Almost two decades since OutKast’s last album, Andre 3000 is finally gracing fans with his solo debut offering, titled New Blue Sun. It’s almost unbelievable that the world hasn’t gotten a project from the acclaimed rapper all these years. He's remained in the mix with a handful of features but, admittedly, fans had lost hope on the release of a solo project. However, with this recent development, many are understandably beside themselves with excitement.
Earlier in the year, André appeared on “Scientists & Engineers” with Killer Mike, who hinted at Andre 3000's solo album before walking back on his claims. Over time, these sparse appearances are all listeners have come to expect from him. As a result, the announcement of the release of New Blue Sun took us all by surprise. Set to drop very soon, here’s what we know about the album that has already garnered praise from Tyler, the Creator and Frank Ocean.
An Unexpected Announcement
As aforementioned, New Blue Sun is technically Andre 3000’s debut album. Up until very recently, he had intentionally kept fans in the dark about the release of new music. Moreover, for reasons best known to him, he chose to keep a tight leash on his creative process. Surprisingly, one of the only reliable bits of information about the album before its announcement came from Killer Mike. In an interview on Sway in the Morning in June 2023, Mike mentioned an upcoming André 3000 album. Given André’s time away from the spotlight, some fans were initially skeptical about the authenticity of this claim. However, it turned out to be very true. On November 14, 2023, André 3000 announced that his solo debut album, New Blue Sun, would soon be released.
What To Expect On New Blue Sun
After coming down from the high of the album’s announcement, there’s an important detail for fans to confront. If you're looking to hear Andre rapping like the rent's due, you may be disappointed with his solo offering. The 87-minute sonic experience will be devoid of bars, according to the “Hey Ya” rapper. In an exclusive interview with NPR, he shared that “it’s not a rap album, though." "I don’t want to troll people," he continued. "I don’t want people to think, ‘Oh, this André 3000 album is coming!’ And you play it and like, ‘Oh man, no verses.’ So even actually on the packaging, you’ll see it says, ‘Warning: no bars.’”
According to NPR, André does not sing on the album either. It is a completely instrumental body of work that sees André playing a lot of flutes. An excerpt from the piece states, “No bars, no beats, no sub-bass. André doesn’t sing on this joint, either. What he does do is play flute, and plenty of it — contrabass flute, Mayan flutes, bamboo flutes — along with other digital wind instruments.”
New Blue Sun: Tracklist and Guest Features
The tracklist for New Blue Sun is quite unorthodox. Each song title contains complete sentences and mentions everyone from Jeffrey Dahmer to Ghandi. Meanwhile, he hasn't confirmed any features on the project. Here is the tracklist for André’s upcoming debut album:
1. “I swear, I Really Wanted To Make A “Rap” Album But This Is Literally The Way The Wind Blew Me This Time”
2. “The Slang Word P(*)ssy Rolls Off The Tongue With Far Better Ease Than The Proper Word Vagina . Do You Agree?”
3. “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”
4. “BuyPoloDisorder’s Daughter Wears A 3000™ Button Down Embroidered”
5. “Ninety Three ‘Til Infinity And Beyoncé”
6. “Ghandi, Dalai Lama, Your Lord & Savior J.C. / Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, And John Wayne Gacy”
7. “Ants To You, Gods To Who ?”
8. “Dreams Once Buried Beneath The Dungeon Floor Slowly Sprout Into Undying Gardens”
Release Date
As announced on November 14, 2023, New Blue Sun will be released on Friday, November 17, 2023. While it is André 3000’s first project in years, we certainly hope it won’t be his last. Fans of the rapper are eager for him to follow it up with another project soon. Hopefully, they won’t wait another 17 years for the next one.
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