‘Everybody loves Outkast’: How Andre and Big Boi influenced your favorite artists
Everyone has an Outkast story. OK, maybe not everyone, but chances are your favorite musician, visual artist, author or DJ does.
Whether it’s frequent collaborators, fans or new generations of creatives, the lasting impact of Outkast is palpable. A sense of creativity, unbridled individuality and Black southern pride is contagious, if not downright gospel.
To many, watching André 3000 and Big Boi get inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Nov. 8 means something.
In the lead-up to the duo’s big night, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution combed through past interviews and caught up with influential creatives to hear how two dope boys in a Cadillac influenced their careers.
We heard quotes, notes and stories that speak to Big Boi’s quip on “The Way You Move” that Outkast is everlasting.
Here’s what fellow ATLiens and others had to say.
Janelle Monáe
When the AJC interviewed Monáe, a Dungeon Family alum, in 2023, she said her features on Outkast’s 2006 album “Idlewild” (“Call the Law” and “In Your Dreams”) were her first major placements pivotal to her growth as an artist.
“I just remember watching them, and being like ‘Wow. I don’t have to stay in one specific genre. I can be a genre. I can create a genre. I can play and perform and reimagine music and infuse lots of different styles.’ Seeing how down-to-earth they were let me know you don’t have to be pretentious or act like a superstar all the time.”
JID
Ahead of the release of his album “God Does Like Ugly,” which dropped in August, the AJC sat down with JID to reflect on his “so Atlanta” upbringing, including love for Outkast.
“(The induction) is the best s*** in the world. I hope they hit me up and say, ‘Hey, JID, would you come and perform?’ I know every single one of their words. It would be tight.”
It seems like Outkast may have answered JID’s request: The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame recently announced that JID will be among the presenters and performers during the induction ceremony.
Jermaine Dupri
The legendary music producer recently told the AJC that Outkast’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame warrants more attention to Atlanta’s musical history. He described Outkast as the “leaders of Atlanta music.”
“I think (the induction) is another thing we’re not talking about enough in this city. … We got to celebrate it. When I came back from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and got to (Cleveland’s) airport, all you see is music. You know that’s the home of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. When you get off at Atlanta’s airport, I don’t think you know that this is the home of hip-hop for the last 30 years.”
Baby Tate
The East Atlanta rapper and singer told the AJC that Outkast’s colorful, boundary-pushing artistry continues to be a source of inspiration.
“OutKast’s refusal to conform while also being so recognizably themselves revolutionized not only my personal expression and rebellion in music, but Black music as a whole. For their incredible contributions to hip-hop, to pop, R&B, neo-soul, rock, and any genre they so pleased to grace our ears with, their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is well deserved. As an Atlanta native, it’s nice to know that what the South has to say is still being heard.”
Fish Scales (Nappy Roots)
Like Outkast, Kentucky-founded group Nappy Roots is credited with penning lyrics with storytelling and slang rooted in the Black southern experience. The Grammy-winning emcees include Fish Scales, the only Georgia native (Milledgeville, to be exact) in the crew. It was Outkast who gave rappers below the Mason-Dixon Line a sense of ownership in rap’s East and West coast-dominated landscape, he said.
“Coming from Georgia, Outkast gave us a piece of hip-hop that we could call ours, at a time when hip-hop was in its golden years.”
Fahamu Pecou
The artist, scholar and founder of the African Diaspora Art Museum of Atlanta is no stranger to celebrating hip-hop royalty. Just ask Jeezy.
“I’ve been in countries where people barely speak English, but they can recite the lyrics to a song by T.I. or 2 Chainz verbatim,” he said. “And, believe me, everybody loves Outkast!”
Tayari Jones
The author, who graduated from Spelman College in the early ’90s, was living and teaching in Texas when André famously boasted that “the South got something to say” at the 1995 Source Awards. Thousands of miles away, in the Lone Star State, the Atlanta native could feel his words.
“People think of the South as being about grandmothers and mules, and here was Outkast, so unbelievably Southern, yet so modern and so eccentric,” Jones said.
“So often, the South is used as a backdrop to which other parts of the country can feel better about themselves. This time, the poster children, literally, were people that we could be proud of and aspire to. And see that everyone wishes they could be like us.”
Trendsetter Sense
Philadelphia native Trendsetter Sense remembers thinking “Atlanta is not a normal place” when he saw Outkast live at the Atlanta University Center’s Olive Branch ceremony welcoming new students. The image of Andre 3000 coming out rocking a turban stuck with the then-Clark Atlanta University freshman.
Sense later found success with the Aphilliates, a collective he co-led with DJ Drama and Don Cannon, known for their famed Gansta Grillz mixtape series, which has featured Atlanta artists Jeezy, T.I., Gucci Mane and, more recently, Anycia and Jace.
According to Sense, Big and Dre potentially could’ve joined that list.
“I executive produced DJ Drama’s first Gangsta Grillz album, and we were supposed to do a mixtape with Outkast. Something happened, and they said, ‘We can’t do the mixtape, but we will give you a song,’ so of course, myself, Drama and Cannon, we were extremely excited.”
When the song was turned in, the trio was in awe.
“We were doing a photo shoot for Drama, and he turned to us and said: ‘Andre just sent his verse in. Let me tell you, it’s bars upon bars.’ I thought that was just going to be an André song. I had to pick up the session from Stankonia. I go to Stankonia, Big Boi said, ‘Sit down, I want you to hear what I just did.’ It was his verse on the (same) song, and then he said our names, Drama, Cannon and Sense, and then he said it’s ‘The Art Of Storytelling Part 4.’ We went and got Marsha Ambrosius to do the hook, and the rest was history.”
Divinity Roxx
The Atlanta native, Grammy-winning artist and former musical director for Beyoncé once got an invite to rap for Dungeon Family. Outkast’s love for Atlanta gave Divinity extra confidence to share her pride for growing up southern.
“Dre and Big Boi showed the world how special and unique Atlanta is. They showed the world that the Outkast holds the key to the real magic of life. They went from two dope boys in a Cadillac to a household names, and their music will forever be the soundtrack of an era.”
Young Dro
The Atlanta trap veteran told the AJC this month that he’s taking the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction personally.
“I feel like if they’re there, then I’m there. It’s a piece of me. It’s just like how I felt about Killer Mike winning Grammys last year: we won. For them to be from Atlanta, it just all works out.”
Johnny Venus (Earthgang)
Johnny Venus of Atlanta rap duo Earthgang told the AJC that Outkast’s boundless sound and style continue to inspire.
“Outkast proved that rap was limitless and that it was necessary to break every box people will confine you to.”
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About the Authors
DeAsia is a music and culture reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She focuses on the intersection of arts, culture and diverse communities, as well as how emerging social trends are being expressed through the lens of the Atlanta aesthetic. DeAsia's work can be seen in Pitchfork, Essence, Teen Vogue, Elle and more.
Gavin Godfrey is an editor and Team Lead for UATL, the AJC's Black culture franchise. He's an award-winning writer and editor from Atlanta who's covered everything from OutKast to the water boys. Before joining the AJC, Gavin worked for Capital B Atlanta, CNN, and Creative Loafing.
Yvonne Zusel has been with the AJC since 2010. She worked on the digital news and food and dining teams before joining the arts & entertainment team.
