Outkast
Outkast (sometimes written as OutKast) was an American hip hop duo formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1992, consisting of rappers Big Boi (Antwan Patton) and André 3000 (André Benjamin, formerly known as Dré).[1] The duo achieved both critical and commercial success from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s, helping to popularize Southern hip hop[1] with their intricate lyricism, memorable melodies, and positive themes,[3] while experimenting with a diverse range of genres such as funk, psychedelia, jazz, and techno. The duo are widely regarded as one of the most influential artists in hip hop.[4][5]
This article is about the hip hop group. For the film, see Outkast (film). For other uses, see Outcast (disambiguation).
Outkast
Two Shades Deep
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
- 1992–2007
- 2014
- Purple Ribbon
- Arista
- LaFace
- RCA
- Earthtone Ideas, Inc.
- Epic
Patton and Benjamin formed Outkast as high school students. They released their debut studio album Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik in 1994, which gained popularity after its single "Player's Ball" peaked the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart. The duo saw critical acclaim with their second and third albums ATLiens (1996) and Aquemini (1998) while further developing their sound. The duo saw mainstream recognition and further acclaim with their fourth album Stankonia (2000), which was supported by the singles "B.O.B." and "Ms. Jackson", the latter peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100 and won Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards.
The duo then released the double album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (2003), their only album to debut atop the Billboard 200. It was supported by their second and third number one singles, "The Way You Move" (performed by Big Boi) and "Hey Ya!" (performed by André 3000), respectively. The album won Album of the Year at the 46th Annual Grammy Awards and received diamond certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Outkast starred in the 2006 musical film Idlewild and recorded the film's accompanying soundtrack, which was released as their final album three days before the film's release. The duo split the following year, and both members have pursued solo careers. Outkast temporarily reunited to celebrate their debut album's 20th anniversary by performing at more than 40 festivals worldwide, beginning at the Coachella Festival in April 2014.[6]
Outkast is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential hip hop acts of all time, and are one of the most successful, having certified sales of 20 million records between six studio albums and a compilation album, as well as having earned six Grammy Awards.[7][8][9][10] Rolling Stone ranked them No. 7 on its list of the 20 Greatest Duos of All Time,[11] while publications such as Pitchfork and the aforementioned Rolling Stone have listed their albums among the best in all of hip hop and of all time.
Musical style and influences[edit]
Outkast's musical style and lyrical content have evolved throughout the group's career. Rolling Stone described their music as "idiosyncratic" and "inspired by the Afrocentric psychedelics" of George Clinton and Sly Stone,[57] and particularly by the psychedelic funk of Clinton's Parliament-Funkadelic collective.[58] The band's debut album Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik incorporates analog elements such as Southern-styled guitar licks, languid soul melodies, and mellow 1970s funk grooves.[59][60] It also features digital hip hop production elements such as programmed snare beats, booty bass elements,[59] ATLiens and Aquemini feature outer space-influenced production with echo and reverb effects.[61] With Stankonia, Outkast became the first hip-hop act to openly acknowledge rave culture as an influence.[62] Stankonia and Speakerboxxx/The Love Below would draw on sources such as psychedelia, gospel, funk, techno, soul, electro, and rock music.[63] During the late 1990s, rappers tended to embrace slow, laid-back beats in their productions. On several tracks on Stankonia, the group employed faster, more chaotic tempos to reflect rave culture and the introduction of new drugs such as ecstasy into the hip-hop scene.[62]
One central motif of Outkast's songwriting is the duality of the two members and their differing personalities, with Big Boi as "the player" and André 3000 as "the poet".[64] Big Boi generally covers the more conventional hip-hop topics such as his childhood in the South, sex, and partying, while André 3000 discusses more unorthodox themes.[65] In contrast to much of hip hop music in the late 1990s, Outkast did not tone down its Southern regional qualities, like the harmonica break on "Rosa Parks" and distinctive Atlanta slang and diction throughout. The duo experimented with several delivery styles on the record, using "relaxed, hyper, distorted, speedy and conversational presentations."[66] Outkast often discusses the status of women in the South, and contrasts with the misogynistic attitudes common in hip-hop music. In Slate, Alex Abramovich praised the duo for "[tending] to shy away from the misogyny and violence rap is so often (and not always unjustly) condemned for."[67] In his book Classic Material: The Hip-Hop Album Guide, Oliver Wang writes that songs such as "Slum Beautiful" and "Toilet Tisha" "reimagine 'round the way girls, not only as just more than one-dimensional accessories, but as objects of affection with lives and concerns that are worth exploring."[68]
Collaborations and other work[edit]
During the recording of Stankonia Outkast and Mr. DJ began producing tracks for the artists on their Aquemini Records imprint through Columbia, including Slimm Cutta Calhoun and Killer Mike, who made his debut on Stankonia's "Snappin' & Trappin."
In 2002, Outkast participated in the only Dungeon Family group album, Even in Darkness, along with Goodie Mob, Killer Mike, Sleepy Brown, Witchdoctor, and Backbone among others, and featuring Bubba Sparxxx, Shuga Luv and Mello. In 2002, the group and Killer Mike contributed the lead single "Land of a Million Drums" to the Scooby-Doo soundtrack.
On February 27, 2011, it was announced that Big Boi is creating a joint album along with Killer Mike and fellow Atlanta rapper Pill.[69] Later that day, Big Boi posted on his Twitter account that he was mixing Killer Mike's album entitled, PL3DGE.[70]
In 2010, André 3000 was featured on Ciara's remix for her hit single "Ride", from the album Basic Instinct.[71] On January 14, 2011, a song with Ke$ha called "The Sleazy Remix" was leaked.[72] On June 7, 2011, Beyoncé's song "Party" was leaked, it features Benjamin, it is his first collaboration with the singer. It is also featured on Beyoncé's fourth studio album entitled 4 released June 24, 2011. On August 24, 2011, Lil Wayne's album Tha Carter IV leaked, featuring a song entitled "Interlude" with Benjamin and fellow rapper Tech N9ne performing. Also in 2011 André featured on Chris Browns "Deuces" remix as well as on a Lloyd song, "Dedication To My Ex (Miss That)", with Lil Wayne. In 2012 André also appeared on Drake's second album Take Care, on the song "The Real Her" which also featured Lil Wayne.
In 2012 André 3000 featured on the Gorillaz single "DoYaThing" with James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem. The song was released as a free download in February that year as part of a Converse promotion.
André 3000 was featured on Frank Ocean's 2012 album Channel Orange on the song "Pink Matter". On January 11, 2013, Big Boi appeared on a remix of the song, adding a verse before André's. In response to the added verse, André issued a statement on January 15 insisting that the track did not constitute an Outkast reunion.[73] André 3000 also featured uncredited vocals on Ocean's 2016 album Blonde on the song "Solo (Reprise)" with his verse taking up majority of the track.
Phantogram revealed in an interview with Variance Magazine in February 2014 that they plan to release an EP with Big Boi.[74] The resulting album Big Grams was released in September 2015.
Film projects[edit]
Benjamin made appearances in Families, The Shield (as Robert Huggins, a character that originated in an episode titled "On Tilt" from Season 3 in 2004), Be Cool, Revolver, Semi Pro, and Four Brothers. He was also cast as Percival in Idlewild, released on August 26, 2006. He voiced a crow in Charlotte's Web, a movie adaptation of the 1952 children's book. As of November 2006, he voiced "Sunny Bridges," a prize-winning musician who gives up touring to teach at his alma mater, in Class of 3000, an animated series he produced on Cartoon Network. He has also worked with Esthero on a promotional version of "Jungle Book" which was on a Wikked lil' grrrls sampler, but never made it to the actual album due to issues with Esthero's label, Warner Bros.
The following year, he appeared in the basketball comedy Semi-Pro, with Woody Harrelson and Will Ferrell. He also starred in the 2008 film Battle in Seattle, a film about the 1999 Seattle World Trade Organization protests. Benjamin was a member of Quentin Tarantino and Lawrence Bender's production company A Band Apart until its close in 2006; he then formed his own company, Moxie Turtle.
Big Boi appeared on Nick Cannon's Wild 'n Out Season 3 as one of the many guest stars, as well as guest starring and appearing as a musical guest on Chappelle's Show performing his song "The Rooster". He appeared in T.I.'s film ATL, Outkast's film Idlewild as Rooster and starring in Who's Your Caddy?. He appeared in the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode "Wildlife", which aired November 18, 2008. Big Boi played hip-hop artist "Got$ Money".
