One-half of the legendary hip-hop duo OutKast performed at the final day of the annual Atlanta Jazz Festival on Memorial Day not as a rapper but as a flutist.
Video footage of André 3000 playing the flute live on stage is going viral on social media as a result.
The Grammy Award-winning rapper and cultural tastemaker has been on tour after the November release of New Blue Sun, his first solo offering in more than 20 years that the New York Times described as “an improvised album of experimental music on which he plays a variety of flutes.”
André 3000 co-signed that sentiment when he told the crowd that his flute music was “really an expression of freedom.”
André 3000 performs at Blue Note Jazz Club on February 2, 2024, in New York City. | Source: Astrida Valigorsky / Getty
He expounded on that during the show and suggested his flute music is entirely improvisational, according to coverage from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“We’re completely making everything up as we go along,” André 3000 told the audience at Piedmont Park. “We never know what the night is going to sound like, but it’s refreshing for us.”
A pair of videos posted on X, formerly Twitter, gave people who weren’t able to attend the jazz festival a glimpse of what they missed at the performance while also seemingly backing up André 3000’s claims of 100% musical spontaneity.
“Got a chance to see Andre 3000 play the flute at the Jazz Fest today,” the post said.
As of Tuesday morning, the X post had been liked nearly 2,000 times with more than 135,000 views of André 3000’s performance.
André 3000 also used the performance as a way to publicly recognize Rico Wade, the producer and songwriter who founded the Dungeon Family collective of hip-hop artists that includes OutKast.
Wade died in April and was at the center of Organized Noize, a group of producers credited with carving out the unique sound of what has come to be known as Atlanta music.
André 3000 explained how supportive Wade was of his music.
“We did a residency in Atlanta, six shows, and Rico Wade showed up,” André 3000 told the audience. “One thing y’all may not know about Rico is that he raised me. Every time I would say I rap to Rico, he would walk off and say, ‘that ain’t good enough.’ For a moment, I want you all to make noise for King Rico Wade.”
Monday’s performance took place on the same day that André 3000 celebrated his 49th birthday. Doing so while delivering a flute performance in front of an audience in his hometown was likely double the satisfaction for the Atlanta icon.
Regardless of how anyone feels about the direction of André 3000’s latest music, there is no denying the lasting interest in and curiosity of his artistry.
SEE ALSO:
OutKast Nominated For Songwriters Hall Of Fame
Breaking Down Rico Wade’s Contributions To Hip-Hop Music
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