bunch of piano sketches. On a random Monday night. No rollout. No interviews. Just here you go. And honestly? That feels very on-brand for 2024 André.
The EP, titled with the usual absurdly long, oddly poetic names, is basically a handful of loosely structured piano pieces that feel like they were pulled from a dusty old laptop folder called “might finish later.” Most of them are fine—like, background-study-playlist fine. Nothing revolutionary, but there’s something kind of charming about how casual it all is. They’re not trying to be polished or deep. They just are.
There is one track that definitely stands out, and not in the best way: “when you’re an ant and you wake up in an awesome mood…”—you know the one. It’s barely even a song. There’s this odd spoken word thing with glitchy effects that sounds like Siri having an existential crisis, and just when you think it might lead somewhere, it ends. Weird as hell.
But then there are some gems sprinkled in—“hotel lobby pianos” is really nice, kind of cinematic and lonely in a peaceful way. “off rhythm laughter” and “i spend all day waiting for the night” also hit a nice emotional pocket. They feel more intentional, even though everything here is still super lo-fi and relaxed.
Look, if you’re expecting another genre-shattering André 3000 moment, this isn’t that. It’s not an album that’s trying to say anything grand. It’s a bunch of sketches. Literally. But there’s something kind of beautiful in that—like peeking into someone’s journal without the pressure of performance. Just pure, casual creativity.
So yeah. It’s not amazing. It’s not trash. It’s just André 3000 noodling on the piano because he felt like it. And honestly? That’s kind of the point.
ANDRÉ 3000 - 7 PIANO SKETCHES
RATING - 6.4/10
FAVORITE TRACK - N/A
GENRE - Instrumental, Ambient, Piano