When Outkast emerged out of the Dirty South in the early ’90s, the Hip Hop world wasn’t ready for the unlikely pairing of Andre 3000 and Big Boi. On one hand, Dre was like this strange rapping hybrid of Prince and James Brown, while Daddy Fat Sax was more like the street half of the duo. Regardless, when they came together, they produced nothing but magic.
Following Outkast’s epic debut, 1994’s Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, Outkast reinvented themselves with ATLiens two years later and emerged with something so unique, so revolutionary, they caught flack at the 1995 Source Awards ceremony in New York City for being “anti-New York.” Between Bad Boy Records and Death Row, Outkast was like the red-headed step child of the Hip Hop industry, void of the gangster rap that was so heavily present during that era.
In a 1996 interview with Billboard, Andre said, “It’s like everybody’s talking about sipping champagne and being big time. So we took it upon ourselves to do something new.”
Yesterday [Saturday, August 27] marked ATLiens 20th anniversary and classic tracks like “Elevators (Me and You),”Two Dope Boyz (In a Cadillac),” and the title track live on.
