Andre 3000's new album  'NEW BLUE SUN' is a meditational invitation for you to relax, retreat, release, and recalibrate. Many writers and 3000 fans seem perplexed as to why Andre, one of hip hop's most celebrated rappers, would release an album without a single word uttered.

I think I know why.

Lil Wayne recently said he is 'depressed' over Andre saying at 48-years-old he's at a loss as to what to rap about. Recently in the social media stratosphere there have been numerous conversations about whether or not rappers can age out of holding the mic. In a recent interview with Toure, Lox rapper Styles P asked what other genre of music forces its artists to stop producing music at 40. This question is super relevant and simply by posing it P likely opened the floodgates for dozens of other rappers to elongate and extend their careers.  Nas is 50 years old.  Jay is 54. Snoop and Black Thought are both 52. Eminem is 51. 50 Cent is 48. Lil Wayne is 41. Some of these guys are grandfathers and they're all still  active. They're outside, as it were. They prove beyond debate that hip hop is definitely not just a young man's game.

So why is it a big deal that Andre has decided that for him, at 48, he's got nothing left to rap about? The simple answer is that Andre is an artist and not just a rapper. For the time being, Andre has decided to drop the mic and pursue other avenues of expression. As an art form, like all art forms, rap has always been about expression. One might say rap is expression on steroids. No matter how many different subgenres of rap come and go, at its core, rap is about bragging boasting belittling and being the 'best'. Andre's just tired it . All of it. But that doesn't in any way mean he's all out of expression.

Paintings have no words, and yet they speak volumes. Sculptures exist in abject silence, and yet they scream for attention. Mimes work in complete silence, but are still able to create clearly recognized emotions. All of classical music is instrumental and that genre has stood the test of time for centuries and continues to inspire. Andre's choice to deviate from what he's known for should be recognized as a work of art in and of itself. His album New Blue Sun creates a blank canvas for you to paint your own pictures on. It's like a sip and paint session without the sipping. Listen and paint. In freeing himself from the restrictions of a tightly restrictive genre, Andre is allowing and inviting us to free ourselves too. Like Jimi Hendrix, Andre is waving his freak flag high for everyone to see, and hear.

Admit it. The bragging and boasting stuff gets old. The hypersexuality, the substance abuse, the "real talk" that often amounts to nothing more than glorified adolescent self-indulgence is boring. Real talk.  Hip hop as an art form celebrated its 50th birthday this past year. How many times can you listen to your 50-year-old uncle talk about his endless sexual conquests and how much money he's got, or why he's the best uncle that's ever lived? Come on man, grow up.

But folks still want leaders. People still want someone they can look up to. Fans always want product from their favorite artists. This begs the question: is the artist creating art for his fans or is he creating art for himself? Do you think while Andre was creating New Blue Sun that he envisioned the album being commercially successful and resonating with even his most ardent fans? Unlikely.  All he could do was to create.

Rick Rubin, one of the greatest and most successful producers of all time says in his book “Way of

Being”, that while creating art, the audience doesn't matter. “You create for yourself”, Rick says, “creating with your audience in mind dilutes your work and robs it of integrity”. Rick knows a little something about what he's talking about. He's produced albums for artists such as the Beastie Boys, Run DMC, Red Hot Chili Peppers, LL Cool J, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Macy Gray, and many more. Lots of these artists say Rick allowed them space to create their best work. And oh yeah, Rick co-created Def Jam records.

The point here is artists owe nothing to their fans other than their true selves, if even that. No matter what artists say or create it's going to be interpreted a million different ways by a million different people. Without money as a controlling ingredient, why not do exactly what you feel? This is exactly what Andre has done.

Let's not ignore the elephant in the room. They're saying rap is falling off. Men lie, women lie, but numbers don't. Maybe it's because Hip Hop has become diluted to the point of being unrecognizable and Andre wants no parts. If hip hop walked into your room right now, would you recognize it? You might, but others might disagree. At one point though, everyone knew exactly what hip hop was.

Now, it's been watered down, bastardized, chopped, screwed and whitewashed. No one knows what real hip hop looks, sounds, or feels like anymore. Is sexy red hip Hop?  Jack Harlow? Is Drake hip hop? Was he ever? Who knows. What's obvious is that hip hop has lost its soul and soul is the main ingredient in art. 

Lots of folks wondering what the next big genre will be. Maybe the next big genre is as simple as having integrity in whatever it is you're doing.

Leaders always lead, while followers always wish they were leaders. Andre is leading the pack without having said a word. Wild.

The real Pied Piper.