OutKast : NPR

Join NPR Music's Listening Party For OutKast's 'Stankonia'

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Michael Lavine/Courtesy of the artist

Join NPR Music's Listening Party For OutKast's 'Stankonia'

October 28, 2020 • Friday at 2 p.m. ET, NPR Music will host an online listening party for the 20th anniversary of OutKast's landmark album. Join the chat room, ask our expert panel questions and shout your love.

Joelle Avelino for NPR

The South Got Something To Say: A Celebration Of Southern Rap (1995-1999)

August 3, 2020 • Our list of the best songs, albums and mixtapes by Southern rappers is a celebration that recenters the South as a creative center of hip-hop and honors the region for all that it has given to us.

Joelle Avelino for NPR

The South Got Something To Say: A Celebration Of Southern Rap

August 3, 2020 • Our list of the best songs, albums and mixtapes by Southern rappers is a celebration that recenters the South as a creative center of hip-hop and honors the region for all that it has given to us.

Joelle Avelino for NPR

The South Got Something To Say: A Celebration Of Southern Rap (2005-2009)

August 3, 2020 • Our list of the best songs, albums and mixtapes by Southern rappers is a celebration that recenters the South as a creative center of hip-hop and presents the region for all that it has given to us.

Poolside Yuletide: 51 Songs To Paint Your Holidays Pink

This winter, think pink (and red and green and white). Morgan Noelle Smith & Kaylee Domzalski/NPR hide caption

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Morgan Noelle Smith & Kaylee Domzalski/NPR

Poolside Yuletide: 51 Songs To Paint Your Holidays Pink

December 18, 2018 • Soundtrack your holiday spirit with a glass of rosé and our playlist featuring Bruce Springsteen's good cheer, Bright Eyes' Christmas blues, Big Freedia's twerkin' reindeer and more.

Endless Summer: 28 Songs To Keep The Heat In Your Heart

Summer never ends if you have roséwave in your heart. Eric Lee & Samantha Clark/NPR hide caption

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Eric Lee & Samantha Clark/NPR

Endless Summer: 28 Songs To Keep The Heat In Your Heart

August 29, 2018 • Summer is forever if you want it. Sam Sanders' playlist is pure nostalgia, with hazy flashbacks triggered by Frank Ocean, Lorde and Nick Hakim.

André 3000 Returns With New Music In Memory Of His Parents

After years of solo silence, André 3000 returns with two new soul-baring songs. Paul R. Giunta/FilmMagic hide caption

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Paul R. Giunta/FilmMagic

Review

André 3000 Returns With New Music In Memory Of His Parents

May 13, 2018 • The reclusive half of OutKast dropped two new soul-baring solo songs — and jumped into social media — to celebrate and mourn his mom and dad.

Put Some 'South' In Your Mouth With Big Boi, Gucci Mane And Pimp C

Big Boi's Boomiverse is out June 16. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

Put Some 'South' In Your Mouth With Big Boi, Gucci Mane And Pimp C

June 9, 2017 • Three dialects from three of the region's legends — living and resurrected — make for one triple-decker groove.

Weekend LISTening: 10 Great Duos Who Couldn't Keep It Together

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Patrick Pantano/Courtesy of the artist

Weekend LISTening: 10 Great Duos Who Couldn't Keep It Together

XPN

August 27, 2016 • Not every partnership is built to last. From The White Stripes to Sonny & Cher, here are 10 talented, if temporary, musical duos.

Songs We Love: OutKast, 'Player's Ball (Christmas Version)'

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Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Songs We Love: OutKast, 'Player's Ball (Christmas Version)'

December 24, 2015 • #TBT back to 1993, and the Christmas (album) miracle behind the original version of the legendary ATL duo's first single.

06Player's Ball

4:24

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The Decade In Music: OutKast's 'So Fresh, So Clean' (2001)

OutKast's Stankonia was one of those game-changing records that made everyone perk up and pay attention. courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Review

The Decade In Music: OutKast's 'So Fresh, So Clean' (2001)

November 10, 2009 • As the music industry began to break apart and go niche, it's remarkable that a group as artistically ambitious as OutKast could break through the way it did.

Outkast And Atlanta: Until They Close The Curtain

Two dope boys on a Cadillac: Andre 3000 and Big Boi in the early days. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images hide caption

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Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Outkast And Atlanta: Until They Close The Curtain

October 3, 2014 • The hometown shows the duo played had a bittersweet quality because people thought it might be their last chance to see one of the most-respected and best-loved groups of all time together.

Outkast And Atlanta: Until They Close The Curtain

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Reunited And It Feels A Little Awkward: OutKast At Coachella

Big Boi (left) and Andre 3000 perform on stage at Coachella during the first stop on OutKast's reunion tour. Adam Kissick for NPR hide caption

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Adam Kissick for NPR

Reunited And It Feels A Little Awkward: OutKast At Coachella

April 14, 2014 • The rap duo OutKast launched what may be its farewell tour over the weekend at Coachella, but the group and its fans, who have waited a decade for the reunion, might not have the same expectations.

Reunited And It Feels A Little Awkward: OutKast At Coachella

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Crank This: Hip-Hop To Drive To

August 20, 2008 • The songs on this list were made before iTunes was a glimmer in Steve Jobs' eye, so it stands to reason that they sound better bumping out of car speakers. Give these a spin and then track down the CDs, because they deserve to be heard the old-fashioned way. Turn your woofers up and roll down your windows — all of them.

Rapper, Producer and Actor Andre 3000

Fresh Air

December 29, 2006 • Andre Benjamin, also known as Andre 3000, is half of the Grammy-winning hip-hop duo Outkast, best known for their hit single "Hey Ya!" from the double album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. His newest project is an animated series for the Cartoon Network called Class of 3000, in which he stars as the voice of Sunny Bridges. Benjamin's films include Idlewild, Four Brothers and Be Cool. This interview originally aired on Oct. 23, 2006.

Rapper, Producer and Actor Andre 3000

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OutKast's André 3000 Takes Up Acting

August 15, 2005 • André Benjamin is best known as André 3000, one-half of the Grammy Award-winning duo OutKast. Ed Gordon talks with Benjamin about his latest acting gig, in John Singleton's new action drama Four Brothers.

OutKast's André 3000 Takes Up Acting

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Outkast's 'Hey Ya'

December 27, 2003 • We take a listen to "Hey Ya," the Grammy-nominated single from the hip-hop duo Outkast — reportedly the most downloaded song of the year. And take a Weekend Edition staff photo to go along with the song's catch phrase, "shake it like a Polaroid picture."

Outkast's 'Hey Ya'

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Review

OutKast: 'Speakerboxx' & 'The Love Below'

Fresh Air

October 10, 2003 • Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the new double album by the band Outkast. Each album is separately titled: Speakerboxx and The Love Below.

OutKast: 'Speakerboxx' & 'The Love Below'

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Fresh Air

November 24, 2000 • Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews Stankonia,the new CD from the hip-hop duo OutKast.

OutKast: 'Stankonia'

Only Available in Archive Formats.

Real Media

These Go To 11: Songs Best Heard Extra-Loud

The fictional band from This Is Spinal Tap plays a real-life concert in 1984. Nigel Tufnel, the guitarist played by Christopher Guest, favored amplifiers whose volume could be cranked up to 11. Ebet Roberts/Redferns hide caption

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Ebet Roberts/Redferns

All Songs Considered

These Go To 11: Songs Best Heard Extra-Loud

November 9, 2011 • In honor of Nigel Tufnel, the Spinal Tap guitarist who cranked his amps past 10, this week's show is all about the songs that sound best when played at top volume.

These Go To 11: Songs Best Heard Extra-Loud

1:01:54

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Big Boi's Big Debut: 'Sir Lucious Leftfoot'

Big Boi's debut solo album stayed on the shelves of Jive Records for nearly three years. It was recently released by Def Jam. hide caption

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Review

Music Reviews

Big Boi's Big Debut: 'Sir Lucious Leftfoot'

July 6, 2010 • After nearly three years on the shelf and a highly publicized battle with Jive Records, the Atlanta rapper has finally released his debut solo album. Sir Lucious Leftfoot reveals Big Boi as Outkast's anchor and showcases his talent for dazzling, technical rhyme schemes alongside guests including Gucci Mane and Yelawolf.

All Songs Considered

The 50 Most Important Recordings Of The Decade: O-S

November 16, 2009 • All Songs Considered's list of the 50 most important recordings of the decade continues, from OutKast to Sigur Ros.