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Earlier this week, André 3000 surprise-dropped an improvisational piano EP and showed up to the Met Gala with an entire piano on his back. It serves as the follow-up to his 2023 flute album New Blue Sun, but jazz pianist Matthew Shipp is not a fan.

In a Facebook post, Shipp ranted that 7 Piano Sketches is “complete and utter crap” and “does not even deserve the attention of a critique it is so dreadful.” Here’s what he wrote:

so a friend called me up and mentioned that Andre 3000 has a piano album out–i was like what . I checked it out on youtube — my impression of it. I think it is complete and utter crap -horrific-god awful insipidly wretched nothing . oh my god this is some atrocious shite — is he some type of asshole ? is he a complete and utter dilletante ? 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 . the guy is not a pianist -that is the beginning and the end of it — what an ugly piano sound — lets not even talk about telling a story with harmony —sounds like he listens to a bunch of music gets a couple of gestures in his head –sits down in a stream of consciousness and gets at some gesture for a few bars of something that he has not internalized -and barely knows on the most superficial level and then he loses the thread–of course there is zero composition going on in the improvisations –no language to speak of just a few cliches in his head that he can’t actually play the cliche but he hits and tries at it until he peters out quickly — wow — he is so horrible at playing harmony –so many horn players that piano is not their instrument play so much better — this sounds to me like pure fraud —- what a lack of respect for the discipline by someone who in my opinion is a complete asshole for doing this — it is depressing that this garbage will get any attention because he has a name and fame — there is nothing refreshing about the naivety of it –it is just downright dreadful and awful–true crap –insipidly wretched nothing –

To be fair, André 3000 clarified in the EP announcement that he was playing without the intention of releasing them. “These piano sketches are improvisations. To conjure them up, I spread my fingers out on the keys and randomly but with purpose move them around until I find something that feels good or interesting,” he wrote. “If it feels really good I will try to repeat it. I cannot name which notes, keys or chords that I’m playing. I simply like the sound and mechanics of piano playing. Some of my favorite piano music composers and players that inspire me are Thelonious Monk, McCoy Tyner, Philip Glass, Stephen Sondheim, Joni Mitchell and Vince Guaraldi.”