Andre 3000
André Benjamin - best known as André 3000 - is one of the most revered, celebrated artists of the last three decades, an auteur whose work in music, film, fine arts, fashion, and more continues to influence the cultural landscape on a global scale.
His work as one half of the iconic hip-hop duo Outkast, with Anton “Big Boi” Patton, established a brand new voice/style within rap that had never been experienced before, both sonically and visually, when the pair emerged in the early 90’s, in addition to demolishing sales records worldwide by the early aughts.
Outkast’s imprint on pop culture has made them one of the defining acts of our time, immeasurably impacting on sound, fashion, and achievement. However, Wind is the most essential element of his new solo album, New Blue Sun, an instrumental offering co-produced by Carlos Niño that brings André’s flute playing to the centre. Ultimately, New Blue Sun represents the next step in André’s creative evolution, much like when he started producing OutKast songs under the name Earthtone III, when he added “3000”to his name to acknowledge the future, when he crafted The Love Below as a jazz-funk hybrid indebted to Sly Stone, Bootsy Collins and George Clinton. Making New Blue Sun was therapeutic for him. He wants it to soothe you as well.
To date, André has won: Four American Music Awards; six BET Awards; one BET Hip Hop Award; five Billboard Music Awards; seven Grammy Awards (six for his work with Outkast and one for his contribution to a song with Anderson .Paak); two Kids Choice Awards; three MTV Europe Awards; five MTV Video Music Awards; one Japanese MTV Video Music Award; one MuchMusic Award; two NAACP Awards; three Soul Train Music Awards; one Source Award; and three World Music Awards.
