Music Notes

Notoriously private OutKast rapper Andre 3000 is suddenly showing up everywhere and playing the flute

by Ben Boddez on July 17th, 2019 at 3:17 PM
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      One of the most mysterious figures in the music industry has been sighted numerous times recently playing the flute in the city of Philadelphia.

      The eccentric creative and one half of all-star Atlanta rap duo OutKast, Andre 3000, is in the city filming an upcoming TV show, Dispatches from Elsewhere.

      Like some kind of charming musical Carmen Sandiego, he’s also been sighted with his trusty Mayan double flute in New York and Los Angeles. Where he’s off to next is anyone’s guess.

      The lucky few to have been blessed with Andre 3000’s presence have all uploaded pictures to social media, the rapper flashing his trademark grin in all of them, uncharacteristically happy to be noticed for someone who typically avoids the spotlight.

      Andre 3000 has been spotted everywhere from the Liberty Bell to the steps of a church to a Whole Foods, usually wearing the same striped pair of overalls and playing the flute wherever he goes. There have been over a dozen confirmed sightings so far in Philadelphia alone.

      Dayna Allen was fortunate enough to catch Andre 3000 on his flight over to Philadelphia, still playing at the airport terminal in Los Angeles, though she didn’t recognize it was the legendary rapper until they got on the same flight.

      “I looked at him and he looked at me and I was in total shock,” she told The Philadelphia Inquirer. “I immediately regretted not saying anything [earlier], because it was like he wanted to be recognized.”

      Russ Jackson, the man who spotted Andre 3000 on the church steps and described his flute as looking like “an artifact,” asked him about his new instrument of choice, the rapper replying that he “picked it up a couple of years ago and that he’s trying to get really good at it.”

      “He was very welcoming,” Jackson confirmed. Andre 3000 the elusive rapper and omnipresent flautist is one of the strangest, yet somehow completely unsurprising developments of the whole year.

      Andre 3000 is actually no stranger to woodwind instruments, delivering an impressive solo on the bass clarinet on his 2018 EP, Look Ma No Hands.  

      Perhaps if Andre 3000 ever makes his way to Vancouver for an acting venture, you’ll be the next to get serenaded. Just keep an eye out for those overalls.

      Check out a couple more Three Stacks sightings below:

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