Outkast
Outkast is an American hip hop duo formed in 1992 in East Point, Georgia, the United States, composed of Atlanta-based rappers André Benjamin and Antwan Patton.
The hip hop duo put Atlanta on the hip-hop map in the 1990s and redefined the G-Funk and Dirty South music styles with their strong melodies, intricate lyrics, and positive messages. In 1994 OutKast released their first album titled Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik. A critical and commercial success, it highlighted the group’s originality and penchant for catchy hooks.
Outkast Members
Outkast was formed by André Benjamin and Antwan Patton in the year 1992. Their stage names are Dré and Big Boi respectively. Dré modified his name to André 3000 before the group issued its hotly anticipated fourth album, Stankonia, in late 2000.
André 3000 was born on May 27, 1975, in Atlanta, Georgia. He has been an actor and has made appearances in a number of TV series and films, including Families, The Shield, Be Cool, Revolver, Semi-Pro, Four Brothers, and All Is by My Side. In addition to music and acting, Benjamin has also been an entrepreneur. He launched a clothing line called Benjamin Bixby in 2008 inspired by college football circa and has also been an advocate for animal rights.
Outkast Duo
André 3000 is the only child of a single mother, Sharon Benjamin-Hodo, who sold real estate. Besides, he attended Sarah Smith Elementary School, Sutton Middle School, Northside High School, and Tri-Cities High School. Moreover, the Outkast member has a son named Seven Sirius Benjamin, born on November 18, 1997, with R&B singer Erykah Badu.
The other Outkast member, Big Boi, was born on February 1, 1975, in Savannah, Georgia. He attended Herschel V. Jenkins High School, before moving to Atlanta with his Aunt Renne. Eventually, he decided to pursue his interest in music at Tri-Cities High School, a visual and performing arts magnet school. His wife Sherlita Patton was the owner, together with Tracy Valentine, of a clothing boutique in Atlanta, Georgia called PValentine. The boutique closed in 2008.
In addition to that, Big Boi is a registered pit bull breeder as well as an actor and record producer. The rapper founded the Big Kidz Foundation, a nonprofit organization to help youth in Atlanta, in the year 2006. In 2010, Big Boi launched his custom Chuck Taylor sneakers with Converse. The shoes feature the title of his Def Jam solo album debut: “Sir Lucious Left Foot” on the left, and “Son of Chico Dusty” on the right. His Big Boi logo is featured on the tongue of the shoe.
The duo attended the same performing arts high school in the Atlanta borough of East Point, and several lyrical battles made each gain respect for the other’s skills. Discovering their mutual admiration for hip-hop and the funk musicians who became their stylistic touchstones, they formed a rap group, 2 Shades Deep. After forming OutKast, they were pursued by Organized Noize Productions, hitmakers for TLC and Xscape.
Outkast Stankonia
Stankonia is the fourth studio album by American hip hop duo OutKast. It was released on October 31, 2000, by La Face Records. The album was recorded in the duo’s recently purchased Atlanta recording facility Stankonia Studios. This allowed for fewer time and recording constraints and featured production work from Earthtone III and Organized Noise.
The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling over 530,000 copies the first week. It featured three singles including “B.O.B”, “Ms. Jackson”, and “So Fresh, So Clean”. Stankonia received universal acclaim from music critics upon its release and has since been regarded by many to be one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time.
The album’s hit song, “Ms. Jackson”, became the group’s first single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. At the 2002 Grammy Awards, OutKast won Best Rap Album for Stankonia and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for “Ms. Jackson”. Stankonia was ranked number 359 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Outkast Songs
Their music consists of five studio albums, one compilation album, one soundtrack album, one video album, thirty-two singles, three promotional singles, and twenty-one music videos. Below is a list of some of their songs from different albums.
» B.O.B
» Behold a Lady
» Bowtie
» Bust
» Church
» Chronomentrophobia
» Dracula’s Wedding
» Dyin’ to Live
» Flip Flop Rock
» Ms. Jackson
» PJ & Rooster
» The Train
» The Whole World
» The Way You Move
» Tomb of the Boom
» Stankonia (Stanklove)
» Xplosion
Outkast Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik
Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik is the 1994 debut album of OutKast. It features live instrumentation in its hip hop production and musical elements from funk and soul genres. OutKast wrote and recorded the album as teenagers and addressed coming of age topics with the album’s songs. Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik was produced entirely by Organized Noize, which was made up of Rico Wade, Ray Murray, and Sleepy Brown.
Its track listing includes 17 songs including Peaches, Ain’t No Thang, Welcome to Atlanta, Call of da Wild, Funky Ride, Flim Flam, Hootie Hoo among others.
Aquemini
Aquemini is the third studio album by Outkast. It was released on September 29, 1998, by LaFace Records. The title has been derived from the two performers’ Zodiac signs and has a recurring theme of the differing personalities of André 3000 and Big Boi. Bobby Brown’s Bosstown Recording Studios and Doppler Studios, both in Atlanta, Georgia, recorded the majority of the album.
Outkast Big Boi(left) and Andre 3000(right)
In November 1998, the Recording Industry Association of America certified Aquemini as Platinum only two months after its release and was again certified Double Platinum on July 2, 1999. It was ranked at number 500 in Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Big Boi described the music on the album as “very experimental”, since it featured live instrumentation that included horns, guitar, piano, and harmonica. The album consists of 16 songs which are Da Art of Storytellin,
Da Art of Storytellin’ (Part 2), Mamacita, SpottieOttieDopaliscious, Y’all Scared, Hold On, Be Strong, Return of the G, Rosa Parks among others.
Outkast Atliens
ATLiens is the second studio album by Outkast. LaFace Records released the album on August 27, 1996. The album features outer space-inspired production sounds, with OutKast and producers Organized Noize incorporating elements of dub, psychedelic rock, and gospel into the compositions. ATLiens debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, and it sold nearly 350,000 copies in its first two weeks of release.
It features 15 songs which include Two Dope Boyz, ATLiens, Jazzy Belle, Elevators (Me & You), Babylon, 13th Floor / Growing Old, Decatur Psalm, Millennium among a few others.
Albums
Besides the above-mentioned albums, The Outkast had other studios, compilation and video albums which have been listed below together with their dates of release.
» Stankonia-October 31, 2000
» Speakerboxxx/The Love Below-September 23, 2003
» Idlewild- August 22, 2006
» Big Boi and Dre Present… Outkast-December 4, 2001
» The Videos-December 16, 2003
Note: This biography is based on the available information as of 2023, and real-time updates or developments are being updated by our editorial team.