There are a few names synonymous with Atlanta hip-hop, such as Outkast. The legendary pairing of André 3000 and Big Boi didn't simply put the city on the map; they redefined Southern rap and blasted a hole through any lingering belief that the region couldn't compete lyrically or musically. In a poignant salute to their origins, Outkast has released a rare view into their formative days, sharing a previously unseen video of their time in The Dungeon. In this legendary basement studio, it all started.
The Dungeon was a studio for the uninitiated but was also much more of a creative sanctuary. Housed in the basement of Rico Wade's mother's house in Atlanta's Lakewood neighborhood, that makeshift music lab spawned some of the most essential Southern rap albums ever created. Led by Wade and his Organized Noize cohorts Sleepy Brown and Ray Murray, Outkast, and their Goodie Mob brethren created the distinctive sound that would define the Dungeon Family.
Here, André 3000 and Big Boi, then high school students, developed their craft alongside a cadre of hungry, forward-looking creators. When they gave us the 1994 release of their first Album, Southern playlist Cadillac Muzik, Outkast ensured the world knew that "the South has something to say," a message that would come back to haunt them as their career exploded.
Outkast shared a nostalgic "homage" to their relationship with Atlanta on Friday (March 14), with vintage footage from a Zo! interview with Fab Five Freddy for Yo! MTV Raps. The video, featuring a 19-year-old André wearing a white Kangol hat and Big Boi discussing his influences, had fans immediately reminiscing about earlier days in the duo's career.
In the video, Big Boi shouts out the legends, Eric B. & Rakim and Kurtis Blow, and their peers, Goodie Mob and Society of Soul. It's a reminder of the profound connection Outkast had and has to the culture that produced them.
Outkast's influence well outstrips their introductory Album. Across six studio albums, they fused Hip-Hop with funk, psychedelia, jazz, and whatever else had the potential to move them, smashing the door every time. 1998's Aquemini stretched parameters, and 2003's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below made history by snagging Album of the Year at the Grammys and diamond certification.
The duo has taken different musical paths since their last Album, "Idlewild (2006)," but they are still good friends. André 3000 startled fans in 2023 with New Blue Sun, an experimental jazz LP that yielded a slew of Grammy nominations, while Big Boi still tours with Sleepy Brown and other Dungeon Family members.
Unfortunately, Outkast's recent tribute to Atlanta comes at a time of grief. The visionary gift behind The Dungeon's overlays was masterminded by Rico Wade, who died suddenly in April 2024 from heart complications. Only six months later, his mother, Beatrice Wade, died too. Their impact on Hip-Hop culture and the Southern hip-hop movement is priceless.
This rare footage reminds the world that Outkast acknowledges its origins and that the mark they, the Dungeon team, delivered on the world will never fade.
0 Comments