OutKast

Tri-Cities beginnings

OutKast paired Antwan André Patton (Big Boi), born in Savannah, Georgia, on February 1, 1975, with André Lauren Benjamin (André 3000, first known as Dré), born in Atlanta on May 27, 1975. The two met as teenagers at Lenox Square and attended Tri-Cities High School, a performing arts magnet school in East Point. Working with the production trio Organized Noize in the basement studio known as the Dungeon, they signed with LaFace Records in 1992.

Southern arrival

The debut single “Player's Ball” (1993) reached No. 37 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Hot Rap Songs chart. “Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik” followed in 1994, peaking at No. 20 on the Billboard 200 and going platinum. At the 1995 Source Awards the duo won Best New Rap Group, and André's short speech insisting the South had something to say became a turning point for the region's standing in rap.

Expanding the sound

“ATLiens” (1996) reached the top three and produced “Elevators (Me & You),” a No. 12 hit. “Aquemini” (1998) and “Stankonia” (2000) each peaked at No. 2, the latter carrying “Ms. Jackson” to No. 1 on the Hot 100. The 2003 double album “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below,” essentially two solo discs, went to No. 1, produced the chart-topping singles “Hey Ya!” and “The Way You Move,” and won the Grammy for Album of the Year; “Roses” later reached No. 9. The duo won six Grammy Awards in all.

Later years and legacy

The film companion “Idlewild” (2006) peaked at No. 2, after which the pair focused on separate work; Big Boi's solo debut reached No. 3 in 2010, and André 3000 released the instrumental flute album “New Blue Sun” in 2023. OutKast reunited in 2014 for a festival run that began at Coachella, and the duo was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on November 8, 2025.