Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik Musicians Outkast, from the Nineties to Now

Hip-hop went from dance to political to spiritual to educational to feminist to gangsta thanks to a mix of West Coast and East Coast styles. And as popular as Atlanta is now, in 1994, Georgia just wasn't the place to be for popular rap music. And then Outkast came on the scene and completely changed the way rap lovers were looking at Dirty South music. What ATL had with Outkast was what hip-hop was missing, that '70s style smooth feel. And in 1994, when Andre Lauren Benjamin (aka Andre 3000) and Antwan Patton (Big Boi) released the gold single "Player's Ball" from their first studio, platinum album "Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik," it shot to the top of the Billboard charts.

From that moment on they released more great albums that hung out on the Billboard charts, including 1996's "ATLiens," 1998's "Aquemini," 2000's "Stankonia," 2001's "Big Boi & Dre Presents...Outkast," 2003's "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" and 2006's "Idlewild." "Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik" song from the album with the same name stayed on the Billboard charts for 10 weeks and "Player's Ball" for 20 weeks. From the "ATLiens" album brought Billboard hits "Jazze Belle" (14 weeks), the single "ATLiens" (17 weeks) and "Elevators (Me & You)" (20 weeks). From "Aquemini" came "Rosa Parks" (17 weeks). "Stankonia" had "So Fresh, So Clean" (21 weeks) and "Ms. Jackson" (23 weeks). "Big Boi & Dre Presents...Outkast" included "The Whole World" (20 weeks).

"Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" was the first album that the duo showcased their differing styles. "The Love Below" was met with some criticism because Andre 3000 sang pretty much all of his side of the album. However, he did rap on occasion on "The Love Below" side. Either way, the album was still successful and brought in a new set of fans who liked pop song "Hey Ya!" that landed on the Billboard charts for 32 weeks. "The Way You Move" featuring soul artist Sleepy Brown stayed on the charts for 39 weeks and "Roses" for 21 weeks.

While "Idlewild" album did not have the same Billboard success, Outkast fans got to see Andre 3000 and Big Boi onscreen in their first film with the album's name. The film released in 2006. By this time, Andre 3000's clothes calmed down in being as strange as they were in the late '90s. Some conclude his unique fashion style was due to neo-soul star Erykah Badu, who he had his son Seven with while others say he was always a little eccentric anyway. The couple broke up around 1997 but made beautiful music together, including his video appearance in Erykah Badu's "Next Lifetime" and her appearance on the "Aquemini" album in the song "Liberation" and "Humble Mumble" on "Stankonia." Several songs after their breakup were rumored to be about each other but none were confirmed.

While both men, now 35 years old, continuously state that they are still a group and Outkast has not broken up, they've ventured out on their own projects.

Andre 3000 has calmed down tremendously on rapping, but he did make guest appearances on DJ Unk's 2007 single "Walk It Out (Remix)" and John Legend's 2008 single "Green Light." He was also a main character in two 2005 movies "Be Cool" and "Four Brothers."

Big Boi is a registered pit bull breeder to this day and was recently on a Chicago radio station confirming Michael Vick "did not get his dogs from me" when the radio host asked him how Vick was doing. Big Boi's style was also a featured character in the video game "Def Jam: Icon." He was on a 2008 episode of "Law & Order" and played Marcus in 2006's "ATL." According to BlackVoices.com, Big Boi has three children--Jordan (born in 1995), Bamboo (born in 2000) and Cross (born in 2001). Although Big Boi keeps his personal life private, he's previously confirmed being married to a woman named Sherlita Patton.

Big Boi continues to release hip-hop, funk CDs. His upcoming release "Sir Lucious Left Foot, The Son of Chico Dusty" will release on July 6, 2010.