Andre Benjamin (Dre) and Antwan Patton (Big Boi) attended the same high
school in the Atlanta borough of East Point, and several lyrical battles
made each gain respect for the other's skills. They formed OutKast, and
were pursued by Organized Noize Productions. Signed to the local LaFace
label just after high school, OutKast recorded and released “Player's
Ball,” then watched the single rise to number one on the rap charts. It
slipped from the top spot only after six weeks, was certified gold, and
created a buzz for a full-length release. That album, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik,
hit the Top 20 in 1994 and was certified platinum by the end of the year.
Dre and Big Boi also won Best New Rap Group of the Year at the 1995 Source
Awards.
OutKast returned with a new album in 1996, releasing ATLiens
that August; it hit number two and went platinum with help from the
gold-selling single “Elevators (Me & You).” Aquemini
followed in 1998, also hitting number two and going double-platinum. There
were no huge hit singles this time around, but critics lavishly praised
the album's unified, progressive vision, hailing it as a great leap
forward and including it on many year-end polls. Unfortunately, in a
somewhat bizarre turn of events, OutKast was sued over the album's lead
single “Rosa Parks” by none other than the civil rights pioneer
herself, who claimed that the group had unlawfully appropriated her name
to promote their music, also objecting to some of the song's language. The
initial court decision dismissed the suit in late 1999.
Dre modified his name to Andre 3000 before the group issued its hotly
anticipated fourth album, Stankonia, in late 2000. Riding the
momentum of uniformly excellent reviews and the stellar singles “B.O.B.”
and “Ms. Jackson,” Stankonia debuted at number two and went
triple platinum in just a few months; meanwhile, “Ms. Jackson” became
their first number one pop single the following February.
Speakerbox/The Love Below shot through the roof upon it release
in 2003, courtesy of the hit single “Hey Ya.” But it was more than one
song that ensured the true success behind this double album. On Speakerbox,
Big Boi proves his prowess on the mic - hitting lyric after lyric, song
after song - to ensure a few heads turning to notice a lyricist second to
none. Andre3000 meanwhile revolutionizes The Love Below with a
mixture of styles to create some of the best arrangements ever to be
incorporated into mainstream hip-hop.
This double album further cemented duo's place in the growth of modern
Southern hip-hop, as well as refuting the common belief that one must be a
“gangsta” to successfully rap.
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