André 3000 Hints at New Music for 2025, Expressing a Desire to “Just Want to Express More”
André 3000 has revealed that he has new music on the way. The singer, songwriter, and rapper, whose real name is André Benjamin, released his debut solo album New Blue Sun in November of last year, which surprised some fans by featuring instrumental flute tracks instead of the funk and jazz-infused rap he was known for in his previous work with OutKast.
In a recent interview, Benjamin was asked about his plans for 2025 and what an “André 3000 vision board” might look like. While he didn’t confirm whether he would return to rap, he shared that new music was definitely in the works. He expressed that he was exploring new ways to distribute and express his music, stating that he didn’t want to define exactly what it would be yet, but simply wanted to “express more.”
Over the weekend, André Benjamin performed New Blue Sun at Tyler, The Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw festival and spent the autumn touring the US, with stops in cities like San Diego, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Salt Lake City. Earlier in the year, he also performed a few shows in the UK and Europe, including a performance at London’s Jazz Cafe, and supported Loyle Carner at his All Points East show in August.
This month, New Blue Sun received nominations for Album of the Year and Best Alternative Jazz Album at the Grammys, while its opening track, I Swear, I Really Wanted to Make a Rap Album But This Is Literally the Way the Wind Blew Me This Time, earned a nomination for Best Instrumental Composition.
Discussing the nominations with The New York Times, Benjamin admitted that while he and his team had aimed for nominations in the alternative jazz or ambient categories, he was still completely surprised by the recognition. He described the experience as “super, super, super duper cool.”
Last year, Benjamin reflected on his relationship with rap, stating that he felt he had “aged out” of the genre. In a recent interview, he explained that rapping sometimes felt inauthentic to him because he no longer had the same topics to discuss. He noted that while age isn’t the sole factor in what you rap about, it does influence the subject matter, joking that topics like getting a co***oscopy or struggling with eyesight wouldn’t fit in a rap. He clarified that although he’d attempted to create new rap material, working with both new and old producers, he didn’t have any new raps in his collection and wasn’t holding any “raps hostage.”
–Silviya.Y