Andre 3000 made a bold statement at the 2025 Met Gala, not just with fashion, but with music. The Outkast legend arrived wearing a piano strapped to his back, using the high-profile event to unveil his latest project: a series of “piano sketches.”
“These piano sketches are improvisations,” he shared in an Instagram post following the gala. “To conjure them up, I spread my fingers out on the keys and randomly but with purpose move them around until I find something that feels good or interesting. If it feels really good I will try to repeat it.” He named Thelonious Monk, McCoy Tyner, Philip Glass, Stephen Sondheim, Joni Mitchell, and Vince Guaraldi as key influences behind the collection.
He didn’t create the tracks for a major release. In fact, Andre described them as deeply personal recordings he made at home and occasionally sent to friends and family. “These piano pieces weren’t recorded with the intention of presenting them in any formal way to the public,” he wrote. Most of the material, he noted, was recorded on his iPhone, years before the release of his 2023 experimental jazz album New Blue Sun.
That album, his first official solo studio release, earned multiple 2025 Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year. In his post, Andre revealed he initially wanted to call the piano collection The Best Worst Rap Album In History. “It’s jokingly the worst rap album in history because there are no lyrics on it at all,” he explained. “It’s the best because it’s the free-est emotionally and best I’ve felt personally. It’s the best because it’s like a palette cleanser for me.”
Andre’s creative momentum continues with Outkast’s upcoming induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame later this year.
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