OutKast Lyrics

OutKast - Biography

They brought you Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, Platinum. Then
they brought you ATLiens, Platinum plus. Now Big Boi and Dre, the
player and the poet, bring you their highly anticipated third album,
Aquemini, destined at least Double Platinum.

OutKast consistently provides superb lyrics laced over bumpin tracks
which have earned them platinum albums, #1 hit singles, awards, and
respect in the world of rap. In 1994 the duo entered the hip hop
scene with the Organized Noize (TLC, EnVogue, Goodie Mob) produced
platinum album Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik. It debuted at #3 on
the R&B Billboard Chart, received a 4.5 mic rating (out of 5)
from The Source Magazine, and the group received a Source Award for
Best New Group or Duo. The album's first single, "Player's
Ball", went gold in a matter of weeks, holding down the #1 spot
on the Billboard Rap Chart for over six consecutive weeks. In short,
OutKast made the industry stop and respect that rap can flow from
the dirty south.

OutKast came right back with their sophomore album, ATLiens, which
sold 1.5 million units. ATLiens reached platinum status within a few
weeks of its release when it entered the Billboard Top 200 at #2
(directly behind Pearl Jam). The album, also produced by ONP, marked
the very impressive production debut by Big Boi and Dre who crafted
the first release off ATLiens, "Elevators." The single
stayed at #1 for weeks, reached platinum status, and had hip hop
heads across the nation chanting "Me & you, your momma and
your cousin too, rollin down the strip on vogues, comin up slammin
cadillac doors."

This time Big Boi and Dre have taken their craft to an even higher
level producing 9 out 14 tracks on Aquemini. "It's all about
growing," Big Boi explains why they took their project in their
own hands. "We started producing on the second album and felt
like people appreciated what we were doin' so we had to crank it up
on this one." And crank it up they do. Aquemini takes you on a
hip-hop, street, spiritual, and musical journey. There is something
for everyone on this album which is confirmed by the variety of
guests who appear on the album: Erykah Badu, George Clinton, Raekwon
from the WuTang Clan, and Goodie Mob, just to name a few.

"Aquemini is the meeting of two worlds. The world of Aquarius
& Gemini (Big Boi & Dre's signs respectively),"
Explains Dre on the meaning of title. "It's simply that two
people can come together as one and create." Hence, the playa
and the poet. "Balance is key," adds Big Boi, the playa of
the duo. "Balance in the music and balance with me &
Dre." Just as OutKast has grown musically, so have they
individually. "I'm more street, hard-core hip hop, and Dre's
more extraterrestrial." Big Boi describes. The two also have
very different appearances. "Dre looks like the music and I
look like the message."

Although you might find the two ordering from different menus (Dre
is a vegan and Big Boi is likely to be found at MoJo's Chicken Wing
Shack) or going in different directions when they leave the studio,
their direction in music is clear and united. "Even the sun
goes down, heroes eventually die, horoscopes often lie and sometimes
'y', nothing is for sure, nothing is for certain, nothing last
forever, but until they close the curtain, it's him and I,
Aquemini" "On this album we wanted to excel creatively and
experiment more," Big Boi explains the concept behind the album
aside from dismantling rumors of an OutKast break up, "Aquemini
is a balance of the heavy music on the first album and the heavy
lyrical content on the second. It's our best album yet!"

With tracks like "SpottieOttieDopalicious" done with all
live music comparable to "Funky Ride" on the first album,
"Mamasita" which carries strong New York flavor with a
southern twist, and "Da Art of Storytellin (Part 1)" that
provides an upbeat smooth groove in a seventies feel, it's easy to
agree this is their best album yet.

The first single, "Rosa Parks" is a "back alley,
southern blue grass, hoe down jam session" describes Big Boi
excitedly. The track opens up with tight head bobbin' production as
Big Boi and Dre rhyme skillfully over the hype beat. Then it takes
you back to everyone's southern roots with a harmonica interlude
that will have you out of your seat and slappin your knee. "We
are tryin to bring the good time back," says Big Boi. The
unforgettable hook "Ah ha, hush that fuss, everybody move to
the back of the bus, do you wanna bump and slump wit us, we the type
of people make the club get crunk" is destined to keep the
party going.

OutKast continues to take it to the streets with "Skew It On
The Bar-B" featuring Raekwon from The WuTang Clan. Dre explains
they've always admired Raekwon's lyrical style. "Big Boi met
him in Lenox Mall, told him about the record and he said he wanted
to get down on it." The track is laced with a hard hitting
thump beat with a quick witty hook between all three verses,
"Ol' School playas to new school fools, Kast keep it jumpin
like Kangaroo's, Well skew it on the bar-b, we ain't trying to lose,
say I be got damn it, they done changed the rules."

Of course tradition holds true on this album, it wouldn't be an
OutKast record without a song with Gold labelmates Goodie Mob.
Khujo, T-Mo, and Big Gipp lend their lyrics to "Ya'll
Scared" as Cee-Lo, along with Erykah Badu (Dre's soul mate and
mother of his 8 month old son Seven), Big Rube and Joi & Peach
from the group Heroin lend their talents to the spiritual,
enlightening track "Liberation." The record was so well
received, "once we laid our parts down, everyone wanted to be a
part of the song." So much, explains Dre, "when Erykah
heard the song she wanted us to let her use it for her album."

"It was destiny for George Clinton to be on
'Synthesizer'", says Dre. "Synthesizer" is the funky,
new age millennium track on "Aquemini." "George
Clinton is funk," adds Big Boi, "and there's always funk
in the cadillac." Other guest include Cool Breeze and Sleepy
Brown from the Organized Noize camp, Backbone, and Masada, the first
female to rap on an OutKast record.

Big Boi and Dre came together at Atlanta's Tri-City high school
where OutKast was born. They signed a contract with LaFace Records
just prior to graduation and began their exceptional career in the
rap game. The depth, emotion and intricacy of OutKast's words can be
partially explained in the fact that they've lived the city life
since childhood. Dre (Andre Benjamin) grew up in a single parent
home moving from place to place within southwest Atlanta until he
was 15 and went to live with his father. It was during his
adolescence that Andre fell victim to a negative lifestyle like many
urban youth as a means of survival. Big Boi's (Antoine Patton) story
is similar, moving from Savannah to Atlanta thirteen years ago to
join Andre in the ranks of the young, gifted, black and untapped as
he ran the Atlanta city streets as well.

Clearly on a changed and correct path, the duo have ventured into
their own business creating Earthtone Production for which they are
actively seeking new talent. In addition, Big Boi owns and runs
Pitfall Kennels, a lucrative business where he breeds and sells
Pitbull dogs and Dre is persuing his visual talents via painting
with Andre Classic Paintings.

The playa and the poet have elevated their game for the third time
with Aquemini. Musically, individually, and collectively Big Boi and
Dre are coming strong and impressive with their third and possibly
best effort. Dre's lyrics from the title track clearly describes the
group's feelings on the music, the look, and the entire project:
"Don't get caught up in the appearance, It's OutKast Aquemini,
another black experience."

Bio from ~ All Music Guide

OutKast's blend of gritty Southern soul, fluid raps, and the rolling
G-funk of their Organized Noize production crew epitomized the
Atlanta wing of hip-hop's rising force, the Dirty South, during the
late '90s. Along with Goodie Mob, OutKast took Southern hip-hop in
bold, innovative new directions: less reliance on aggression, more
positivity and melody, thicker arrangements, and intricate lyrics.
After Dre and Big Boi hit number one on the rap charts with their
first single, "Player's Ball," the duo embarked on a run
of platinum albums spiked with several hit singles, enjoying
numerous critical accolades in addition to their commercial
success.

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,
hitmakers for TLC and Xscape. 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)" (number 12 pop, number
one rap), as well as the Top 40 title track. 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. ~ John Bush, All Music
Guide