André 3000 has surprise released a new instrumental project dubbed 7 Piano Sketches. As the name suggests, it’s a seven-song collection that centers around piano, with the individual tracks prefaced by himself, Emmy Paalman, or Fatima Robinson reading off the song titles. Vocal effects and occasional samples, like a laugh track on “Off Rhythm Laughter,” also intermittently appear. Give it a listen below.

“The original title for it was The Best Worst Rap Album in History,” André 3000 said in a press release. “And here is an excerpt from the original liner notes: ‘It’s jokingly the worst rap album in history because there are no lyrics on it at all. It’s the best because it’s the free-est emotionally and best I’ve felt personally. It’s the best because it’s like a palette cleanser for me.’”

Partially composed and recorded prior to New Blue Sun, 7 Piano Sketches first took shape nearly a decade ago when André 3000 stayed in a sparse Texan house with his son that only had a piano, two beds, and a few TV screens. “Having lived with the recordings for a time, André was drawn to the idea of creating more and sharing them in the Spring, a time of year that promises that life, creativity, and possibility are ever-renewing,” a press release elaborates.

It’s no coincidence that André 3000 dropped this new project late at night. He timed the release to align with his appearance at the 2025 Met Gala in New York City, where he wore a bespoke piano by Burberry on his back, in collaboration with Benji Bixby—an evolution of Benjamin Bixby, André 3000’s late aughts fashion line—and styled by Law Roach. His outfit appears to align with the illustration on the 7 Piano Sketches’s cover artwork.

7 Piano Sketches is André 3000’s first new music since releasing the flute-focused album New Blue Sun in 2023. That served as the OutKast rapper’s debut solo LP, and it earned him three Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year. The 2024 short film Moving Day, directed by Dexter Navy, documented the making of New Blue Sun and included a previously unreleased track from those recording sessions.