André 3000 shares instrumental project 7 piano sketches

André 3000 has released 7 piano sketches, a collection of instrumental piano compositions. The EP marks his first new project since his 2023 instrumental album, New Blue Sun. Scroll down to hear it now.

Like New Blue Sun, 7 piano sketches doesn’t feature any rapping. The only voices on the project come via introductory notes from André, a studio engineer, and the choreographer Fatima Robinson. A press release announcing the EP came with the warning “no bars” and a statement in which the musician explained that the original title he had for it was The Best Worst Rap Album In History.

André was among the guests at Monday night’s Met Gala and used the red carpet as a promo opportunity, turning up with a grand piano strapped to his back. The look was styled by Law Roach and created in a collaboration between Burberry and Benji Bixby, Three Stacks’ newly revived and evolved late ’00s fashion label.

Speaking to GQ, André said the music that makes up 7 piano sketches date back 12 to 15 years and that two of the songs —”blueberry mansions” and “i spend all day waiting for the night”— have been with him since 2000.

“I had a piano in my house, and sometimes I would record ideas, or record myself improvising and making up stuff from scratch,” he told the publication. “A lot of these little moments or songs, they were just fun pieces that I would email to my son, or I would email them to Erykah [Badu], or to my stepdad or other musicians like Q-Tip or Tyler the Creator. If they look in the history of their phones, they’ll find some of these pieces. When I listened back to ’em, I was like, this is pretty interesting. So I wanted to make a collective out of them. I think it’s a cool piece of music that people might want to have in their arsenal.”

It was recently announced that André, alongside fellow Outkast member Big Boi, will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. Outkast join fellow new inductees including The White Stripes, Cyndi Lauper, and Soundgarden.