| Outkast | |
| Alias: | Two Shades Deep |
| Origin: | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Past Members: | |
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). Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential hip hop acts of all time,[1] [2] the duo achieved both critical and commercial success from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s, helping to popularize Southern hip hop[3] with their intricate lyricism, memorable melodies, and positive themes,[4] while experimenting with a diverse range of genres such as funk, psychedelia, jazz, and techno.
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 atop the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart. The duo saw critical acclaim with their second and third albums ATLiens (1996) and Aquemini (1998), which saw them further developing their sound. They then achieved 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 of which reached No. 1 on 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 a Diamond certification from 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.[5]
Along with being one of hip hop’s most influential acts, Outkast is also 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.[6] [7] [8] [9] Rolling Stone ranked them No. 7 on its list of the “20 Greatest Duos of All Time”,[10] 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.
Patton and Benjamin met in 1992 at Lenox Square shopping mall in Atlanta when they were both sixteen years old.[11] The two lived in Atlanta and attended Tri-Cities High School.[11] During school, Patton and Benjamin participated in rap battles in the cafeteria.[11] Benjamin's parents were divorced and he was living with his father. Meanwhile, Patton had to move with his four brothers and six sisters from Savannah to Atlanta. Patton and Benjamin eventually teamed up and were pursued by Organized Noize, a group of local producers who would later make hits for the R&B girl group TLC. The duo initially wanted to be called "2 Shades Deep" or "The Misfits", but because those names were already taken they later decided to use "Outkast" based on finding "outcast" as a synonym for "misfit" in a dictionary.[12] Outkast, Organized Noize, and schoolmates Goodie Mob formed the nucleus of the Dungeon Family organization.
Outkast signed to L.A. And Babyface imprint prior to graduation which would later become LaFace Records in 1992, becoming the label's first hip hop act and making their first appearance on the remix of labelmate TLC's "What About Your Friends". During the holiday season of 1993, they released their first single, "Player's Ball". The song's funky style, much of it accomplished with live instrumentation, was a hit with audiences. It hit number-one on the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks chart. "Player's Ball" also topped the R&B chart for six weeks.
Their debut album, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, was issued on April 26, 1994. This initial effort is credited with laying the foundation for southern hip hop and is considered a classic by many. Every track on Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik was produced by Organized Noize and featured other members of the Dungeon Family. Follow-up singles included the title track and "Git Up Git Out", a politically charged collaboration with Goodie Mob that was later sampled by Macy Gray for her 1999 hit "Do Something." On this early material, both Big Boi and André contrast lyrical content reflecting the lifestyles of pimps and gangsters with politically conscious material commenting on the status of African Americans in the South. OutKast won Best New Rap Group at the Source Awards in 1995. Within the context of the East Coast – West Coast feud, André came up on stage followed by boos from the crowd and said, "But it's like this though, I'm tired of them closed-minded folks, it's like we gotta demo tape but don't nobody want to hear it. But it's like this: the South got something to say, that's all I got to say." As said by Atlanta native rapper T.I., "Outkast, period. Outkast. That's when it changed. That was the first time when people began to take Southern rap seriously." In the same year, the group contributed "Benz or a Beamer" to the popular New Jersey Drive soundtrack.
After Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik was certified platinum, LaFace Records gave Outkast more creative control and advanced money for their follow-up album, which they recorded from 1995 to 1996.[13]
The duo took the opportunity to recreate their image. On a trip to Jamaica with producer Mr. DJ, the two decided to abandon their cornrow hairstyles in favor of a more natural aesthetic, vowing to stop combing their hair.[14] Dungeon Family member Big Rube observed an increase in the duo's confidence after returning from their first tour, remarking, "They started understanding the power they had in their music. They started showing a swagger that certain artists have—the ones that are stars."[15] The two also became more accustomed to playing live, particularly Big Boi, and André 3000 significantly changed his lifestyle, as he adopted a more eccentric fashion sense, became a vegetarian, and stopped smoking marijuana.[16] The members also underwent changes in their personal lives; in 1995, Big Boi's girlfriend gave birth to their first child and André 3000 and Total's Keisha Spivey ended their two-year relationship.[17]
The double platinum album, ATLiens, was released on August 27, 1996. The album exhibited a notably more laid-back, spacey production sound, taking influence from dub and reggae.[18] [19] On ATLiens, Big Boi and André 3000 abandoned the "hard-partying playa characters" of their debut album in favor of more spacey, futuristic personas, and produced many of the songs on their own for the first time.[17] [20] Their tracks have an outer-space feeling to them- a feeling that, ironically, has warmed the community right up to them. Critics praised the group's maturing musical style on the record, which debuted at number two on the U.S. R&B/Hip Hop chart. The album would climb to number three on Billboard's top [21] Billboard 200 chart and sold nearly 350,000 copies in its first two weeks of release.[22] [23] The single "Elevators (Me & You)" reached number 12 and spent 20 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[24] ATLiens further solidified OutKast as the flagship representatives of the 1st generation Dungeon Family and the Southern hip hop movement. The album helped the group earn more recognition among East Coast hip hop fans in the East and West coasts.
For this album, Outkast joined with partner David "Mr. DJ" Sheats to form the Earthtone III production company, which allowed the group to produce some of their own tracks. The double A-side "ATLiens" / "Wheelz of Steel" was the group's third Top 40 single (following "Player's Ball" from their first album and "Elevators (Me & You)" from ATLiens), and reflected the beginning of André's increasingly sober lifestyle:[25] "No drugs or alcohol/so I can get the signal clear," he rhymes about himself in the title track. Also at the time of the album's release, they were managed by Flavor Unit.
Outkast's third album Aquemini was released on September 29, 1998. It was also certified double platinum and reached the number-two position on the Billboard 200 album chart in the United States; its title was a combination of the zodiac signs of Big Boi (an Aquarius) and André (a Gemini).[19] Producing more material themselves, both Big Boi and André explored more eclectic subject matter, delving into sounds inspired by soul, trip hop, and electro music. The album featured production by Organized Noize and collaborations with Raekwon, Slick Rick, funk pioneer and musical forebear George Clinton, and Goodie Mob. Outkast forged the connections between Hip Hop and the black freedom struggle with their controversial song "Rosa Parks" featured on the album.[26]