Andr茅 3000 trades hip-hop for the flute 鈥撀燼nd still resonates with listeners
-
Ken Makin Contributor
I was 15 years old when I received my first hip-hop album as a gift 鈥� a radio-edited version of 鈥淎quemini,鈥� by Outkast. I was drawn in by an infectious, bass-thumping single that shared the name of a Civil Rights Movement icon, Rosa Parks. Maybe it was mischief that drew me to the musical stylings of Andr茅 Benjamin, aka Andr茅 3000, because my parents were rather strict about the type of music that ran through my ears.聽
A quarter-century later, Andr茅鈥檚 music is still having a profound effect on me and how I listen to music. Back in the late 1990s, bass-thumping music caught the South鈥檚 ear and led to Atlanta鈥檚 rise in the hip-hop scene. Now, Andr茅鈥檚 flirtations with jazz music are taking myself and others beyond his cult of personality and into a deeper appreciation for instrumentation. During a week-long slate of shows at the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta, Andr茅 was the headliner for the New Blue Sun tour, a monthslong highlighting his foray into being a flutist.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 not the typical Andr茅 3000 musical experience that we鈥檝e all grown up listening to, but I felt like people were really receptive to it,鈥� says Robert Boone Jr., a drummer who has won a Grammy with the Count Basie Orchestra and was in the audience in Atlanta. 鈥淭here were no cell phones, so you had to sit there and listen to see what was going on. It honestly made me think, just even beyond the concert, 鈥榃hat can I do, or what can any type of instrumental musician do, to connect with the audience?鈥�
Andr茅 was always seen as the more improvisational and experimental member of Outkast, and so it has gone with the tour. 鈥淭his is special,鈥� he said as he and his band ran through their set. 鈥淭his is new music that has never been played before, and will never be played again.鈥澛�
Superstars like Madonna and Prince made an art form of reinventing themselves regularly. But few pop stars have gone in as radical a direction as Andr茅 3000, who stepped away from a chart-topping career. The experimental rapper is one-half of the Atlanta-based duo who dominated charts in the early 2000s with their breakout double album, 鈥淪peakerBoxxx/The Love Below,鈥� with inescapable No. 1 hits such as 鈥淗ey Ya.鈥� The duo also captured the imaginations of fans with introspective tunes like 鈥淢s. Jackson鈥� and 鈥淓levators.鈥�
During his set, rather than giving the audience 鈥淏.O.B. (Bombs Over Baghdad)鈥� or any of his greatest hits, he debuted all new work as an instrumentalist.
In fact, Prince inspired Andr茅 to start taking chances again.聽
Ahead of the fall release of the album 鈥淣ew Blue Sun,鈥� Andr茅 recalled in a GQ interview a聽聽he had with the late musician, who challenged him to rise to the greatness of his celebrity.聽
After a 2014 show, as Andr茅 recalls, Prince called to reprimand him for checking out halfway through. 鈥溾�榊ou know what your problem is?鈥� Prince asked. 鈥� He said, 鈥榊ou don鈥檛 realize how big y鈥檃ll are.鈥� And then he was like, 鈥榊ou got to remind people who you are.鈥欌��
For the hometown crowd in Atlanta, the experimentation felt true to the artist they have followed for decades. It reflects the character of the city, explained Brannon Carson and Kristen Medwick, married Atlanta natives who work as attorneys.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 so cool about [the tour], and what鈥檚 so cool about Atlanta, is that it鈥檚 always evolving. The art is always evolving,鈥� Ms. Medwick says. 鈥淲hen Andr茅 was talking about paying attention to energies and being interested in something new and seeing where it takes him, that resonated with me.鈥�
鈥淭his is kind of different and new, but it makes sense,鈥� Mr. Carson adds. 鈥淗e went from a pop rap superstar to a journeyman. 鈥� He鈥檚 not going to be pigeonholed into one thing.鈥�
His experimentation appears to be resonating beyond his hometown, as evidenced by new tour dates and a new single. Saxophonist Kamasi Washington reached out to Andr茅 to collaborate on 鈥淒ream State,鈥� a lively and trippy jazz joint which Washington posted with a YouTube聽聽last week. Andr茅, always the kindred spirit, spoke admirably of the fellow woodwind player.
鈥淲hen you receive a text from a wind friend something beautiful usually transpires,鈥� Andr茅 in a press statement. 鈥淭he day Kamasi invited me to a session for聽Fearless Movement聽I was so geeked and honored. Now, every time we get together something interesting happens. We first played during a recording session for聽New Blue Sun聽and it鈥檚 been fruitful ever since.鈥�
It reminded this audience member of Andr茅 3000鈥檚 declaration from 1995, which became a rallying cry for the Southern hip-hop movement: 鈥淭he South got something to say.鈥� It is remarkable to think about just how transcendent an artist, and celebrity, he has become.
Even if he doesn鈥檛 say a word, he鈥檚 still able to impact culture in a way that invokes creativity and healing.
