100 Best Albums
- SEP 29, 1998
- 16 Songs
- Stankonia · 2000
- Speakerboxxx/The Love Below · 2003
- UGK (Underground Kingz) · 2007
- Speakerboxxx/The Love Below · 2003
- Stankonia · 2000
- Aquemini · 1998
- Speakerboxxx/The Love Below · 2003
- Aquemini · 1998
- Stankonia · 2000
- ATLiens · 1996
Essential Albums
- Who else but rap’s most fearlessly creative duo could open their biggest album with a bonfire of American dreams? Outkast’s fourth LP may have launched them into the mainstream, but there’s nothing safe about it: Even its most populist track, “Ms. Jackson,” is a glitchy, galactic soul number about a messy divorce. The collection is peppered with slo-mo funk cuts (“Toilet Tisha”), neo-soul steppin’ anthems (“Humble Mumble”), and political drum ’n’ bass rap (“B.O.B.”). There is no genre, no “mainstream versus underground”—there is only groove.
Albums
Artist Playlists
- These ATLiens convinced the world that the South had something to say.
- Their videos are playful and poetic, true to ATLien form.
- These two dope boys have shaped the experimental sound of generations of talent.
- Genre hopping with the two eclectic ATLiens.
Singles & EPs
Compilations
Appears On
More To Hear
- Twenty years ago, an instant-classic video got its flowers.
- A mind-altering hit of psychedelic proto-trap.
- Estelle chats with Big Boi on the LP’s 25th anniversary.
- Celebrating the music of two massive game changers.
- Celebrating the music of two massive game changers.
- Jams from Outkast, Stevie Wonder, Jackson 5, and Donna Summer.
More To See
About Outkast
Back before rappers below the Mason-Dixon Line got the respect of their East and West Coast contemporaries, Outkast raised the bar for lyricism, originality, and creativity. "The South got something to say," André 3000 proclaimed at the 1995 Source Awards as he and Big Boi accepted the award for Best New Rap Group. Atlanta natives André Benjamin and Antwan Patton, both born in 1975, met as teenagers rapping in their school cafeteria before forming a duo and connecting with local producers Organized Noize. Their 1994 debut album, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik—punctuated by a silky single, "Player's Ball"—was a coming-of-age depiction of the pimps, rides, and aura of their hood. With thick drawls and lucid lyrics over soulful instrumentation, Outkast continued their art of storytelling with three almost instantly classic follow-ups, ATLiens, Aquemini, and Stankonia. Each record offered more amorphous flows and endless imagination than the one before it, with bars promoting non-violence and perseverance, perhaps most explicitly spelled out on socially conscious standout "Humble Mumble." Over time, they played up their complementary personalities: André's poetic pensiveness and eccentricity shined, as Big Boi excelled at quick-witted slick talk. And those contrasts blossomed on 2003's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, a double album featuring Big Boi's funk-infused hip-hop and André's Prince and Jimi Hendrix-inspired ballads. After winning the Grammys' highest honor (Album of the Year) for their ambitious efforts—making them the second rap act to do so—Outkast released the soundtrack to their 1930s-era musical film, Idlewild, then took a break. Since, Big Boi has released lively solo albums, while André goes wherever his spirit takes him. It may be tough to imagine, but before ATL became one of the major hubs of rap music, it was Outkast who convinced out-of-towners that the A was already on the map.
- ORIGIN
- Atlanta, GA, United States
- FORMED
- 1992
- GENRE
- Hip-Hop/Rap