Outkast was among the most exciting rap duos of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Comprised of André 3000 and Big Boi, the Atlanta collective released an unfathomable amount of chart-topping material. From Aquemini and Stankonia to Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, Outkast was unstoppable.
Big Boi has seen the top of the charts as part of the dynamic duo and has seen tremendous success. However, as a collective, Outkast’s last full-length project was the full-length 20006 album Idlewild.
Big Boi was rapping before he met his partner in crime, André 3000. However, the duo came together as teenagers in East Atlanta following a rap battle at the Lenox Square Mall, a popular hotspot on the city’s East side. Following this, the two recognised their talents and swiftly became a dynamic duo.
Although Big Boi (real name Antwan Patton) had relative solo success following the release of Idlewild, since his last body of work, Boomiverse, Patton unveiled that one lyricist, in particular, reignited his creative drive.
In a conversation for Rolling Stone’s ‘Musicians On Musicians’ series, Patton spoke with his favourite contemporary artist, JID. During their talk, Big Boi told the young Atlanta musician that he loved his music. Speaking about his appreciation of JID, Patton stated, “I hear somebody like you, and I’m like, ‘Yeah, boy. He get it.’ I love MCs who are not just rapping, but they’re saying stuff at the same time.”
He continued, “To me, being an MC, hearing J.I.D’s music makes me want to rap. That’s that shit.” Although his counterpart, André 3000, recently released an instrumental LP, Big Boi seemed to imply that he was working on new hip-hop music.
In response to Big Boi’s praise, JID (real name Destin Route) disclosed, “That’s the highest compliment, right there. If I make you want to rap, I can literally say you made me rap. These guys [Outkast], they were amazingly fearless. And that was something that attracted me to it.”
Big Boi and JID have previously worked together on Masego’s 2021 track ‘Garden Party.’ However, JID was unsurprisingly blown away by Big Boi’s words and seemed truly grateful for the praise.
