Outkast nominated for 2025 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Outkast have been nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the first time. The duo, made up of André 3000 and Big Boi, are considered one of the most influential hip-hop acts of all time, and they’re finally getting their flowers from the annual event.
The duo are among the nominees alongside Mariah Carey, Oasis, Joy Division/New Order, Bad Company, The Black Crowes, Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Billy Idol, Cyndi Lauper, Maná, Phish, Soundgarden and The White Stripes.
Inductees will be announced in April before the Los Angeles ceremony later this year. To qualify for the 2025 nominees, each artist’s first single or album had to have been released in 2000 or earlier.
In a statement, the Chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, John Sykes, said, “These remarkable nominees have each created their own musical style and attitude, impacting generations of music lovers and contributing to the ever-evolving sounds and continued growth of rock and roll.”
Should they be inducted, Outkast could get back together for the first time since their reunion tour in 2014. However, 3000 isn’t holding out hope for new music. “I knew when I was, like, 25, that at a certain age I wouldn’t want to be onstage doing those songs,” he told Rolling Stone last year.
“They required a certain energy. Honestly, I’m not a big fan of looking back. I’m just not. I’m grateful for everything that’s happened, but it was a time. To me, that’s what it is. That was a great time, and I wish y’all were there.”
Although this is Outkast’s first nomination, this isn’t their first time at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2004, they helped induct Prince alongside Alicia Keys. “Prince Rogers Nelson. I mean, just in a name, it’s powerful,” 3000 said during his speech. “First album came out when I was three years old. The guy was 17 years old, playing every instrument. The people thought it was a whole band.”
He continued, “What Prince brings to the stage is, back in the day, entertainers, they were singers, they were dancers, they had great style, they had great personality. And I think we’ve lost a lot of that today. And so when it comes for me to do music, as an inspiration, Prince is most definitely one of my greatest inspirations.”
More recently, Big Boi appeared at the ceremony in 2023 to help induct Kate Bush.