André 3000 knew he was taking a big swing when he released his rap-free, flute-forward album New Blue Sun earlier this year. So naturally he wanted to get some feedback from his longtime former partner in rhyme in OutKast, Big Boi.
In a new cover story for High Snobiety, Three Stacks reveals that he played “some” of the instrumental jazz album for Big, whose reaction was just about perfect. “He was smiling… He was like, ‘Man…,’” André said of Big Boi’s response to the album with mouthful song titles such as the opening track, “I Swear, I Really Wanted To Make A ‘Rap’ Album But This Is Literally The Way The Wind Blew Me This Time.”
‘Dre said he also cued it up for a “lot of buddies,” as well as his son, who told him, “‘It’s the real thing. It’s not a mimic. You really did this.’” The listening sessions included an early preview for Tyler, the Creator as well.
“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,” he said. “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.”
The interview also pulled back the curtain on the early confluence of jazz and hip-hop that André found in the music of A Tribe Called Quest — including the news that he originally used the nom de rap “Jahz” in homage to Tribe’s Q-Tip.
“My first rap name was Jahz because of Q-Tip,” he explained. “We were huge A Tribe Called Quest fans. In high school, they were the pinnacle — them, Grand Puba, Souls of Mischief. I don’t think Q-Tip gets enough credit for introducing a generation of kids to a forgotten music.” Specifically, 3000 said he was super inspired by how Tribe wove jazz samples into their psychedelic hip-hop stew.
“As a kid, jazz music meant some old-people shit that’s in elevators,” André said. “Q-Tip found a way to make it actually cool. The jazz guys were actually the rap guys of that time. They were doing heroin, they were in clubs. Years from now, people are going to listen to trap music and think, ‘Oh, that’s nice.’ It happens. It happens.”
New Blue Sun hit hard when it dropped in November, with “I Swear” — which clocked in at a robust 12 minutes and 20 seconds — entering the Hot 100 at No. 90 on the Dec. 2-dated chart. That made it the longest-running song ever to have hit the chart, surpassing Tool’s “Fear Inoculum,” at 10:21 in length. André’s track – an instrumental, which is also unusual for a modern Hot 100 hit – also bested the August 2019 No. 93 peak of Tool’s track.
