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André Troutman

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André Troutman
OriginJacksonville, Florida, U.S.[1]
Genres
Occupations
  • Musician
  • songwriter
InstrumentTalk box
Years active2010s–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

Airplay
[35]

"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]
  1. ^ "How Jacksonville musician André Troutman honors his family's musical legacy while on the world stage with Kanye West". WJXT.
  2. ^ a b c Alston, Trey. "Kanye West's Bully Album: Features & Production Credits". Complex.
  3. ^ a b "Kanye West's Bully: best songs ranked". Billboard.
  4. ^ "Kanye West's 'Bully': Here Are the Main Collaborators". Complex.
  5. ^ a b "Coco Jones collabs with Black musicians for "The Link Up"". Revolt.
  6. ^ "MAJOR. Announces Even More Album". Billboard.
  7. ^ "Meet R&B's New "Pretty Girl" Rhyon Brown". Rated R&B.
  8. ^ "Same Time, Pt. 1 credits".
  9. ^ "Breakin' Thru - Eric Darius". AllMusic.
  10. ^ "Coco Jones Covers Destiny's Child's "8 Days Of Christmas"". Vibe.
  11. ^ "Coco Jones Covers Mary J. Blige's "Real Love"". Vibe.
  12. ^ Goldner, Sam (April 2, 2026). "Kanye Wades Through the Fog at SoFi Stadium: Live Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ "Kanye West draws 118,000 to Istanbul concert, touts record-breaking show". Türkiye Today. May 30, 2026.
  15. ^ "Kanye West Takes Turkey By Storm After Netherlands Show Gets Cleared". HotNewHipHop. May 30, 2026.
  16. ^ "Ye ft. André Troutman: testo e traduzione di "All the Love"" (in Italian). March 31, 2026. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  17. ^ "Kanye West's Bully album: best songs and analysis". Rolling Stone.
  18. ^ "Andre Troutman | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved April 8, 2026.
  19. ^ "Billboard Hot 100™". Billboard. January 2, 2013. Retrieved April 7, 2026.
  20. ^ "Andre Troutman | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved April 7, 2026.
  21. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart". www.aria.com.au. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
  22. ^ "Ö3 Austria Top40: Single-Charts - Ö3 Charts". oe3.ORF.at (in German). November 8, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2026.
  23. ^ "Andre Troutman | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved April 7, 2026.
  24. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100 2 April 2026 - 8 April 2026". Official Charts. April 4, 2026. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
  25. ^ "Official Irish Singles Chart". Official Charts. April 4, 2026. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
  26. ^ "2026 14-os savaitės klausomiausi (TOP 100)". Agata (in Lithuanian). Retrieved April 11, 2026.
  27. ^ "ČNS IFPI". ifpicr.cz. Retrieved April 11, 2026.
  28. ^ "OLiS - oficjalna lista sprzedaży". www.olis.pl (in Polish). Retrieved April 11, 2026.
  29. ^ "Dutch Charts - dutchcharts.nl". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
  30. ^ "Chart". Sverigetopplistan (in Swedish). Retrieved April 4, 2026.
  31. ^ "Singel 2026 uke 14". topplista.no. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
  32. ^ "Explore our 50 year history". aotearoamusiccharts.co.nz. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
  33. ^ ""Top 200 Singles Semana 14 de 2026"" (PDF). AFP.
  34. ^ "Andre Troutman | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved April 7, 2026.
  35. ^ "Eric Darius: Smooth Jazz Airplay". Billboard. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
  36. ^ "Breakin' Thru - Eric Darius". AllMusic.