From Bars to Keys: Everything We Know About André 3000’s Unexpected Piano Project

The Breakdown: André 3000 was seen wearing a piano at the 2025 Met Gala as an announcement for his new piano instrumental album. His second solo studio album comes months after finishing his New Blue Sun tour.

OutKast will be inducted into the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class. André 3000 and Big Boi made a name for themselves as one of the most prolific rap duos of all time. They’re hailed as Atlanta legends and leaders of the Southern Rap movement.

The duo complemented each other perfectly as André 3000 bent the rules of rhyme and flow, while Big Boi came with a technical precision over beats. Their album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below is the best-selling rap album of all time with a 13x platinum certification from the RIAA. Since going their separate ways, 3 Stack’s career has been one of reclusion and the occasional feature.

For the last decade, having an André 3000 credit on your album was like having a rare gem, and everyone made sure to tune in to hear new verses. Nowadays, fans aren’t tuning in for his abstract lyricism, but rather his freeform instrumentalism on new albums.

André 3000 is establishing himself more and more as a solo instrumentalist. The former OutKast member released his second solo studio album without any lyrics. 7 piano sketches is exactly what the title describes it to be. The new project features seven original compositions from 3 Stacks, all on piano.

He may be exploring a new format for his new releases, and this album and his last were both surprise drops. The Atlanta native didn’t promote the release in any way, except during the release itself. At the 2025 Met Gala, the multi-instrumentalist was seen wearing a piano on his back, replicating his album artwork on the red carpet.

Like his last album, New Blue Sun, André 3000’s track titles give listeners all the insight on the songs as needed. The third track is aptly named, “when you’re a ant and you wake up in an awesome mood, about to drive your son to school, only to discover that you left the lights on in the car last night so your battery is drained”.

It’s random, it’s fun, and it creates a certain atmosphere for the listener. There’s no other way to describe the 54-second track other than an artistic retelling of a mundane life event. It’s also reminiscent of the third track on New Blue Sun, “That Night In Hawaii When I Turned Into A Panther And Started Making These Low Register Purring Tones That I Couldn’t Control…Sh¥t Was Wild”.

All seven compositions have virtually no accompaniment to 3 Stacks’ piano playing. The only features on the album are spoken vocals introducing tracks by Emmy Paalman and Fatima Robinson, per Pitchfork. There are MPC drums on the final track, “i spend all day waiting for the night”, and a laugh track on its predecessor, “off rhythm laughter”.

According to his official site, every track is an improvisation recorded on his iPhone or laptop microphone (excluding “blueberry mansions”). The project was recorded years ago in a home he shared solely with his son, which was only furnished with “a piano, [their] beds and tv screens.”

The former rapper acknowledges that the songs have no formal structure and that he, “randomly but with purpose [moves his hands] around until [he finds] something that feels good or interesting.” “I cannot name which notes, keys or chords that I’m playing. I simply like the sound and mechanics of piano playing,” he stated in his press release for the album.

As of writing this, there has been no tour announced for 7 piano sketches. André 3000 finished a tour in November 2024 for New Blue Sun that only lasted around two months across the U.S. If fans do get a chance to hear the piano compositions live, the tour will more than likely be another short one.