The Met Gala pulled up on May 5 (AKA the annual tradition where we judge outfits worth more than our rent from the safety of our comforters). The theme? “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” — which basically meant the carpet got hit with a wave of high-fashion menswear, great tailoring, and hats as big as Ye’s ego. Naturally, the rap world showed out in full force. However, one man walked in like he owned the damn place — and brought new music with him.
André 3000 will always deliver
Now, we saw some solid fits. Pharrell rolled up in a suit held together by 15,000 pearls, A$AP Rocky diabolically accessorized with a revolver handle umbrella, and plugged his AWGE brand (you can buy his coat online). Future pulled up with a hairdo that was similar to if Chuckie from Rugrats got a fire twist-out and Pusha T let it snow with his sparkle filled suit. Meanwhile, Doechii also delivered with her A+ fro and a dapper Louis Vuitton fit.
3 Stacks, though, said, “You know what this outfit needs? A piano.” So he strapped one to his back like it was a Jansport backpack and floated down the carpet.
The look came courtesy of Burberry’s Daniel Lee and stylist Law Roach, with a jumpsuit tied to André’s long-dormant fashion label, Benjamin Bixby (yes, the brand he founded in 2008 is now making a comeback). The piano-on-the-back idea? That’s been living rent-free in his brain for over a decade.
He wasn’t alone either. GQ’s Global Editorial Director Will Welch also popped out in a denim tux from the resurrected Bixby line, so you know André’s not just teasing — he’s fully relaunching the brand.
“With the relaunch of Bixby, I wanted to try out more ideas…I’ve been drawing and painting since I was a kid, so I draw out ideas all the time. And to be able to actually make them and to share them and see people wearing them, that’s the joy in it. That’s it. And so that’s why I’m back at it again, you know. I have new things to say,” the rapper told GQ.
Speaking of new things to say, André surprise-dropped 7 Piano Sketches (an Easter egg: his fit on the red carpet matched the album cover), a follow-up to 2023’s New Blue Sun, which also had zero rapping but still managed to slap in a meditative, incense-burning, third-eye-opening kind of way. And just like last time, he made sure to clarify: no lyrics, no hooks, no features. Just keys.
What the EP lacked in lyrics, it made up for in song titles. Track 3 is legitimately called, “when you’re a ant and you wake up in an awesome mood, about to drive your son to school, only to discover that you left the lights on in the car last night so your battery is drained.”
Giving fans a warning upfront that there were “no bars,” he said in his Instagram announcement that “This collection of songs was recorded almost a decade before New Blue Sun. 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.”
So to recap: André returned to the Met Gala with a piano on his back, a resurrected fashion label, a new instrumental album, and probably some sage in his pocket. Oh — and he’s also getting an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Berklee on May 10. Legend behavior only.
