Outkast

Today in Hip-Hop History: Outkast Dropped Their Debut Album ‘Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik’ 28 Years Ago

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On this day in Hip Hop history, OutKast, the duo that helped pioneer putting southern Hip Hop on the map, released their debut classic LP, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik.

This Dungeon Family masterpiece recorded by Andre 3000 and Big Boi paved the way for Atlanta and the rest of the Dirty South to have their unique voice in Hip Hop. Before this album, there weren’t many hit records coming from anywhere south of the Mason-Dixon line. Peaking at #20 on the Billboard 200 and being certified platinum less than a year after its release, this album’s achievements speak for themselves.

Produced completely by OutKast and Organized Noize, this project was like none before it. Its sound is perfectly described as southern rap. From the dialect to the instruments used to the references, everything about this album screams Atlanta. The smooth blues and marching band influenced beats blend with Big Boi and Andre 3000’s flows, creating something new that rippled the tide of an industry saturated with G-Funk or New York Hip Hop.

Both commercially and critically this album was immensely successful. It peaked at #20 in the Billboard 200 and #3 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop charts. This album was also the reason OutKast received the Best Newcomer Award at the 1995 Source Awards, which as we all know was met with controversy to say the least. Regardless of the haters, this album came at the beginning of the career of two rappers who changed the game forever.

The post Today in Hip-Hop History: Outkast Dropped Their Debut Album ‘Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik’ 28 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.

Kate Bush and Big Boi Recorded A Song Together, But Will It Ever Be Released?

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Kate Bush once famously took a 35 year hiatus from performing on stage. The iconic British singer and producer is among music’s most notorious recluses. And despite the 2016 Before The Dawn live album, has not released any music since and any news of future releases has remained consistently absent. Until now…

Appearing on The Fader Uncovered Podcast with Mark Ronson this week, Big Boi dropped a bombshell so to speak, that he had not only recorded a song with Bush (whom he idolizes), but that it’s “…a monster hit with Kate Bush — that I’m just holding.” He explained on the show that in 2014, around the time of the Outkast 20th anniversary tour and when Bush came out of that 35 year performance retirement for a 22-date run of shows at the Hammersmith Apollo in London, he and his wife went to see her live. He met Bush backstage after the show, exchanged numbers and stayed in touch. “She’s a very, very, very classy lady,” he said.

Big Boi then details a dinner he went to with Bush at a pub where they sipped “almond cognac,” before eventually working on this mysterious song. “It’s a dream come true and the people are gonna f***ing love it. It’s f***ing incredible,” he says. But he stayed coy on the song’s release, stating that “Whenever I think they deserve it, I’m gonna give it to ’em.” He also intimated that the song could be “that perfect art piece” to go with a visual component necessary for a release as an NFT.

The news of this collaboration really came out of left field, but not so much considering Big Boi looked up to Bush growing up. He revealed that Bush was one of the reasons he got into making music and that he would ride his bike to school as a kid listening to “Running Up That Hill.”

“The world gotta hear it cause it’s uplifting,” he said reflectively of the song. “It’s the last piece of the puzzle as far as my legacy goes.”

Ludacris Had To Perform A Clean Acapella Set At The Atlanta Braves Championship Celebration

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Thanks to some technical difficulties during his set at the Atlanta Braves’ World Championship celebration, Ludacris was forced to perform not only clean versions (it was a family event, after all) but also do so without his instrumentals. Fortunately, the veteran rapper was more than up to the task.

After playing his hits “Welcome To Atlanta” and “Southern Hospitality” with no trouble, the beat for “Yeah” began skipping as a result of the fans’ exuberant bouncing, according to Luda’s DJ. So, he decided to perform “Yeah” and “Money Maker” totally acapella before being able to complete the set as normal, noting that a “true MC” should be able to perform under nearly any conditions and still keep the party going.

Once the sound was fixed, Luda ran through a dizzying display of fan favorites, including “Fantasy,” “Roll Out,” “Stand Up,” “How Low,” and “Move B***h,” closing out fittingly with “All I Do Is Win.” Luda’s set was preceded by another pair of hometown heroes, Big Boi and Killer Mike, who chose to perform their song “Kryptonite.” Big Boi also performed several Outkast favorites with Sleepy Brown, including “ATLiens,” “Bombs Over Baghdad,” and “Rosa Parks.” Veteran hip-hop journalist Julia Beverly was right in the front row for the whole show, posting some great videos on Instagram, which you can watch below.

We Asked Twitter What the Most Misheard Hip-Hop Lyrics Are

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Music is subjective in many ways. From a fan’s opinion about an artist and the songs they create to what the lyrics mean, there are different perspectives used in interpreting that music, especially within hip-hop. As the genre expands and evolves to create a more widespread impact, sometimes the rhymes gets lost in translation when listeners mishear lyrics. This happens often… Continue reading…

Andre 3000 Went With Big Boi To Watch His Son, Cross Patton, Play For Oregon

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For over a decade, hip-hop fans have been hoping that Outkast will get back together to make new music. There have been brief reunions to tour or do one-off shows, but for the most part, Andre 3000 seems content to pursue his new passions in music, art, and film, while Big Boi continues to put out albums and tour with Sleepy Brown.

While new Outkast music may remain simply a dream for many rather than a reality, we can take solace in the fact that the two legendary artists remain close friends, even as they’ve moved on to separate ventures. That’s not always the case when groups go their own ways after a long time together, but it is truly heartwarming to see how Big Boi and Andre 3000 continue to support each other and their families.

On Saturday night, we saw the latest instance of this when a photo from a pair of Oregon fans went viral of Big Boi and Three Stacks sitting together at the Ducks game against Arizona in Eugene, cheering on Big Boi’s son, Cross Patton, who plays for Oregon.

There is real joy in seeing the two members of Outkast still hanging out and supporting each other’s kids at games and graduations.

That’s real friendship as you get older and, whether we ever get new music or not, it’s cool to see they haven’t lost that connection.