Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum

Most people opted for an attention-grabbing hat as their preferred Met Gala accessory this year, but André 3000 is not most people. While he did wear an eye-catching chapeau (and a look by Burberry), that was hardly the thing that most people noticed. The OutKast rapper showed up to this year’s blue carpet with an entire piano strapped to his back and a garbage bag in hand.

The piano is a Steinway Model S baby grand, created at 75 percent scale by design company Pink Sparrow. While a piano of that size would usually weigh over 500 pounds, the one worn by André 3000 was made of foam, luan, and 3D-printed elements, bringing it down to a completely manageable 30 pounds.

There is some context here. André stepped out onto the carpet just minutes after he surprised fans with a new project, a 16-minute EP called 7 piano sketches. The cover shows an illustrated version of the musician with a piano strapped to his back.

“These piano sketches are improvisations. To conjure them up, I spread my fingers out on the keys and randomly but with purpose move them around until I find something that feels good or interesting,” the artist wrote on Instagram. “If it feels really good I will try to repeat it. I cannot name which notes, keys, or chords that I’m playing. I simply like the sound and mechanics of piano playing.”

Well, I like the sound of that. I also like the idea of André 3000 using the Met Gala as a way to promote his experimental piano-jazz project. Now if only we knew what was in that trash bag.