André 3000 Interview! + Surprise Performance in the NYT Newsroom!

This week, André 3000 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 the Grammy-nominated “New Blue Sun” — featuring Surya Botofasina, Nate Mercereau, Carlos Niño and Deantoni Parks — performed an improvised piece in The Times’ newsroom.

00:29 Introduction
01:48 Reflecting on Outkast’s 2004 Grammy win for album of the year
03:24 His 1995 Source Awards Speech
06:09 Grammy nominations for “New Blue Sun”
09:33 Improvising in music
12:06 Freestyle rapping vs. writing and today’s punching-in technique
17:17 Learning instruments
20:09 Rap and youth
26:24 Acting and being honest on screen
30:00 Keeping the excitement alive
32:10 His Coachella conversation with Prince
37:53 His verse on Killer Mike’s “Scientists and Engineers”
40:15 His verse on Kanye West’s “Life of the Party” and Drake’s role in leaking it
45:30 YouTube rabbit holes
47:30 Performing with his flutes and the “New Blue Sun” band
53:35 Future new music
58:00 Fame and anxiety
1:09:57 Performance in the NYT newsroom!

Follow Jon:   / joncaramanica  
  / joncaramanica  

Follow Joe:   / joecoscarelli  
  / joecoscarelli  

Listen to every Popcast ever https://www.nytimes.com/popcast
Every episode of Popcast (Deluxe) on YouTube https://tinyurl.com/PopcastDeluxe
Popcast Discord! https://tinyurl.com/PopcastDiscord
Popcast Facebook! https://tinyurl.com/PopcastFacebook
Popcast t-shirts & stickers http://itsthepopcast.myshopify.com
Subscribe: http://bit.ly/U8Ys7n
More from The New York Times Video: http://nytimes.com/video