When André 3000 Spoke to (Then Performed for) The New York Times

Two decades after André 3000, as one half of the rap duo Outkast, won the Grammy Award for album of the year for “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below,” he is again nominated in that category on quite different terms. At the show in February, he’s up as a solo artist, for “New Blue Sun,” an album of improvised music on which he plays a variety of wind instruments and speaks no words. It’s a sonic pivot, but maybe not a philosophical one for a musician who has rewritten his creative approach several times over a 30-year career.

This week, he sat down with Popcast, the New York Times music podcast, for a wide-ranging interview about his journey from platinum-selling rapper and pop star to experimental flutist, discussing what it’s like to improvise after a career of writing down raps, the perks of naïveté and a tour-saving call from Prince.

Following his interview, André 3000 and the band behind “New Blue Sun” — featuring Surya Botofasina, Nate Mercereau, Carlos Niño and Deantoni Parks — performed an improvised piece in The Times’ newsroom.

The full interview and performance can be viewed here. Below are edited excerpts from the conversation.