2 min read Andre 3000

Andre 3000 now has a film with his EP 7 Piano Sketches

Andre 3000 now has a film with his EP 7 Piano Sketches
André 3000 in '7 piano sketches' still (MUBI)

NEW YORK — In his latest departure from traditional hip-hop, former OutKast innovator André 3000 has partnered with indie filmmaker Graham Mason to release an atmospheric new short film titled 7 piano sketches. Streaming exclusively on the arthouse platform MUBI, the wordless, 15-minute film serves as a whimsical, visually driven expansion of his 2025 instrumental EP of the same name.

Co-written by André Benjamin and Mason—who also directs—the short channel the expressive physical comedy of the silent film era. The story follows a character played by André as he journeys to work through a surreal New York night, armed with a notebook and carrying a massive grand piano strapped directly to his back. Along the way, he encounters a series of quirky characters, including a giant ant named Mr. Anthony, whose distinctive traits playfully complement the raw mechanics of the heavy instrument he carries.

The project is scored entirely by the low-fidelity, improvised piano tracks that André recorded on his iPhone and laptop over a decade ago while renting a sparsely furnished house in Texas with his son. In a characteristic display of artistic subversion, the musician revealed that his original working title for the source material was The Best Worst Rap Album In History—a joke aimed at the complete lack of lyrics on the project. André described the raw recordings as an emotional "palette cleanser" that allowed him to unlearn traditional music structures and rediscover a pure, unstructured urge to create.

The visual motif of the film will likely look familiar to fashion and music observers; André famously brought the concept to life on the red carpet of the 2025 Met Gala, where he arrived wearing a full-sized piano on his back. By translating that striking imagery to film, 7 piano sketches leans heavily into lighthearted absurdism to explore the heavy weight of creative compulsion and the unexpected beauty of everyday human connection.

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James Richardson