How long has outkast been around

Meanwhile, just prior to Patton's graduation and with the help of Wade, the duo inked a record deal with the L. Their first single, "Player's Ball," arrived in An instant hit, the song topped the rap charts for six weeks that year and earned gold status.

The following year saw the release of OutKast's debut full-length set. Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, recorded when Patton and Benjamin were 18 years old and largely produced by Organized Muzik, proved another commercial as well as critical success. Unlike other rap groups outside Los Angeles or New York, the duo presented themselves as simply who they were, highlighting their Atlanta roots, filtering their lives through their music, and implementing rich, live production techniques.

OutKast also struck a balance between positive messages and street stories, a hallmark of their music ever since. By the end of , Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik reached the platinum sales mark. In , OutKast's second album, ATLiens, reached the number two position on the rap charts and sold over one-and-a-half million copies, cementing the duo's status as the soul-bearers of a new, regional style of hip-hop known as the "Dirty South.

You never know. It just depends on how he's feeling. When you're on stage, you want to look like the music feels. OutKast's ascent continued with the release of their album Aquemini, which sold over two million copies. Despite rave reviews in publications such as Rolling Stone and the Source, the multiplatinum album was not without controversy. The Grammy-nominated single "Rosa Parks" angered the civil rights matriarch, and her attorneys levied a lawsuit against the group, accusing the duo of exploiting her name for commercial purposes.

Although a federal court judge ruled that OutKast had not misused Rosa Parks' name, her attorneys, who additionally retained the services of attorney Johnnie Cochran, famous for defending former football star O. Simpson in his murder case, promised to appeal the decision. If you know anything about OutKast--if you listen to the song, it's not about Rosa Parks.

When we sing 'everybody move to the back of the bus,' we're just using that as symbolism. OutKast returned with their fourth album, the critically acclaimed Stankonia, in the fall of Indeed, the album departed from typical rap through the inclusion of varied musical elements. The song "B. Although Badu and Benjamin split earlier in , their relationship inspired the lyrics for the track "Ms.

Jackson," an open letter from Benjamin to Badu's mother in which he promises to take an active role as a father. Benjamin and Patton, who also started their own label, Aquemini, as well as a line of clothing called OutKast Clothing, attribute their success to enjoying what they do creatively and remaining fans themselves of all types of music. That's one thing I can say about us as a team.

And with the emergence of new competitors—Lil Wayne, T. The catalyst for this antagonistic tournament, you ask? Well, was perturbed that no one liked his sartorial choices. In summation, the Atlanta group left the game as it had entered it—the best. In , The Love Below was the toast of critics. The beat matches the chaotic energy, with phantom snares and a haunting synth line that rattles in your head. Perhaps we should remember the album more for songs like this.

In four lines, he paints a picture of the difference between choice vs. But ultimately it came from a place of worry—for both society and, crucially, himself. A native of Savannah, Big Boi raps about growing up in his hometown, his family, and life in the streets of the Westside projects. Imagine you woke up, looked out the window, and saw the sky falling. If you turned over, would the person you saw be someone you could truly spend the apocalypse with? Could you do it alone?

And then, halfway through, the beat drops. But even with the bass and drums, the main attraction remains the former lovers, who were cool enough to set aside whatever drama there may have been for a special moment. This was a warning to all the punk motherfuckers: If you try to get a piece of mine, I gotta grab my piece.

Nate rapped a cappella over the phone, and Big Boi recorded his verse about life in jail and waiting to get out. With elements of jazz, blues, gospel, spoken word, and a somber grand piano behind them, each artist ruminates on what it means to be free.

And more than that, Big Boi was going to shine. If that makes sense. Writing about Outkast is hard. As legendary Wu-Tang member Raekwon tells it, before this song no one in the East Coast was listening to any rappers from the South.

What gets swallowed up in the shadow of their excellence is their age. Think about it. Each section of the track is brutally contemplative, equal parts angry and unsure. You could say the very same thing about the figures behind it. He chose to walk in the sand, and we all still followed. God Bless Organized Noize kingpin Sleepy Brown, genius producer, songwriter, bald-headed style icon , and sweetly crooning hook machine, who turns this crucial Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik deep cut into the most serene and profound weed jam imaginable.

Even through the, uh, haze, the path to enlightenment has never been clearer. The final track to an iconic Outkast album that legitimizes their place in rap while showing a glimpse into their out-of-this-world future. An efficiently entertaining master class from two of the dopest MCs ever. The production is loud and bright with a snare that hits deep within your soul.

Outkast thrives when the juxtaposition of Big Boi and 3K is put on display and Two Dope Boyz does that perfectly in under three minutes. It reinvigorates interest in the Polaroid camera. It gets in your head and your bones and never leaves.

Dre albums than Dr. Dre could manage after The Chronic. Musically, Aquemini draws so much life force from so many different galaxies. The song is a tour de force of instrumentation, soul, and lyrics. OutKast 's blend of gritty Southern soul, fluid raps, and the low-slung funk of their Organized Noize production crew epitomized the Atlanta wing of hip-hop's rising force, the Dirty South, during the mid to late '90s.

Along with Goodie Mob , OutKast took Southern hip-hop in bold and innovative directions: less reliance on aggression, more positivity and melody, thicker arrangements, and intricate lyrics.

Signed to Antonio "L. 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 and was certified platinum by the end of the year. Aquemini followed in , 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 The Supreme Court later allowed the lawsuit to proceed; the two parties eventually reached a settlement. Riding the momentum of uniformly excellent reviews and the stellar singles "B. Jackson," Stankonia debuted at number two and went triple platinum in just a few months; meanwhile, "Ms.