Following its surprise release at the 2025 Met Gala last week, reviews for André 3000’s latest project 7 piano sketches are rolling in, and jazz pianist Matthew Shipp is among those who isn’t particularly impressed. The avant-jazz composer dropped in on Facebook to deride the album as “complete and utter crap.”
Here’s just a short excerpt from Shipp’s expletive embellished post: “I think it is complete and utter crap -horrific-god awful insipidly wretched nothing . oh my fucking god this is some atrocious shite — is he some type of fucking asshole ? is he a complete and utter dilletante [sic]? I could go into detail about why each cut is stillborn –but why bother –it does not even deserve the attention of a critique it is so dreadful .”
He described the project as having “a lack of respect for the discipline,” and said, “it is depressing that this garbage will get any attention because he has a name and fame.”
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To be fair, André 3000 has said he never intended to release 7 Piano Sketches and isn’t technically trained as a pianist. “I can’t name the notes, keys, or chords I’m playing. I simply enjoy the sound and mechanics of piano playing,” he wrote on Instagram. The tracks were recorded more than a decade ago on his iPhone while he lived in Texas with his son.
Content shared from consequence.net.