André Troutman
André Troutman | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.[1] |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Instrument | Talk box |
| Years active | 2010s–present |
André Troutman is an American musician and songwriter known for his work in hip-hop and R&B music. He is best known for his appearance as a featured artist and producer on Kanye West's twelfth studio album, Bully (2026),[2] and also serves as West's music director.[3][4]
Early life
[edit]Troutman is the younger cousin of musician Roger Troutman, founder of the funk band Zapp and a pioneer of the talk box. He has cited this connection as an influence on his use of the instrument.[5]
Career
[edit]Troutman has worked as a talk box performer and collaborator in contemporary R&B and hip-hop, contributing to recordings and live performances with various artists. He has been featured on projects by R&B artists including Major and Rhyon Nicole Brown[6][7]
Troutman contributed talkbox to the song "Same Time, Pt. 1" by Big Sean from the album I Decided (2017).[8] That same year, he appeared as a featured performer on "Fired Up" by Eric Darius from the album Breakin' Thru (2017).[9]
In 2023, he was featured as part of "The Link Up", a collaborative performance series led by Coco Jones that highlighted emerging Black musicians, where he performed as a talk box player during live reinterpretations of R&B songs.[5] Troutman also appeared in additional performances with Jones, contributing talkbox to arrangements of songs including Destiny's Child's "8 Days of Christmas" and Mary J. Blige's "Real Love".[10][11]
In 2025, Troutman began working with Kanye West as his music director, and was a performer at West's January 2026 Mexico City shows and at the April 2026 SoFi Stadium concerts,[12] which broke multiple SoFi Stadium records.[13] In May 2026, Troutman served as the music director for West's concert at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey, which drew a record-breaking crowd of 118,000 fans.[14][15] During this time, Troutman also contributed to Bully, the twelfth studio album by Kanye West, where he is credited among the album's writers, producers, and performers.[2] He is listed as a featured performer on "All the Love"[16] and "White Lines". The former was described by Billboard as "the crown jewel of Bully"[3] and ranked by Rolling Stone among the top songs on the album.[17] This led to Troutman charting at the #5 spot on the Billboard Emerging Artists chart for April 11, 2026.[18]
Discography
[edit]| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [19] |
US R&B [20] |
AUS [21] |
AUT [22] |
CAN [23] |
UK [24] |
IRL [25] |
LTU [26] |
CZ [27] |
POL [28] |
NLD [29] |
SWE [30] |
NOR [31] |
NZ [32] |
POR [33] |
WW [34] |
Smooth Jazz | ||||
| "Fired Up" (Eric Darius featuring André Troutman and Rodney Jones Jr.) |
2017 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | — | Breakin' Thru[36] |
| "All the Love" (Kanye West with André Troutman) |
2026 | 27 | — | 33 | 43 | 28 | 28 | 30 | 18 | 37 | 33 | 43 | 57 | 52 | 35 | 23 | 31 | — | — | Bully[2] |
| "White Lines" (Kanye West with André Troutman) |
82 | 22 | — | — | 87 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 168 | 196 | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Writing and production credits
[edit]| Title | Year | Artist | Album | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "King" | 2026 | Kanye West | Bully | Writer, producer |
| "Father" | ||||
| "All the Love" | Producer, performer | |||
| "Mama's Favorite" | Writer, producer | |||
| "Sisters and Brothers" | ||||
| "Bully" | Producer | |||
| "Highs and Lows" | ||||
| "I Can't Wait" | ||||
| "White Lines" | Performer | |||
| "Damn" | Producer | |||
| "This One Here" |
References
[edit]- ^ "How Jacksonville musician André Troutman honors his family's musical legacy while on the world stage with Kanye West". WJXT.
- ^ a b c Alston, Trey. "Kanye West's Bully Album: Features & Production Credits". Complex.
- ^ a b "Kanye West's Bully: best songs ranked". Billboard.
- ^ "Kanye West's 'Bully': Here Are the Main Collaborators". Complex.
- ^ a b "Coco Jones collabs with Black musicians for "The Link Up"". Revolt.
- ^ "MAJOR. Announces Even More Album". Billboard.
- ^ "Meet R&B's New "Pretty Girl" Rhyon Brown". Rated R&B.
- ^ "Same Time, Pt. 1 credits".
- ^ "Breakin' Thru - Eric Darius". AllMusic.
- ^ "Coco Jones Covers Destiny's Child's "8 Days Of Christmas"". Vibe.
- ^ "Coco Jones Covers Mary J. Blige's "Real Love"". Vibe.
- ^ Goldner, Sam (April 2, 2026). "Kanye Wades Through the Fog at SoFi Stadium: Live Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
- ^ Ahlgrim, Callie. "Kanye West's reported $33 million payday proves he still has a fan base — sponsors or not". Business Insider. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
- ^ "Kanye West draws 118,000 to Istanbul concert, touts record-breaking show". Türkiye Today. May 30, 2026.
- ^ "Kanye West Takes Turkey By Storm After Netherlands Show Gets Cleared". HotNewHipHop. May 30, 2026.
- ^ "Ye ft. André Troutman: testo e traduzione di "All the Love"" (in Italian). March 31, 2026. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
- ^ "Kanye West's Bully album: best songs and analysis". Rolling Stone.
- ^ "Andre Troutman | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved April 8, 2026.
- ^ "Billboard Hot 100™". Billboard. January 2, 2013. Retrieved April 7, 2026.
- ^ "Andre Troutman | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved April 7, 2026.
- ^ "ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart". www.aria.com.au. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
- ^ "Ö3 Austria Top40: Single-Charts - Ö3 Charts". oe3.ORF.at (in German). November 8, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2026.
- ^ "Andre Troutman | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved April 7, 2026.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100 2 April 2026 - 8 April 2026". Official Charts. April 4, 2026. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
- ^ "Official Irish Singles Chart". Official Charts. April 4, 2026. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
- ^ "2026 14-os savaitės klausomiausi (TOP 100)". Agata (in Lithuanian). Retrieved April 11, 2026.
- ^ "ČNS IFPI". ifpicr.cz. Retrieved April 11, 2026.
- ^ "OLiS - oficjalna lista sprzedaży". www.olis.pl (in Polish). Retrieved April 11, 2026.
- ^ "Dutch Charts - dutchcharts.nl". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
- ^ "Chart". Sverigetopplistan (in Swedish). Retrieved April 4, 2026.
- ^ "Singel 2026 uke 14". topplista.no. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
- ^ "Explore our 50 year history". aotearoamusiccharts.co.nz. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
- ^ ""Top 200 Singles Semana 14 de 2026"" (PDF). AFP.
- ^ "Andre Troutman | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved April 7, 2026.
- ^ "Eric Darius: Smooth Jazz Airplay". Billboard. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
- ^ "Breakin' Thru - Eric Darius". AllMusic.