André 3000 remains impossible to pin down | Mint Lounge

Low Fidelity A swerve into the post-hippie territory of spiritual jazz, ambient music and free improv is absolutely on brand for André 3000 André 3000 has always been one of rap’s more eccentric geniuses. Over the decade or so (1994-2006) he ruled the charts as one half of legendary Atlanta rap duo Outkast, the rapper excelled at landing artistic sucker-punches from left-field. He treated his voice like playdough, moulding it into new pitches and tempos on the fly. He crafted rhymes that are almost architectural, complete with trap-door entendres and subterranean subtext. With every album, he adopted new personas and outfits, each more outrageous than the last. He was rap’s answer to Sun Ra, a visionary who seemed to come from outer space with a radical, perspective-shifting take on black culture and musicality. So I guess it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that André’s first solo release in 17 years, New Blue Sun, is a new-age instrumental album, 87 minutes of minimalist flute melodies and new age spiritual ambience, with nary a human voice on offer.When the news first dropped, it sounded like a joke: yet another piece of masterful trolling by an artist who revels in
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