These Traces 095

Dec 7

What do you do? The question is innocent, seemingly harmless, almost a reflex. We never ask Who are you? Or What do you like? No. What we say, what we always say when meeting someone for the first time, is What do you do? And the answer, inevitably, becomes the definition of ourselves—and of others.

A few days ago, there was a video shared on the Society Slack channel. A 35-min conversation with André 3000, the first of a profile series on GQ. Now truth be told, I was never into Outkast when they were around, so I've only known of André 3000, as part of the cultural zeitgeist. That is, I was aware of his definition.

The premise for the piece is a new solo album entitled New Blue Sun, featuring 87 minutes of fully improvised material, all instrumentals, based on various flutes, percussion, and wind instruments—spiritual jazz meanderings, without a hint of hip-hop.

It's simply fascinating to witness how difficult it is for Zach Baron, the interviewer, to accept André 3000 as “someone else”. There's huge respect, of course, but a very obvious struggle as well. He keeps circling back to what is essentially his definition of him. The Giant. The Icon.

But 3000 is adamant, unshaken. He explains his thoughts on identity, and aging; how rapping today, he says, would feel like playacting, inauthentic, despite the past and his stature as a legendary rap artist. It's an important lesson, I think, about acceptance, and having the courage to embrace evolution. The lesson applies to anyone, ultimately.

I came across a quote, not long ago, that sort of ties into this. It's from Seth Godin. I've never read any of his work, and I'm only vaguely familiar with who he is. Something something about marketing and web ventures—apologies if I'm being reductive here, I really don't mean to be.

Anyway, here's the quote in question:

“What you were trained to do, what you did yesterday… that’s a gift from your past, not an obligation. Beginning the analysis with, “what I used to do was…” is a great way to open the door to what you’re going to do tomorrow.”

— Seth Godin

Yes, the self-help force is strong with this one. And yes, the freedom to change, on purpose, is a luxury not afforded to everyone, unfortunately. When somebody does this, we often call it reinvention, a term that implies strategy, something fabricated, even. But change, profound change, is real, and deep. We all become someone else, whether we mean to or not.

This is what life does.

I highly encourage you to watch the video if you have a half-hour to spare.
The album’s pretty cool too :)