Why Big Boi is the best Outkast rapper, according to André 3000
André 3000 is considered by many to be an all-time rap great, but, from his own point of view, he’s not the best. As he sees it, he wasn’t even the best rapper in Outkast.
During an interview with GQ in 2017, Dré was full of praise for his old rap partner Big Boi. Declaring that Boi has “always been on it,” Dré first of all credited his qualities, not as a performer, but as a person. He always had his head screwed on, even from a young age.
“He’s sharp,” André said of Big Boi. “He always knew the right decisions. He got into a real relationship really early. Right before our second album, he had a kid, and he and the girl stayed together, and they’re married now.”
That was decidedly not the road that André went down. “I did the opposite,” he admitted. “I’m all over the place. I never went on real dates. I don’t want to meet anybody’s parents. Like, I’m a fucking rapper.”
According to André, Big Boi was cleverer and more self-assured than he was while they were growing up—and, as such, he served as Outkast’s early de facto leader.
“Big Boi is smart as fuck,” Dré declared. “We went to the same high school. I dropped out in 11th grade. Big Boi graduated with honors. When you watch early OutKast videos, Big Boi’s the leader. He always had the confidence, where I was kind of like the shy one.”
But Boi’s leadership was based on more than mere confidence, as André thinks that Big Boi’s rapping skills surpass his. Boi has an instinctive feel for rapping, whereas Dré can be more cerebral about it. In a rap battle, which approach is going to win?
“Big Boi can rap better than me—I always said that,” Dré said. “If somebody said, ‘Pick who you want from OutKast to go to battle with you,’ it wouldn’t be me. ’Cause like, what I’ma do? Say some mind shit? You can’t have thoughts in a battle—nobody gives a shit about that.”
If Big Boi can be considered the better rapper between himself and André, then Dré is probably the better musician more broadly. It’s not like Boi has a flute album out there, after all. Both men brought something different to Outkast, which is precisely why they were as influential and popular as they were.