Andre 3000 is an adventurous artist. The Outkast star has really marched to the beat of his own drum throughout his career, but it’s been especially notable as of late. Instead of giving fans a solo album of raps, Three Stacks decided to take a left turn into instrumental jazz. Andre 3000 has taken up the flute as his new passion, and this is still the case on his new single. The artist contributed a song to the EP Transa: Selects, and it’s as unwieldy and ambitious as its title. Seriously, the title on this song would give Fiona Apple a run for her money.
The full title is “Something Is Happening and I may Not Fully Understand but I’m Happy to Stand for the Understanding.” There’s a lot going on there. Fortunately, Andre 3000 delivers on the weightiness of the title with a nearly thirty minute runtime. “Something Is Happening” is an epic instrumental piece that has the former rapper pushing himself as a flute player. It’s a fascinating listen, in so much as it’s difficult to tell where one musical idea bleeds into another. Andre 3000 is harder to pin down than ever without his voice serving as his main instrument. That said, this song is worth a try. You just need a nice chunk of time to get through it all.
Let us know what you think of this brand-new track, in the comments section down below. Additionally, stay tuned to HNHH for the latest news and updates from around the music world. We will continue to keep you informed on all of your favorite artists and their upcoming projects.
“It’s kind of funny: The backlash is actually not from the rap community, or the jazz and spiritual jazz community,” he said. “There’s actually more support — surprising support — from both sides. I think it’s more [OutKast] fans, which I understand. I always try to put myself in their shoes: If my favorite rapper said, ‘I’m not rapping’ and I like it, I like it. But if I don’t, I move on. I think some people take it as blasphemy or something.”
He also explained why he didn’t just release the project under a different name to dodge the expectations that would come with a “new André 3000 album.”
“In retrospect, I’ve asked myself, ‘Would I have been better off releasing it under a new name?’” he admitted. “But I’m glad I didn’t. The ridicule that I get from it is the thing I did not expect. If I’m a fan of anybody, I’m not waiting 17 years for this great rap album to come out. I’m thinking, ‘Well, that ship has sailed.’ I felt like the name ‘André 3000’ showed the bigger story — the journey from where I was to now. I kept it so that wouldn’t get lost.”
This year’s Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival lineup was rolled out in a fun way: Via a crossword puzzle with clues to each artist’s identity on the festival’s website. Now that the puzzle has been solved, we know who all is performing at this year’s Camp. In addition to regulars like festival organizer Tyler The Creator and frequent collaborators Vince Staples, Earl Sweatshirt, Domo Genesis, and Denzel Curry, this year’s fest includes Doechii, Kaytranada, DJ Mustard, Raye, Laila!, The Alchemist, Action Bronson, Concrete Boys, Blood Orange, Tommy Richman, Sampha, Faye Webster, and a special tribute to the late, great MF DOOM. You can check out the completed crossword below.
While Tyler told fans at the last Camp Flog Gnaw that he wouldn’t be releasing any new music soon, this year, he’ll have a whole new album to perform. Tyler announced his new album, Chromakopia after teasing new music with the eerie video for “St. Chroma.” It’s a good thing he’s got a new project coming, too, as last year’s headlining festival set will be hard to top; Tyler caroused across the stage firing a flamethrower, so you can bet he’ll be going even further over the top with this year’s set.
You can see the full list of performers below and get ticket information here.
Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival 2024 lineup
Action Bronson
André 3000
The Alchemist & Friends
Amelia Moore
Blood Orange
Concrete Boys
Daniel Caesar
Denzel Curry
Doechii
Domo Genesis
Earl Sweatshirt
Erykah Badu
Faye Webster
FM MOOD: A TRIBUTE TO MF DOOM
Hana Vu
Jean Dawson
Jordan Ward
KAYTRANADA
Kenny Mason
Laila!
Latin Mafia
Left Brain
Lithe
Ma$e
The Mainliners
The Marías
Matt Champion
Mike G
Mustard & Friends
Na-Kel Smith
Omar Apollo
Orion Sun
Playboi Carti
Raye
Rio Amor
Sampha
ScHoolboy Q
Sexyy Red
Syd
Tommy Richman
Tyler, The Creator
Vince Staples
Wisp
Yves Tumor
Tino Schaedler has a vision for the future of concerts: It involves embracing the wonder, joy, and community at the heart of the live performance.
The German-born jack of all trades began his artistic career in architecture, before moving into film, brand design, and more. Now? He’s a go-to collaborator for many of the most inventive artists in music.
His work with acts like SAULT, André 3000, Travis Scott, and more earned him an honor at the 2024 UPROXX Sound + Vision Awards as the Vanguard Virtoso, which “highlights visionary collaborators who empower artists and help drive music culture forward.” It’s clear through his varied approaches to stagecraft that there’s no one-size-fits-all method to his creations.
“The music industry has changed a lot since the pandemic, and there’s interest in really trying to create new types of live experiences and new types of experiences in general that are beyond stadium and arena tours,” Schaedler explained to UPROXX.
As such, he, and the artists he works with, have put an emphasis on live and lived experiences. Schaedler says that these aren’t disposable concerts where the lights go down, the band comes on, they play some songs, and they leave. He wants to re-imagine the way concerts can be experienced.
“We’re all on our phones all the time,” Schaedler explains. “I want to make bodies our interface again, putting people into the moment and being present.”
Where does your initial passion for art — or more broadly, creativity — stem from?
My mom really laid the foundation from an early age. I would come home from school and there was always paper and pens on the floor. My whole childhood, I remember just drawing. That was all I was doing. I don’t think it was a conscious decision, but I think she also built a little bit of a reward system around it, because she always made me draw for everyone: grandparents, aunts and uncles, and everyone got a little drawing from me. There was always appreciation around it. It really built this image where I always felt like I was an artist. There was no other choice. It was so natural for me because it was my passion, and I think there was a persona that was created around that from that early age on.
Did you go to school for art? What was your focus?
I studied architecture. That was a little bit of a compromise in the beginning, and my dad really pushed me for it. He was a real estate developer and he was like, “Do you want to do art? At least have it be something that has a bit of an economy behind it.” Back then, I always thought of it as a compromise, but in hindsight, it wasn’t really, because studying architecture gives you such a broad scope of education, from understanding the technical side of architecture to the spatial understanding and spatial imagination to art history, architectural history, and all of that.
A lot of what I do is still fed from that time, and it really influenced the way that I think about things. I studied at Berlin and then did two years at UC Berkeley, and there I learned about this landscape architect named Lawrence Helpin. It was a long time ago and computers were a new thing. I think I got my first email while I was at Berkeley, and I learned about this landscape architect that did a lot of design on the campus there. He was designing using a storyboard. He used a storyboard to design landscape architecture. Architecture was never an abstract shape. It was always a combination or a relationship between a camera movement and perception. I always thought about architecture in a very cinematic way
And that’s a pretty good way to describe what you do now, right?
When I have meetings with new clients and I explain the way that I think about things, it’s relevant because I studied architecture and that’s all about space and the physical and psychological dimension of space. If you go to the Pantheon in Rome, there’s an emotion attached to that. Creating space has a kind of poetic potential to really evoke an emotion.
What did you do after graduating?
After graduating, I went into film and I worked on big movies: Harry Potter, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, V For Vendetta. I had this high school teacher who inspired me to get into film. In Germany, you have to write an essay to graduate high school, and I wrote mine on [Stanley] Kubrick and [Alfred] Hitchcock. It was always film, it was about thinking about architecture through the camera lens, then moving into film. It was a very natural progression.
I did most of those films in London, then moved to California and did more films while moving into music videos and commercials. I also became a partner in this experiential agency, which is all about consumer journey choreography and creating experiences. What I do now with SAULT is really about those three things. It’s space, it’s design, it’s storytelling. It combines movement and experience. The music industry has changed a lot since the pandemic, and there’s interest in really trying to create new types of live experiences and new types of experiences in general that are beyond stadium and arena tours.
I learned from some of the brand experiences that I did for Nike or for Apple or for Beats. There are some interesting ideas in there, especially when paired with the shift towards immersive experiences. The music industry is open and hungry for new ways of experiencing things. We’re all on our phones all the time. I want to make bodies our interface again, putting people into the moment and being present. There are things that I’ve been super interested in for the past 10 years.
What was that challenge for you in helping SAULT be the band that they wanted to be in a live setting?
It was a super interesting setup. I mean, I got the first call about a year ago in October. I got that call from Inflo, and there was an immediate connection of various interests about creating something very special, creating something that puts people into the moment. The whole mystique that they’ve built around the band was super interesting to me. I didn’t know him before. A mutual friend connected us, but from the first moment, there was this really deep connection with Flo. We were on the phone for the next two months.
I did a few trips to London and it was just a beautiful exchange. Everything was created in terms of the design, and the programming came through us talking and figuring out how we could do something that is different than your traditional show. Normally, you wait in the main space, suddenly the light goes off and the band performs, and then the light comes on again and everyone leaves. The idea was about creating a world that’s very cinematic. The idea of world building is inherent to movies, so when you’re working on Harry Potter, you design the whole world that fits these characters. World-building is an interesting aspect that I think is very relevant for music today.
A lot of musicians do it just by the persona that they create. Think about Daft Punk, Doja Cat, or Lady Gaga. We wanted to take that to the next level and not just have something on the stage that you look at. We wanted to create something that you walk through that you experience where you have a much stronger interaction with it. It wasn’t a traditional linear relationship of the audience looking at a stage, because we redefined it by putting the stage in the middle of the whole crowd. You’re walking through the stage, everything becomes one. The whole space is the stage, basically.
Do you have an overarching philosophy to the way you approach these projects? Or are you more chameleonic in the way that you work with the artist’s desires?
I think it’s a little bit of both. There are some artists where you just have to be what they need, and I can deliver that. I worked with Tyla recently and they just needed help with a few festival shows, and we just designed something that can live on the festival stage.
Then there are other artists like André 3000. I helped him with his last tour, and that one was super minimal. We decided on that because he just wants you to put your phone away and listen. We did that one with a laser that shoots through this glass of water, and it’s so iconic. André is always about, “Let’s strip away, let’s strip away.”
What do you think stage design can, or is meant to, achieve?
When I worked in commercials or music videos, there were always people asking me why I didn’t move more into directing music videos or commercials. There are so many young people, and I don’t think I have anything unique to offer. I can do a good job, but I don’t have anything that no one else has. Regarding music and what I bring to it, though, I think I have a unique thing to give. In an ideal scenario, we all want to align our life purpose. We all want to feel like what we do has an impact.
In an ideal scenario, you come to a point where your gift or your skill and your passion all align with some kind of ability to give back or to create something meaningful. I love creating these moments that people remember for a long time.
I was at Tate Modern a few weeks ago. I was invited by Little Simz, and during that panel afterwards, a lot of people came to me and spoke about my work. There are still a lot of people that hit me up about SAULT. That alone is proof that something really special was created. So, that is the sweet spot that I want to be in. Not every project offers that, but I think it’s getting to be the case more and more, because more artists are realizing that they can actually do something different. They can push it, and there’s almost a new typology of music experiences evolving.
Metro Boomin and Future are in the final stretch of their We Trust You Tour, as there are just four shows remaining. Both Atlanta superstars hit the road back in the end of July and this had the chance to be a high grossing trek. However, there have been some bumps in the road. Even with them being such big names, dropping two major projects in a span of a month with heavy-hitting bangers, it wasn’t enough. The longtime duo nixed some shows due to a potential lack of ticket sales. Thankfully, Metro Boomin and Future are ending on a bit of a high note thanks to Andre 3000.
According to HipHopDX, the OutKast MC was kind enough to lend the hitmaking trap producer an “iconic” piece of clothing to rock. Last night, Metro and Pluto were at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, and the HEROES & VILLAINS creator shared a few photos from their performance. In them, you can see a familiar “which type of strereo are you?” jumpsuit that Three Stacks wore back in 2014 for OutKast’s reunion tour. Obviously, Andre and Metro don’t have any work together, but it’s clear there’s a mutual respect for one another’s craft.
In fact, in his X post, the soon-to-be 31-year-old multi-hyphenate wrote, “I grew up watching wrestling and listening to Outkast”. Additionally, Metro made sure to thank Andre and did so via Instagram. “Big thanks to the @andre3000 for letting me hold 1 of his original and iconic tour jumpsuits ”. With this happening, we can only hope and pray that they collaborate someday.
What are your thoughts on Metro Boomin wearing Andre 3000’s jumpsuit from the 2014 OutKast reunion tour? Do you think we will get a collaboration between these two at some point? Is Metro the best producer in the game right now? We would like to hear what you have to say, so leave your thoughts in the comments. Additionally, always keep it locked in with HNHH for all of the latest news surrounding Metro Boomin, Future, and Andre 3000. Finally, stay with us for everything else going on in the music world.
The new album just begs for an intimate listening session — and that’s exactly what his André’s companion film, Listening To The Sun, is. To star the 90-minute film, André introduces the album, lights a candle, and lets the mood move him as the album plays. “I hope you enjoy the ride as much as we did,” he says. “What you hear is what we did as it was happening.” The film, directed by Terence Nance, isn’t terribly complex, but the soundtrack takes care of that.
Although New Blue Sun was well-received in general, though, André’s comments about rapping after 40 while promoting it certainly ruffled a few feathers. Lil Wayne called André’s thoughts “depressing,” while LL Cool J shot down the idea that there are no new ideas after 40. Still, most fans seem to be holding out hope that André will rediscover his inspiration, after his most recent rap verse, on Killer Mike’s “Scientists & Engineers,” not only scratched their longstanding itch for new André 3000 wordplay, but also helped Mike sweep the Grammys’ rap categories.
You can watch André’s film, Listening To The Sun, above.
Andre 3000 always has a left turn to make. The Outkast rapper confused everybody when he dropped his first solo album in 2023. Instead of bars, which fans had been patiently waiting for since 2006, he decided to pick up the jazz flute. The resulting album, New Blue Sun, has become something of a pop culture curio. Nobody knows quite what to make of it, which seems to be why Andre 3000 had so much fun making it. Now, the Outkast icon has decided to drop a feature length film to accompany.
The film is called Listening to the Sun. Three Stacks uploaded the 90 minute feature to YouTube on August 29 with a subtitle that explains its intent. Listening to the Sun is an “intimate album film for New Blue Sun,” and it was apparently recorded on November 11, 2023. For context, the album dropped the same exact day. The film is artsy, as one might expect for a companion piece to a jazz flute album, but it’s undeniably interesting to watch. Andre 3000 occupies the frame during the entire film, and there doesn’t appear to be a cut. He performs his musical and physical actions in one unbroken shot. This makes the flow from sequence to sequence even more natural.
Andre 3000 Made The Film The Day He Dropped His Album
Andre 3000 is a frequent collaborator of Frank Ocean. He’s appeared on both of the singer’s albums, and he maintains a similar hermit persona. It’s worth mentioning Ocean because Listening to the Sun feels like Andre’s version of Endless. Ocean built a staircase over the course of an hour in Endless, as new music soundtracked his process. Andre 3000 has a bit more focus with his film (and 30 minutes more to fill), so it’s admittedly a more engaging watch.
Three Stacks has been transparent about not knowing what he’s doing with the flute. He told The Shop that he was a novice when it came to the instrument, which has been part of the appeal. “I don’t know what notes I’m playing, to be completely honest,” the rapper explained. “I’m not trying to pretend like I know what I’m doing, in a way. I actually don’t know what I’m doing and that’s part of the art.” Listening to the Sun feels like a cinematic expansion on this freedom. Give it a watch if you haven’t already.
André 3000, one of Hip Hop’s great craftsmen, writers and performers, brings his woodwind passion full circle today with the world premiere of the album’s official visual component, Listening To The Sun (an intimate album film for New Blue Sun 11/17/2023), a 90-minute long short film (or visual listening session). The feature, directed by Terence Nance (Random Acts of Flyness) and premiered on YouTube, is a performance art piece that finds André physically channeling the spirit of his latest studio album set in a serene, blue-lit setting with his aura and flute taking centerstage.
“I hope you enjoy the ride as much as we did. What you hear is what we did as it was happening,” André 3000 says about the “formations” that comprise New Blue Sun at the onset of his new short film. The artist and multihyphenate, with the help of just a few props (including a lit candle and a traffic cone), provides a captivating visual companion to his first studio album, which will perhaps serve as inspiration for how to experience the eight-track LP.
André was candid with GQ in a November cover story about his inspirations behind the album. “I’d like to make things that when I’m dead and gone 3,000 years from now, people may dig up and find,” he said. “So if that’s sculpting, if that’s actually physical artwork, painting, designing instruments, that’s where I’m at right now.” The Atlanta-bred artist’s audience, cultivated during parts of three decades, is on that journey with him.
New Blue Sun peaked at no. 1 on Billboard’s New Age and Current Alternative Albums charts, as well as Apple Music’s Alternative Albums chart following its release, in addition to a no. 2 peak on iTunes Albums and Apple Music overall albums charts, massive performances for the thematically tangential release. The album’s staying power has matched its intrigue, as it peaks once again at no. 1 on the Current Alternative Albums Chart this week, to go with a no. 2 slot on the LP Vinyl Chart. André and his flute have got something to say, and the world is both listening and witnessing it live. André 3000 will tour his debut LP for the second time this year in September, when he kicks off a 26-date North American trek beginning September 19 in New Orleans, and concludes on November 14 in André’s hometown of Atlanta.
André 3000’s flute path, which has taken him from the Venice coast where he met the manufacturer of his first flute, to a North American tour of his new album, has led him to yet another point on his exploration timeline: Listening to The Sun.
On this date in 1996, Big Boi and Andre 3000 came together to release their second album ATLiens on R&B icons’ LA Reid and Babyface’s LaFace Records. On this album, the Southern playalistic duo expands their subject matter from just their urban tales from the hood to explorations of extraterrestrial life on Planet Earth.
Outkast’s most recognizable aspect of their creativity is their hooks, which is almost a trademark for the entire Organized Noize family, but really took root as Big Boi and Andre 3 Stacks signature sound on this album, with songs like “ATLiens” and “Elevators(Me And You)” spearheading the success of this album.
The commercial success of the album was proof of the duo’s ability to relay their morphing sounds to their listeners, with the ATLiens project selling one million copies in three months and reaching double platinum in less than seven years.
Shout out to Andre 3000, Big Boi, and the rest of the Organized Noize crew for this timeless piece of Hip Hop History!
At this point, the likelihood of an Outkast reunion is a faint dream. However, members André 3000 and Big Boi are united on one front — protecting their intellectual property.
According to AllHipHop, Outkast’s company High Schoolers LLC have filed a lawsuit against EDM duo ATLiens for trademark infringement.
In the paperwork, the hip-hop legends accuse ATLiens of “improper, willful, unauthorized and illegal use and registration of the ATLIENS mark,” which is owned by Outkast.
As evident in their claim, Outkast referenced ATLiens upcoming 2025 show at the Coca-Cola Roxy Theater in Atlanta, Georgia. Outkast has taken issue not only with ATLiens’ selected stage name, but also its use in their merchandise, among other things.
Although Outkast acknowledges the word, made popular by their standout 1996 album, was thrust into pop culture, and as a result the world’s “cultural lexicon,” they firmly stake creative ownership of the made-up word.
“Upon information and belief, Defendant selected the name ATLIENS for their EDM duo to trade upon the tremendous fame and goodwill associated with Plaintiff’s ATLIENS album, song, and mark, or, at a minimum, to call to consumers’ minds Plaintiff’s famous ATLIENS album, song, and mark,” reads the document.
Outkast has demanded that ATLiens “permanently enjoined and restrained from, directly or indirectly” further usage of their trademark. They always also asked that the United States Patent and Trademark Office cancel the ATLiens’ live and active service mark as they attempt to “collect compensatory, incidental and consequential damages.”
On the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s website, ATLiens’ mark has a notion of this request. The last of Outkast’s request include for legal fees reimbursement, and ATLiens to remove any and all online usage of their mark, which encompasses their website and social media profiles.
This seems to be a simple case for United States Patent and Trademark Office to decide, unlike Eminem’s filing againstReal Housewives of Potomac‘s Gizelle Bryant and Robyn Dixon.