In honor of Mother’s Day, André 3000 released two new songs, “Me&My (To Bury Your Parents)” and “Look Ma No Hands”, marking the Atlanta rapper’s first original releases outside of his work with Outkast. He released them around midnight eastern time on a newly-created Soundcloud account, after posting a message on his Instagram that read: “Happy Mother’s Day. I’m sure all the cards, dinners, flowers and last minute gifts are appreciated but I’ve learned the best gift a parent could get is to simply know their child is ok.”
“Me&My (To Bury Your Parents)” is an emotional piano ballad (played by Kevin Kendrick) with lyrics about André 3000’s memories with his mother–Sharon Benjamin-Hodo, who died one day after his birthday in 2013–and his father. In conjunction with the new releases, André posted a photo of him and his mother from lower school graduation, the written lyrics to “Me&My”, and screenshots of his last text conversation with his mother before she passed. This morning, he posted another screenshot of a text sent to “Mom” with the message: “Look Ma, No Hands”, the name of the second song released last night.
“Look Ma No Hands” is a 17-minute jazz instrumental that features James Blake on piano, and André 3000 on the bass clarinet–which he plays on both tracks. According to Pitchfork, a representative confirmed that “Me&My” was written before his parents died, “but was recorded three years ago (after both parents passed)” and “Look Ma No Hands” was recorded late last year.
Listen to both of André 3000’s new releases below: