3 Things to Know About André 3000’s First Album in 17 Years

Drake’s running back his It’s All A Blur tour with J. Cole, and Travis Scott added a second leg to his Circus Maximus tour—2024 is looking bright. In other news today:

• Billboard Hot 100 📈 

• 3 things you need to know about André 3000’s new album 🔥 

• Ty Dolla $ign breaks silence on collab album with Kanye 🤫 

• Why Lil Skies doesn’t want his son to be a rapper ❌ 

• Discover new music with The Rap Index 🎵 

• Industry Insights 🔎 

The Billboard Hot 100

The above chart shows Billboard’s Hot 100 ranking for this week. The Hot 100 ranks songs based on streaming activity, radio airplay audience impressions, and sales data—all measured by Luminate.

Taylor Swift’s album has cooled down, and rap songs are back up. Doja Cat resumes the #2 spot, Gunna is the closest male artist to the Top 10, with “fukumean” climbing from #26 last week to #13, and Megan Thee Stallion’s “Cobra” debuts at #32.

3 Things You Need to Know About André 3000’s First Album in 17 Years

Before you ask, no, it’s not a rap album. Since André 3000 released his last album as one-half of the legendary hip-hop group Outkast in 2006, he’s become an enigma. Random social media sightings of him with his flute and scattered guest features for artists like Frank Ocean, Drake, and Beyoncé were all the public got from him until now.

On Nov 17, he’ll release his first album in 17 years titled New Blue Sun with no bars, beats, or sub-bass but lots of flutes. His song titles are the only spoken words from the album, and the intro track sets an ironic tone. “I swear, I Really Wanted To Make A ‘Rap’ Album But This Is Literally The Way The Wind Blew Me This Time.”

#1 Will he ever make a rap album again?

In the announcement, he gives a literal response in words, not woodwinds, to the above question, saying, “I think people feel like I’m sitting around on rap albums, or sitting around, and I’m just not putting them out in that way. And no, it’s not like that. In my mind, I really would like to make a rap album. So maybe that happens one day, but I got to find a way to say what I want to say in an interesting way that’s appealing to me at this age.”

André is, after all, 48 years old, and rap isn’t a genre where artists age gracefully. The cutthroat online discourse is quick with the “fallen off” and “washed up” labels, but even with an out-of-genre flute sidequest, Andre was mindful of the younger generations.

#2 Tyler, the Creator, and Frank Ocean previewed the album

Before fully committing to the woodwinds, André did market research on younger audiences’ reactions with the low-key flex of a focus group that includes Tyler, the Creator, and Frank Ocean. Speaking to NPR in a new interview, he said he reached out to Tyler when he had three songs semi-finished and went to his house to play it.

“So we're sitting there, and Frank [Ocean] just happened to drop by. So it's us three sitting there listening to these three songs, and I just kind of wanted to get an opinion,” Andre recalled.

During the listening session, Tyler was staring at his wall of travel suitcases, which he collects, and said, “Man, I’ve been trying to figure out how to configure these Louis suitcases.”

Then, Tyler told André, "It sounds like you're chasing a butterfly through a garden, and I figured it out. It helped me to figure out how to do this." And, “I think Frank pointed out one of his favorite tracks out of the three,” André continued.

#3 It may be the best non-rap tracklist, period

Despite telling NPR that he was always a “slow writer” who “don’t be freestyling” because he “just wasn’t blessed like that,” he’s good at satirical song titles. The tracklist hilariously reads like the flow of consciousness for anything but a flute album, and that’s what makes it amazing.

Ty Dolla $ign Breaks Silence on ‘¥$’ Collab Album With Kanye

After two failed listening events, cryptic teases on social media, and no official acknowledgment from Kanye, Ty Dolla $ign gave fans an update on the collab album at a show over the weekend. Assuring them that the “album is coming real soon,” he inadvertently confirmed that Kanye had chosen the deserts of Saudi Arabia for his pre-album cave.

The practice of building a studio in an unconventional location and taking recluse in it precedes every album release by Kanye. For Donda, it was the $1M per night stay at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and for ¥$, it appears to be Saudi Arabia at the Bayan Tree AlUla—where the vibes are vibing.

Another trademark of Kanye’s album rollouts is to have various collaborators visit his makeshift studio to work on the album. Lil Durk was recently spotted there, and Ty Dolla $ign keeps traveling there.

To be a Kanye fan is to understand the meaning of “expectation leads to disappointment.” Given the reports of difficulties with the listening event and securing an album distributor, it’s unlikely the album is “coming soon,” but probably sooner than Playboi Carti’s next album.

Lil Skies Doesn’t Want His Son to Be a Rapper

“I’m not about to sit here and explain my tattoos, like they already going to be judging me because I’m the definition of judge a book by its cover,” Lil Skies says, beating the judgemental eyes of pearl-clutching others to the punch.

The indifference extends to others’ opinions of his music as well. He doesn’t have time to explain or correct misinterpretations of his work. He’s too busy watching Scooby-Doo and applying temporary tattoos of Spider-Man to his four-year-old son.

A hands-on boy dad is not your first assumption when meeting Skies, even if his son’s name is staring back at you via a face tattoo. But in 2018, things were never as they seemed when he first blew up.

The graduation from independent rapper to label signee was not so much red roses as it was being taken advantage of because he didn’t take industry politics at the school of SoundCloud. That and he was “young and dumb,” in his own words.

In the full interview below with RapTV, Lil Skies explains how he got finessed early in his career, why he doesn't want his son to be a rapper, and what to expect from his new music and Lyrical Lemonade album feature.

The Rap Index ft. Trippie Redd, The Kid Laroi, NBA YoungBoy, Meek Mill & More

The Rap Index is a way to follow and discover new music. Divided into 4 categories describing rap subgenres, songs are placed according to their style and sound—giving you a better idea of what songs will appeal to your musical taste. Only releases from the previous New Music Friday are included to help keep you up to date.

RapTV’s Ranking of NMF Songs Featured in the Rap Index

1. “Pray 4 Us” by Trippie Redd (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

2. “Better Than Ever” by NBA YoungBoy, Rod Wave (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

3. “Go To Hell” by Rick Ross, Meek Mill, BEAM (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

4. “What’s The Move” by The Kid Laroi, Future, BabyDrill (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

5. “Certified Gold” by Tracy T, Big Homiie G (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

6. “Lovin On Me” by Jack Harlow (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

7. “Pink Panther” by 2FeetBino, Lil Gotit (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

8. “That’s On You” by Chris Brown, Future (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

• Drake announces 2024 ‘It’s All A Blur Tour—Big As The What?’ with J. Cole. The two rappers will visit 22 cities in the U.S. starting in January and ending in March.

• Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz released Welcome 2 ColleGrove trailer narrated by 50 Cent. Revealing the album's first four tracks and a 21 Savage feature ahead of its Nov 17 release.

• Nicki Minaj and Post Malone to headline Rolling Loud California 2024. Set to take place March 15-17, the full lineup includes Don Toliver, Chief Keef, and more, with special Latin music guests.

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