Nothing has been the same since the ATLiens landed with their debut album Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik in the early ‘90s. Living up to their name, Outkast’s arrival was an invasion of New York-dominated hip-hop, and they received an onslaught of boos when they accepted their ‘95 Source Award for Best New Rap Group. The South had somethin’ to say, and their catalog became a sonic force with otherworldly production that still remains light-years ahead.
Big Boi and ‘Dre won a rare Album of The Year Grammy for their last full-length Speakerboxxx/The Love Below in 2003, yet continue to be the center of G.O.A.T. discussions decades later. Forever trending on Twitter due to their elite lyricism and pristine delivery, it’s clear that Outkast is everlasting. Read on to discover six moments that nearly happened in the duo’s unparalleled history, from Super Bowls to Frank Ocean collaborations.
Outkast Turned Down Performing at the 2004 Super Bowl.
Outkast Was Planning an LP and TV Show Dedicated to Rosa Parks
Outkast Was Almost In Kris Kross' "Jump" Video
Outkast Was Supposed to Collab With 2Pac
Cee-Lo Green Might Have Been the Third Member of Outkast
Big Boi and Andre 3000 Almost Reunited on Frank Ocean's "Pink Matter"
The struggle for an Outkast reunion was beyond real—even in the 2010s. With Big Boi signed as a solo artist to Def Jam and Outkast on Jive Records, tracks like “Lookin for Ya” and the Grammy-nominated “Royal Flush” with Raekwon were scrapped from Big Boi’s Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty.
“Basically it boils down to Jive Records. That’s how they do it. Jive Records told me my album is a piece of art, and they didn’t know what to do with it. So I moved it over to Def Jam. And now Jive is trying to block ‘Dre from being on my record. We can’t be on songs together now,” Big Boi told GQ in 2010.
Stepping out solo, André stunned audiences with a morose, yet ultra-smooth verse on Frank Ocean’s “Pink Matter” from Channel Orange in 2012. Initially set to feature Outkast, the duo agreed that their reunion should take place on their own album instead of another artist’s LP. With Big Boi busy at work on his 2012 sophomore effort, Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors, he decided to contribute his own verse to the “Pink Matter” remix a year later. Fans were hyped to hear the two trade bars again, but André released a statement to clarify that the track wasn’t an official Outkast song.
“I was approached as a solo artist by [Frank Ocean]. I discussed musical direction with each artist and completed my verses. It was after that when Big Boi’s name came up. I never want to mislead our audience—I worried that some would think these were Outkast collaborations,” he told Spin.