“Can someone who was once so present find meaning in absence?”

From a review, in the NYT, of “Dreams Once Buried Beneath the Dungeon Floor Slowly Sprout Into Undying Gardens” by André 3000.

He was a member of the duo Outkast and “one of the most innovative rappers ever,” but Outkast has not put out a recording in almost 20 years, and this new album has no rapping or even any words at all. It’s purely instrumental, and the instruments are, it says here, “a digital wind instrument, a Maya flute and others of wood and bamboo.” 
At that last link, there’s a quote from André saying that when he was 25, he thought, “I don’t want to be a 40-year-old rapper” and he still agreed with that. That quote is from 2014. He’s also quoted saying now, “In my mind, I really would like to make a rap album. So maybe that happens one day, but I got to find a way to say what I want to say in an interesting way that’s appealing to me at this age.” He’s 48.