Atlanta rap legend André 3000 threw his fans one hell of a curve ball with his new album, New Blue Sun. Technically, it’s his first solo album after years of making cultural classics with Outkast, but rather than rapping, which is what every wanted from him 15 years after Outkast called it quits, it’s a whole album of him playing flute music.
As it turns out, that was just fine for plenty of us, especially after he’d spent the last decade popping up and playing his flutes in random locations, but it did leave fans with a few questions. Fortunately, we’ve got Questlove to ask those questions for us, which he did in a brand-new episode of his long-running podcast, Questlove Supreme, recorded in LA with 3 Stacks but without his usual co-hosts.
In the interview, which finds Amir tossing off what he calls “non sequitur” questions to Dre’s delight, 3K reveals why he started playing the flute in the first place and how he learned.
Why Does André 3000 Play The Flute?
André explains that he “chose” the flute “because of the ‘mobileness’ of the flute.” He says he tooled around with acoustic and bass guitars but because flutes are so portable, he can just pull it out and start playing anytime — including in the backs of Ubers.
How Many Flutes Does André 3000 Have?
He says he has about 30 flutes, all from different makers. The style he has the most of is based on Mesoamerican instruments that were originally made of clay.
How Did André 3000 Learn To Play The Flute?
Dre says he “got schooled by Uber drivers,” since he would often play during rides and learned different cultural approaches to the instrument (it does seem like every culture in the world has a version of the instrument). “If I’m playing and it’s a Chinese driver,” he elaborates, “He’ll turn around like, ‘That reminds me of my country!’ Or if it’s a Japanese driver… or if it’s an African. I’m playing the same flute, but every nationality of driver will turn around and tell me it reminds them of their country.
Does André 3000 Play Flute By Ear?
Quest asks Andre, “When you play… are your hands telling you what to do or do you know that this particular position will yield this note and that note?” André calls this the “fun and scary part” about how he plays, saying he knows that holding his hands a certain way, it makes a certain sound, but musical theory is beyond him.