Andre 3000 Reveals He Was Invited To Play Flute At Virgil Abloh's Funeral, Explains Why He Said "No"

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Christina Milian, Andre "3000" Benjamin and Cassie Visit MTV's "TRL" Studios
Andre "3000" Benjamin during Christina Milian, Andre "3000" Benjamin and Cassie Visit MTV's "TRL" Studios at MTV Studios in New York City, New York, United States. (Photo by Theo Wargo/WireImage)
Andre had a good reason.

Andre 3000 made a huge announcement yesterday, and fans are still reeling from it. The legendary artist will be coming through with an instrumental album called New Blue Sun. Overall, this is a project that will consist of the rapper playing the flute. Although many wanted a rap album from him, it seems like this will not be in the cards. Instead, he is making the kind of album that he wanted to do. It spoke to him in the moment, and you have to love him taking a huge risk.

In an interview with Rodney Carmichael of NPR, Andre 3000 got to speak on a plethora of topics surrounding the album. Moreover, he even spoke on some of the things that have happened to him over the past couple of years. For instance, he noted that Virgil Abloh's family wanted him to play flute at his funeral. However, Andre felt like he would be a distraction. Not to mention, he didn't know Virgil that well and didn't think it would be appropriate.

Andre 3000 Divulges On His Decision

“When Virgil [Abloh] passed, his family asked would I play at the funeral and I denied it, but only because I felt like I would be a distraction,” Andee 3000 explained. “I don’t know, I just felt like it would have taken away from the moment and I only knew Virgil through texts and a few conversations. So I couldn’t pretend like I knew him that well. I was honored that the family asked me to play at the funeral, but I couldn’t. And so when I told Guillermo, he was like, ‘Yeah, sometimes you have to look at it now as a responsibility to play. They asked you to play for a reason.'”

Turning down something like that can be tough, but given his reasoning, it makes a whole lot of sense. We're sure Virgil's family understood completely. Let us know what you think of this story, in the comments section below. Additionally, stay tuned to HNHH for more news and updates from around the music world. We will always keep you informed.

About The Author
Alexander Cole is the current editor-in-chief of HotNewHipHop. He started at HotNewHipHop back in 2018 where he began as a Sports and Sneakers writer. It was here where he began to hone his craft, putting his journalism degree from Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, to good use. Since that time, he has documented some of the biggest stories in the hip-hop world. From the Kendrick Lamar and Drake beef to the disturbing allegations against Diddy, Alex has helped HotNewHipHop navigate large-scale stories as they happen. In 2021, he went to the Bahamas for the Big 3's Championship Game. It was here where he got to interview legendary figures like Ice Cube, Clyde Drexler, and Stephen Jackson. He has also interviewed other superstar athletes such as Antonio Brown, Damian Lillard, and Paul Pierce. This is in addition to conversations with social media provocateurs like Jake Paul, and younger respected artists like Kaycyy, Lil Tecca, and Jeleel!
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