André 3000 Talks Importance of Including 'No Bars' Warning Label on Instrumental Album, Performs Live on 'Late Show'

File this one under Fucking Awesome.

Tuesday night, André 3000 brought New Blue Sun to the Ed Sullivan Theater, fresh off word that he would soon be embarking on a residencies-focused tour behind his recently released solo album. During an interview with Late Show host Stephen Colbert, André was asked about the “no bars” warning label that appears on physical copies of the instrumental album, which sees the Outkast co-founder focusing on crafting a woodwinds soundscape.

"I mean, I wouldn’t want people to buy something thinking there’s going to be a thing so I wanted to just let people know as soon as possible and as loud as possible what was on it," 3 Stacks told Colbert when asked about the label.

Elaborating further, he pointed out that releasing a “no bars” album was not a “decision” but is instead simply the results of where his artistic journey took him this time around.

“Oh, it wasn’t a decision, just like any other song we’ve ever done,” he said. “It’s not a decision. You just do it. And it just happened to have no bars on it so I had to let people know because that’s what I usually serve. … It just came that way and I thought it was beautiful without having any words. That said more to me in a way.”

Deeper into the interview, André reiterated the decisionlessness of his art, pointing to discovery as how he found his way to the flute. He and Colbert also bonded over how the instrument sounds most like the human voice in comparison to others, with 3 Stacks noting that listeners are “actually hearing a human’s wind.” As for his personal collection of flutes, he estimated that he had “35 [or] 40 flutes” the last time he checked.

In another video, seen below, André spoke about being a “catalyst artist,” explaining that he’s now “lived long enough” to see his influence in younger artists. Asked to name artists that had that same impact on him, André obliged and mentioned George Clinton, John Coltrane, UGK, 8Ball & MJG, Kraftwerk, and more.

Later, André treated viewers to a live performance (see above) of album cut "That Night in Hawaii When I Turned into a Panther and Started Making These Low Register Purring Tones That I Couldn't Control ... Sh¥t Was Wild." Sadly, the full band of live collaborators was not introduced ahead of the Late Show performance. However, the album sees 3 Stacks working with a wide range of fellow talented musicians including Carlos Niño, Nate Mercereau, Deantoni Parks, and more.

The New Blue Sun Live experience begins Jan. 29 in Brooklyn. See here for a full list of dates and ticket info.