It can be said that the artists who leave a lasting legacy are those who continually challenge themselves and aren’t resistant to reinvention. If so, the lasting journey of musician, rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor André Benjamin, aka André 3000, may be one such example. The multifaceted musician will perform at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM)’s Howard Gilman Opera House on Oct. 25 and 26, accompanied by Carlos Niño, Surya Botofasina, Nate Mercereau, and Deantoni Parks. Meshell Ndegeocello, another musical maverick, will join André 3000 on Oct. 26 as guest opener.
The Oct. 26 performance was added due to overwhelming demand, which is impressive on its own, but even more so when you consider André 3000 started his career more than 30 years ago. In 2003, his popularity exploded as part of the rap duo OutKast with the double album “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below” — but these upcoming performances are for his most recent album, “New Blue Sun,” where he departs from the music for which he became most popular. His audience trusts that wherever he takes them, they want to be there, too. About the audiences who have so far turned out for his tour, he told the AmNews, “It’s been interesting and exciting. Some people have been moved to tears. Some people fight. Things happen,” he laughed.
André 3000 is unapologetic about his evolution as an artist and his choice to do music his way and on his timeline. “I don’t look at myself as a product. Yes, the finished work is a product. But it’s not a formula that I have or a thing that I’m trying to stick to. I think a lot of times, in music careers, it’s about exploring an entertainment career, about keeping a fan base and delivering some familiarity because you’re trying to uphold a thing. But that hasn’t been my concern at all.”
Audiences, and the music industry itself, have sometimes been criticized for resistance to certain musicians straddling or crossing into different genres, but André 3000 sees things differently. “I’m never tripping if someone doesn’t like a thing. You can’t force a relationship. And at the end of the day, it’s kind of what you’re trying to do. You’re trying to have a relationship with somebody with the music, and if they’re not into it, it’s not for them.”
The first instrumental record to land on the Billboard Top 200 Chart, “New Blue Sun” is André 3000’s debut solo album and his first new work in 17 years. It is a minimalist combo of flute-heavy spiritual jazz and what used to be called “world music,” an instrumental musical experience. The flautist is none other than André 3000 himself, who plays what Rolling Stone has described as “a myriad” of flutes on the album. The artist apparently began learning in the last 10 years. “I heard someone else playing it. I liked the sound of it. Then I look up, like six, seven years later, and I’ve got like 30, 40 flutes, and I’ve just been playing. It happened very naturally,” he explained.
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“New Blue Sun” feels like something a Coltrane fan would want to dive into. In fact, the artist acknowledges being partly inspired by the jazz legend. “I think anyone playing any instrumental music would have to nod to Coltrane in some type of way, because he’s offered so much to music. I’m not on a level of scholarship as Coltrane. I don’t know if we’re playing the same notes, because I don’t know notes. I don’t describe it in that way, but he’s definitely an influence and Alice [Coltrane] as well, so that’s all in our music.”
Though he explains he has never stopped “experimenting” or making music, it took him 17 years to release new music. André 3000 describes the decision as almost wanting to present it as a gift to audiences in response to the current social environment. His original title for it, before deciding it was “too negative,” was “Everything Has Gotten Too Loud.” He explained, “This happened to be the one that was valuable to me. It made sense. I felt that where we are, like the pace of things, the volume of things is pretty turned up. The pace of the world is moving fast. I just felt that this would be a nice breather.”
He added that the pivot he took making “New Blue Sun,” though lauded by many, may not be for all of his fans, especially those who came to love him as a rapper. However, the fulfillment he received from making it overshadows any apprehensions. “I’m happy to go on the path that I’ve been on with music. To have a life that I can be excited about. To explore things that excite me in an art form. That’s kind of the best gift that you can have.” And perhaps the best gift music lovers can have is our own (maybe grudging) respect for André 3000’s staunch commitment to being an artist above trying to please the masses.
Tickets for both performances start at $35 and are on sale now at BAM.org.
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