Yes, we heard about André 3000 secretly playing the iconic flute accompaniment present on Future and Metro Boomin’s hit single “Mask Off.”
Too bad it’s all BS! Well, it’s more of an ill-received joke rather than a bold-faced lie. Even though it came directly from the horse’s mouth, Young Metro was certainly fooling around when he told fans that Three Stacks is playing the flute on he and Future’s record. For those unfamiliar with the sample that appears on “Mask Off” the record, it was released in 1978 by a gentleman named Tommy Butler. It’s called the “Prison Song” and it appeared in Butler’s musical Selma.
Metro Boomin says Andre 3000 played the flute on the intro of ‘Mask Off’ 🔥 pic.twitter.com/9K22ctmA04
— Modern Notoriety (@ModernNotoriety) November 20, 2023
All jokes aside, even though Metro Boomin has yet to recruit the flute stylings of the Outkast legend for one of his grandiose productions, he’s still the G.O.A.T. of this generation. As if his discography wasn’t proof enough, his recent live performance with a 43-piece orchestra for Red Bull’s Symphonic series should suffice as evidence. And even though Three Stacks wasn’t a part of Metro’s exclusive performance, he didn’t need to be considering the heat he brought on his own. Trust me, I was in attendance and blown away by his set, which was nearly an hour-and-a-half long in its entirety.
Armed with 30 songs, specifically composed to incorporate the aforementioned orchestra, Metro showed out and reminded us why Future will shoot you if you’re not trusted by the producer. In fact, since we just mentioned the Freeband Gang General, you’d think that Metro Boomin’s crutch is Future the way the show, which took place on October 26, is structured from the front end.
But then the way he pulls off this mythically crazy run through multiple projects such as Travis Scott’s Days Before The Rodeo proves the exact opposite. Case and point, bro decided to pull the f###ing Spider-Man soundtrack out of his back pocket and bring Swae Lee and NAV onstage like it was nothing.
Then, he proceeded to remind us all that Offset needs to do another album with Metro Boomin because whatever he’s doing right now ain’t hitting nearly as hard as “Ric Flair Drip” still is. And I about shed a tear as I said RIP to Takeoff because I swear to God I thought the rough was gonna blow off the b#### when he did “Bad & Bougie.”
Not to mention some of the most turnt production this generation has witness was provided to 21 Savage, courtesy of Metro. And it definitely was evident as he ran through records such as “No Heart” with an army of string instruments humming to his every command. By like halfway through the show, it’s like I realized “WTF,” this guy’s sound padded out the entire ’10s era through the rise and fall of SoundCloud rap.
By the end of the show, you simply realize that damn near any artist paired up with Metro is a match made in heaven. Nah, for real, because where the f### is Big Sean when you need him? The entire crowd LITERALLY sang “Bounce Back” word for word when Metro Boomin dropped it. Kanye West was even showed major love during a moment of resurgence reassured with Metro Boomin’s co-sign of “Waves.” I walked out of Dolby Digital Theater with no doubt in my mind that Metro is THE top guy and was never the two or the three.
But hey, don’t take my word for it. Check out the full performance below and I’ll be willing to bet my pinky against a million you can’t make it through the full set without catching a vibe in a real way.