The hip-hop legend Denzel Curry thinks is underrated: “People do not credit their part”
Denzel Curry has never been afraid of calling things out the way they appear to him.
On one of his off-the-cuff Instagram videos, the Florida rapper hesitated before finally stating his judgment, “One of the most underestimated MCs outside is Big Boi. I ain’t gonna lie, bruh. No OutKast without Big Boi”. It was some self-admission, some partying, and it struck hip-hop listeners at their core.
Over the last few decades, Antwan ‘Big Boi’ Patton has been half of one of the rap duos of the century, a master of flow and narration who should, in a way, have his name mentioned in flowers. The shout-out that Curry gave the world was the reminder that the influence of Big Boi is deeper than anyone expects.
In order to see what Curry meant, you must go back to ‘BOB (Bombs Over Baghdad)’. Not only was the track released in 2000, but it is a storm of funk, gospel, and drum-machine confusion at 155BPM, and Big Boi rides it as if he were a man possessed. His verse runs like a drummer through the production, with the rhythm of each rhyme banging the narrative into shape.
There is a general agreement that André 3000 is praised heavily because of his cosmic verses, yet Big Boi was no less than his counterpart, and he could shoot syllables with the ‘Dirty South’ pride of Atlanta. The South was a country that did not believe in the lyrical muscle, but ‘BOB’ was the response to this query presented by Big Boi. “People do not credit their part in it,” as Curry put it, but the record speaks for itself as a verbal show of fireworks that still leaves behind smoke.
Big Boi was not just a bright guy in terms of speed and showmanship. On ‘Rosa Parks’, the anthem that transformed OutKast to world celebrities in 1998, his verse comes in the form of a sunbeam through Georgia humidity: he begins the song with assured drawl and roll, a natural welcome mat to step on become part of the ride by the duo.
It was a crossover moment as the track had a hook, which was “Ah-ha, hush that fuss…” but was grounded by Big Boi’s swagger, centring the song. His ‘Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik’ narration made Atlanta streets shine and made it clear that the South could be like any other coast when it comes to artistry. He was co-signed by East Coast legends such as Jay-Z and Raekwon early on as they saw a fellow craftsman in the manner in which he painted real-life scenes.
It was not until 2003 when OutKast released Speakerboxxx/The Love Below that Big Boi was able to stretch his wings, where his half of the two-record album, Speakerboxxx, was a burst of brass, bass and sheer MC confidence. From ‘GhettoMusick’ up to the top song ‘The Way You Move’, Big Boi demonstrated all his powers: accuracy of flow, funk instincts, and radio control.
Although André 3000 overtook a significant portion of the mass media attention with his ‘Hey Ya!’ Speakerboxxx was the backbone of the project, the album that confirmed that Big Boi was capable of ruling the world on his own. Denzel Curry would later agree, saying, “I prefer Speakerboxxx a lot”, which is the view of many heads, as the album that established the image of Big Boi as a hit-maker, an innovator, placing OutKast in Grammy history books.
Why then is he still flying under the radar? Part of it is optics. André 3000 was turned into a pop legend, the outlandish thinker of hip-hop, while Big Boi was the designer, the man who pushed the mechanism. His art was in fine nuances of rhyme schemes, plain charisma and an industriousness which never ceased. Critics used to consider him the straight man of the duo, but even André has rejected this myth, stating in the past that “Big Boi’s the leader. He always had the confidence, where I was kind of like the shy one”.
From tracks such as ‘SpottieOttieDopaliscious’ to ‘Int’l Players Anthem’, there has been no lack of intellect or instinct in the rapper, and even then he sounds natural despite the lyrical gymnastics he is performing. His humility and skill, coupled with consistency, have ensured the foundation of Southern rap remains intact in the last two decades.
The shout-out was not just a compliment, but a reproach by Curry for it’s been too long since Big Boi has been the unspoken mastermind of the international conquest of OutKast, who defined the sound of the South and has still kept a low-profile figure. His own catalogue, Sir Lucious Left Foot through Boomiverse, is still adding to the sound of Southern rap, and he has been the star of the Super Bowl, a multiplatinum artist, and inspired generations of MCs who rap with a smile and a sermon on the same verse. Nevertheless, he is frequently overlooked during the Goat discussions, and Curry’s message was a very simple one for the culture to put into long overdue practice: “Shout out to Big Boi. Shout out to Big Boi”.