André 3000 To Drop First Album ‘New Blue Sun’ Since Outkast Break-Up 17 Years Ago

André 3000 will release his debut solo album New Blue Sun this Friday, marking his first full-length LP since his group Outkast broke up 17 years ago.

The November 17 release date was announced by André during an exclusive interview this morning with NPR. Though welcome news to fans, André cautioned that the new work might not be what longtime Outkast listeners might expect.

According to André, New Blue Sun will be “an entirely instrumental album centered around woodwinds; a celebratory piece of work in the form of a living, breathing, aural organism.” Released on Sony Music’s Epic Records, the album packaging will include a label stating “Warning No Bars,” meaning no rapped lyrics.

During the interview with NPR’s Rodney Carmichael, André said, “I don’t want to troll people. I don’t want people to think, Oh, this André 3000 album is coming! And you play it and like, ‘Oh man, no verses.’ So even actually on the packaging, you’ll see it says ‘Warning: no bars.’ It’s letting you know what it is off the top.”

The new album is co-produced by André Benjamin (his given name) and multi-instrumentalist Carlos Niño, and featuring musicians Nate Mercereau, Surya Botofasina, Deantoni Parks, Diego Gaeta, Matthewdavid, V.C.R, Diego Gaeta, Jesse Peterson, and Mia Doi Todd.

New Blue Sun isn’t technically his first new music since the disbanding of Outkast in 2006 – he’s released a few songs as well as guest appearances on other singers’ albums – but it is his first full length album. And André isn’t ruling out a return to rap at some point in the future. “In my mind, I really would like to make a rap album,” he said. “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.”

Here is the complete track list for New Blue Sun: