Epic Records apparently “reversed” its decision to not count André 3000’s latest studio album, New Blue Sun, toward his solo record contract. On Thursday (Dec. 12), during his interview with Rolling Stone, the artist revealed his label had a change of heart after finding out it was a “real project.”

“There’s a story going around that my record company is not counting New Blue Sun against my contract, and that is not true,” André shared with the publication. “At first, they didn’t, so that was true, because of the contractual reason that it’s not 90 percent like [my] last album. But, after I played New Blue Sun for the label and [they] saw that it was a real project, they thankfully counted it.”

André then claimed that the “story that’s going around now is very old.” Interestingly, the remarks stemmed from his November sit-down with the “Touré Show,” which noted the episode was “a very recent interview” at the time.

“They congratulated on the process, they congratulated on what the work was, but contractually — it’s very interesting — my label will not count this album against my contract,” the Atlanta legend told Touré.

The eight-song offering peaked at No. 34 on the Billboard 200 chart upon its release in November 2023. That same month, “I Swear, I Really Wanted to Make a ‘Rap’ Album but This Is Literally the Way the Wind Blew Me This Time” became the longest single to break into the Hot 100 after debuting at No. 90.

“I don’t have a rap album, none of that kinda s**t, so I’m not stressed about it,” he continued. “I wish it would count. It’s interesting news that artists should hear: that this new album is not counting.”

New Blue Sun will be competing at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards. In the Album Of The Year category, André will be up against Beyoncé’s COWBOY CARTER, Billie Eilish’s HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, and Taylor Swift’s THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT, to mention a few. The instrumental flute is also vying for Best Alternative Jazz Album.