André 3000 has continued his efforts to transform into a flute superstar on a meditative new track from jazz mainstay Shabaka.
Continuing his embrace of jazz, new age and ambient music, the Outkast legend has hopped on the British musician’s “I’ll Do Whatever You Want,” which premiered on Friday (March 22), alongside Laraaji, Floating Points, and Esperanza Spalding.
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The track features Three Stacks on Teotihuacan drone flute; Shabaka on shakuhachi, a Japanese bamboo flute; Floating Points on Rhodes Chroma synth and vibraphone; Esperanza Spalding and Tom Herbert on bass; Dave Okumu on guitar; Marcus Gilmore on drums; and Carlos Niño on percussion.
Check out the track below.
Despite André’s full embrace of genres outside of rap, he never planned for this to be his current obsession.
Earlier this month, the Atlanta legend performed material from New Blue Sun at the Luna Luna art exhibition in Los Angeles. In a video captured by an attendee, the ATL legend took a moment to explain his recent transition.
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“‘How you just gon’ be rapping and then just get on stage playing fucking flutes? Like, I didn’t plan to be the flute n-gga,” he joked. “I didn’t plan to be that. It just kinda, like, it happened. When I started rapping, I didn’t know what it would be. It was just me and Big Boi at the crib watching rap videos.”
He continued: “Then we was like, ‘Let’s try it.’ I know we have plans. I know we go to school. We have intentions, we plan for things – but we all freestyling. We all making this shit up as we go along. We have intentions but we don’t really know.”
In an interview with High Snobiety, André 3000 recalled Big Boi’s reaction to his new music was and how it led to the latter playing the album for his other friends.
“He was smiling,” Dre remembered. “He was like, ‘Man … I played it for a lot of buddies, even my son. They were like, “It’s the real thing. It’s not a mimic.” You really did this.’”
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The 48-year-old also revealed that he played the project for Tyler, The Creator, adding: “I was in Tyler’s living room listening to it, and then Frank [Ocean] just shows up. And so we’re all sitting there listening to it. I’m wondering what the young people’s opinions would be. And I’m so happy that what I’m hearing is really good feedback.”
