If the Met Gala couldn't get any weirder, here comes André 3000 walking in with a baby grand piano harnessed to his body like he's the most casual person on earth. In a custom Burberry x Benjamin Bixby jumpsuit, the Outkast legend transformed fashion's most over-the-top evening into a meditative, poetic performance and made it look casual.
It was partly strange and partly beautiful, but it was typical André there was meaning. The piano he was carrying wasn't simply a prop but was the piano. The one gracing the cover of his latest instrumental album, '7 Piano Sketches,' is a no-lyrics, all-vibes project that slyly crawls toward the underground buzz circuit.
"This little bitty piano album," André laughed, describing the idea of schlepping the instrument as "hilarious." But where there's humor, there's heart. Released days before the gala, the album was just the latest salvo in his ongoing transition from hip-hop royalty to avant-garde explorer.
Only one name sprang to the mind of the stylist Law Roach when Burberry approached him to help curate its Met presence this year. "The first person I thought of was André," Roach told GQ. "When I heard about the piano, I was like, 'Of course he would. He's the only one.'" And really, he's right. Who else but @ladygaga could make a grand piano backpack look so fashionable?
Formerly known for his lyrical genius, André's recent work has been almost entirely instrumental. First, there was New Blue Sun, his 2023 flute-driven odyssey. Now, there are 7 Piano Sketches: gentle, unspoken, soul-cleansing. "It's supposed to be the worst rap album ever," André wrote jokingly, "since it has no words on it." "It's the best because it's the free-est emotionally and best I've ever felt health-wise."
The 49-year-old's departure from rapping isn't a refusal but a reframing. Where words dance, you'll find textures, tones, and tiny, inquisitive melodies. The album seems like a handwritten letter, more than a personal, imperfect, and incredibly loose musical release.
André and his perennial rhythmic accomplice Big Boi will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as Outkast later this year. This immortality cements them in the annals of music history forever. But don't bet on André resting on nostalgia. He has pianos to haul, flutes to play, and a creative soul that will not be pigeonholed.
Amid a sea of sequin gowns and towering tuxedos, André 3000 marched through the Met Gala with a piano strapped to his back, resembling some mythical bard from a future jazz opera. And at that instant, fashion bowed to art.
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