Today (Nov. 28), Billboard revealed that a song from André 3000’s debut LP, New Blue Sun, set a surprising chart record. The album’s opener, “I Swear, I Really Wanted to Make a ‘Rap’ Album but This Is Literally the Way the Wind Blew Me This Time,” is now the longest single to appear on the Hot 100 after entering at No. 90.
At 12 minutes and 20 seconds, said track managed to beat out the previous record holder, Tool’s “Fear Inoculum,” a 2019 release with a 10-minute, 21-second runtime. Taylor Swift‘s “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)” now sits in third place at 10 minutes and 13 seconds.
Released earlier this month, New Blue Sun came with eight songs, all of which were created by André with a variety of wind instruments. Producer Carlos Niño, keyboardist Surya Botofasina, guitarist Nate Mercereau, and more contributed to the ambient, jazzy body of work.
What New Blue Sun did not come with was any words. As REVOLT previously reported, André admitted that, while he loves hip hop, it’s not an art form that he feels connected to at this time.
“It’s letting you know what it is off the top. But also, I love rap music because it was a part of my youth. So I would love to be out here with everybody rapping because it’s almost like fun and being on the playground. I would love to be out here playing with everybody, but it’s just not happening for me,” he stated in an NPR interview with Rodney Carmichael. “This is the realest thing that’s coming right now. Not to say that I would never do it again, but those are not the things that are coming right now. And I have to present what’s given to me at the time.”
If you missed it, you can check out New Blue Sun here.