Last November, the OutKast rapper stunned fans by dropping New Blue Sun, an album in which he experiments with flute and other instruments.
But during a recent interview for LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s The Shop podcast, André 3000 – real name André Benjamin – insisted that he didn’t have an agenda with his new sound.
“I love jazz music. I don’t want people to think that I’m trying to be a jazz musician. I don’t take myself that seriously,” he stated. “I kind of look at myself as a sonic displayist. I don’t know what notes I’m playing, to be completely honest. I’m not trying to pretend like I know what I’m doing, in a way. I actually don’t know what I’m doing and that’s part of the art.”
New Blue Sun marked an end to André’s 17-year hiatus of new music.
And the musician noted that he wanted to rebel against the “elitist” nature of the jazz scene.
“Jazz is a studied music, so I just try to humanise. Even with the title of the album I was just trying to poke fun at it, have fun,” the 49-year-old added.