ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
At this point, you may have seen some of the over-the-top looks that swooshed down the Met Gala arrivals carpet last night - billowing trains, cascading ruffles and diamonds for days.
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
But even among all that high fashion, Andre 3000 stood out.
SHAPIRO: The man had a literal baby grand piano strapped to his back.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED INTERVIEWER: I need to know everything about this look.
ANDRE 3000: It's just a piano.
UNIDENTIFIED INTERVIEWER: It's just a piano.
ANDRE 3000: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED INTERVIEWER: But it's like, is it - like, could you play that piano right now?
ANDRE 3000: Yes, I could.
CHANG: And the medium had a message. Timed with his Met Gala arrival, Andre 3000 dropped a surprise new EP called "7 Piano Sketches."
(SOUNDBITE OF ANDRE 3000'S "BLUEBERRY MANSION")
CHANG: In some ways, "7 Piano Sketches" picks up where his last album, the flute-based "New Blue Sun," left off.
(SOUNDBITE OF ANDRE 3000'S "I SWEAR, I REALLY WANTED TO MAKE A 'RAP' ALBUM BUT THIS IS LITERALLY THE WAY THE WIND BLEW ME THIS TIME")
SHAPIRO: Andre 3000 spoke with NPR's Rodney Carmichael about that album back in 2023.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
ANDRE 3000: Well, it was really funny, like, as a youngster, well, I associated jazz music with old people.
RODNEY CARMICHAEL: OK (laughter). Yeah.
ANDRE 3000: I mean, I'm just being honest. Like...
CARMICHAEL: Yeah.
ANDRE 3000: ...As a rapper, I associated jazz music with old people and elevator music. Like, because once I discovered it and got deep into it and - you know, you loving Eric Dolphy and Coltrane and Yusef Lateef and Pharoah Sanders, like, these are some of my favorites. And as a child, like, I'm like, whoa, they can actually say something or make me feel something without saying something.
CHANG: And as the title of his new album "7 Piano Sketches" suggests, it consists of seven improvisational solo piano pieces...
(SOUNDBITE OF ANDRE 3000'S "BLUFFING IN THE SNOW")
CHANG: ...With introductions at the top of each track.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I SPEND ALL DAY WAITING FOR THE NIGHT")
UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL ARTIST: Seven. I, I spend, spend all...
SHAPIRO: In an Instagram post about the album, Andre 3000 said the recordings were mostly captured on his iPhone, which sat directly on the piano. Others were recorded on his laptop microphone.
(SOUNDBITE OF ANDRE 3000'S "I SPEND ALL DAY WAITING FOR THE NIGHT")
CHANG: He said the album's original title was "The Best Worst Rap Album In History." Worst because there are no lyrics on it at all, but also the best because, quote, "it's the freest emotionally and best I have felt personally. It's the best because it's like a palette cleanser for me."
SHAPIRO: "7 Piano Sketches" from Andre 3000 is out now.
(SOUNDBITE OF ANDRE 3000'S "BLUFFING IN THE SNOW") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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