OutKast

OutKast Members: André “André 3000” Benjamin (formerly known as Dre) and Antwan “Big Boi” Patton
Hometown: East Point, Georgia
Biggest Hit Single: Ms Jackson, number two, 2001, Hey Ya!, number three, 2003 Career Highlights: Six-time Grammy Award Winners

André and Antwan went to the same high school in Georgia, but they weren’t friends to start off with. In fact, they were sworn musical rivals and used to challenge each other to freestyle MC battles all the time!

After getting spotted by a group of local producers the duo signed to LaFace Records and embarked on what was to become a lucrative recording partnership.

OutKast is one of the most successful hip-hop groups of all time, having sold over 20 million copies of its eight releases: six studio albums, a greatest hits compilation and Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, a double album containing a solo album from each member of the duo. Speakerboxxx/The Love Below is one of only four hip-hop albums to be certified diamond in the US for shipping over 10 million units.

Their trick is to blend gritty Southern soul, rapping and rolling funk together into hip-hop that is less about gangsters and more about melodies.

Known for their stormy relationship, the pair haven’t recorded together in the studio since 1998’s album Aguemini, and instead take it in turns to work on their albums, visiting the studio one at a time!

Break-up rumours constantly swirl round the group, but fans were proven wrong when André and Antwan made the feature film Idlewild and an accompanying soundtrack in 2006. Idlewild, a prohibition-era musical film set to a blues-influenced hip-hop soundtrack, has cemented OutKast as international players in the pop and rap scenes.