André 3000 Releases Official Music Video For TRAИƧA Contribution

ANDRÉ 3000  RELEASES OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO FOR “SOMETHING IS HAPPENING AND I MAY NOT FULLY UNDERSTAND BUT I'M HAPPY TO STAND FOR THE UNDERSTANDING” TAKEN FROM RED HOT’S TRAИƧA A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY CELEBRATING TRANS PEOPLE FEATURING OVER 100 ARTISTS & 3 ½ HOURS OF MUSIC INCLUDING SADE, SAM SMITH, BEVERLY GLENN-COPELAND, PERFUME GENIUS, HUNTER SCHAFER, L’RAIN, JULIEN BAKER, LAURA JANE GRACE, YAEJI, PHAROAH SANDERS, TEDDY GEIGER, CLAIRO, ADRIANNE LENKER + MANY MORE

André 3000 Press Photo by Michelle Helena Janssen

Last year, the storied activist and music production non-profit Red Hot released the acclaimed concept album, TRAИƧA. Today, André 3000 has shared a music video for his contribution to the project, the 26-minute “Something Is Happening And I May Not Fully Understand But I'm Happy To Stand For The Understanding.” The video weaves a dense tapestry of 2D and 3D landscapes; organic subjects, digitally composed. Drawing inspiration from Édouard Glissant's 'Poetic Intention' and the opaque aesthetics of fifth generation console games, it investigates what it means to "be born into the world...to conceive the world as a relation...as a poetics of alterity." This track by André 3000 sits at the helm of TRAИƧA’s “Awakening” chapter, guiding a process of expansion alongside the listener. It marks a new era for the artist of composing without bars. Stretching nearly half an hour, its mystical chatter and unfolding ceremony become a new kind of language—a tongue for hearing. The track features Carlos Niño, Deantoni Parks / Technoself and Nate Mercereau with Diego Gaeta, Maia, Matthewdavid, Shabaka, and V.C.R. With production beginning in 2021, and over 100 artists contributing, TRAИƧA marks one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken by Red Hot - a spiritual journey across 8 chapters and 46 songs, spotlighting the gifts of many of the most daring, imaginative trans and non-binary artists working today. The sprawling collection of originals and covers features the first Sade song in 6-years, the 26-minute André 3000 piece whose accompanying video is out today, ANOHNI, Sam Smith, Laura Jane Grace, Hunter Schafer, Teddy Geiger, Beverly Glenn-Copeland, Yaeji, Julien Baker, Clairo, and many more. The concept album has had a rapturous critical reception with coverage in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Them, The Guardian, Vogue, i_D, Pitchfork and much more. Dive deeper into the world of TRAИƧA via these in-depth features:  Billboard:  How Red Hot’s Star-Studded New Compilation Aims to Provide a ‘Beacon of Hope’ for the Trans Community The New York Times:  A New ‘Red Hot’ Album Tackles a Hot Topic: Transgender Awareness Rolling Stone:  Can Sade, Sam Smith, and Hunter Schafer Open People’s Minds About Trans Rights? The Guardian: ‘Experimental, queer and kind of magical’: Sade and Sam Smith feature on 46-track album for trans rights NPR: Over 100 artists came together to create the 46-song collective album 'TRANSA' Vogue: Transa Is a Timely Celebration of Trans Life i_D: Inside the Creation of Transa, the Four-Hour, Mind-Expanding Compilation for Trans Rights Paste Magazine: TRAИƧA Casts a Potent, Holistic Light on Transgender Awareness Fast Company: 4 hours, 100 artists, and one 26-minute flute song: This epic new album is in support of trans rights Boston Globe: A new compilation album aims to uplift trans voices and features multiple local contributors. FLOOD Magazine: Never Backing Down: Jayne County and Red Hot’s John Carlin Talk New Comp TRAИƧA The Creative Independent:  Producer, model, and trans activist Massima Bell on Finding Your Way Dust Reid, who led production on Red Hot's 2014 tribute to Arthur Russell, and Massima Bell, an artist and activist based in Los Angeles, began tracing the contours of what would become TRAИƧA together in 2021. The two producers originally met at a video shoot in upstate New York, and immediately bonded over their shared love of Beverly Glenn-Copeland's music, as well as a common devotional connection to nature. The passing of SOPHIE, the pathbreaking electronic producer who died in January 2021, galvanized the producers and focused their work. As they began inviting musicians to contribute to TRAИƧA, the political climate in the United States and across the world started to foment an acute reactionary streak. Legislation denying trans people the hard-won right to medically transition proliferated across the country. Book bans rained down on libraries, stamping shut crucial apertures into trans and queer lives. The necessity of TRAИƧA’s presence in the world started to crystallize. "The stakes have never been higher," notes Bell. "We're seeing a rise in anti-trans hate and vitriol that is particularly being spewed in the United States. I am a trans person from Iowa, one of the states that signed into law a bill that prohibits access to gender-affirming care. It is clearly, materially, a terrifying time." READ THE FULL TRAИƧA BIO BY SASHA GEFFEN HERE.

Cover by V. Haddad, Rohan Rege, Olive Panter TRAИƧA Tracklist A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY CELEBRATING TRANS PEOPLE FEATURING OVER 100 ARTISTS & 3 ½ HOURS OF MUSIC INCLUDING SADE, SAM SMITH, ANDRE 3000, BEVERLY GLENN-COPELAND, PERFUME GENIUS, HUNTER SCHAFER, L’RAIN, JULIEN BAKER, LAURA JANE GRACE, YAEJI, PHAROAH SANDERS, TEDDY GEIGER, CLAIRO, ADRIANNE LENKER + MANY MORE