Archive for May, 2006

The end of Outkast?
They were hip-hop superstars and best friends. Then something changed, and soon they could be history. by Margeaux Watson

André ”3000” Benjamin (better known as Dré) arrives early, alone, and camera-ready for an OutKast photo shoot at an Atlanta studio on a Sunday afternoon in late April. Nearly an hour later, his rhyme partner, Antwan ”Big Boi” Patton, shows up with three assistants, a rack of clothes, a couple of Louis Vuitton suitcases, and shopping bags from Ralph Lauren and Bloomingdale’s. Soon, they effortlessly turn on their famous megawatt charm for the camera — laughing, nodding, and bopping along to the new Gnarls Barkley album. But when the photographer snaps the final frame, Dré swiftly bids adieu to Big Boi and takes off in his black 2006 Range Rover.

These days, it seems like Dré, 30, and Big Boi, 31, are rarely in the same room. As they ready the long-awaited follow-up to their enormously successful last album, 2003’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, their relationship is growing increasingly strained — to the extent that it’s threatening to break OutKast apart. With their new CD, Idlewild (which doubles as the soundtrack to their upcoming Prohibition-era movie musical of the same name), due in stores Aug. 22, can the duo maintain their unusually fruitful collaboration? Or are OutKast on their way out?

Behind the wheel of his car, Dré offers to play Idlewild’s first single, ”The Mighty O,” a hard-hitting, Cab Calloway-inspired track that lashes out at critics of his singing style. It’s also the rare Idlewild song that features vocals by both Big Boi and Dré, who now exclusively work in separate studios. When the track ends, Dré doesn’t ask or wait for a response. ”Honestly, I was really skeptical about the song,” he says. ”I like what I’m saying in the rap, but it didn’t sound up to par.” Then why put it out? ”Because we needed a song with both of us on it. And people haven’t heard me rap in a while, so I thought it would be nostalgic for them. Everybody around loved it, so I said, ‘F— it,’ and just let it go.”

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In 2004, just when it seemed like OutKast were about to flame out, Dréreturned to Atlanta. But the distance between them was greater than ever. Part of the problem was their dramatically different lifestyles. Dré, the vegan father of a now-9-year-old son with Erykah Badu (they split up in 2000), moved back into the spacious five-bedroom manor where he still lives, leading a somewhat monastic existence. ”I have stuff all over the house, but I live in a small bedroom next to [my son's] room,” he says. ”I had my music equipment in that room and I put a mattress in there. That became the most comfortable place for me, and I just stayed.” Dré spent most of his time alone, working on music or sneaking into movies by himself.

Big Boi, meanwhile, immersed himself in Atlanta’s party scene, hosting a celeb-heavy weekly bash at a strip club. He also settled into family life with his wife, Sherlita, and three kids. ”My babies are always with me,” he says. ”When your everyday life consists of so much stuff that’s not normal — music, movies, record labels — you have to balance it out.”

Big Boi’s devotion to his family seems to bother Dré, who believes that artists’ work ”kinda falters” when they find love. ”The only time it doesn’t falter is if you’re putting everything into your work and not paying attention to your wife,” he says. When directly asked if he’s talking about Big Boi, Dré lets out a devilish giggle. ”I can’t comment on that,” he says. That sort of innuendo drives Big Boi nuts. ”Dré knows my family, but he don’t know the ins and outs of my personal life,” he responds. ”So he can’t comment on it.”

Despite Dré and Big Boi’s personal differences, OutKast were still officially together, and eventually they had to figure out how to follow up Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. Back when that album was still on the charts, HBO had approached them about doing a musical. They decided to go for it, enlisting Bryan Barber — a longtime pal who helmed the ”Hey Ya!” video — to direct. In summer 2004, they began shooting what would become Idlewild.

”I remember thinking, ‘Uh-oh! They haven’t really rehearsed together,”’ says Barber. ”But when they got on screen they just had fun, and I saw the old guys I met years ago when they were teenagers.” Still, Barber says it was ”a challenge” to get them on the same page. ”When business becomes such a factor in what you’re doing, you lose a pureness, and it can weigh on a situation,” he says. ”But I’ve never seen anything to say, ‘These guys don’t get along.”’ Maybe that’s because, in the finished film, Dré and Big Boi appear together in only three scenes.

When the movie wrapped in October 2004, OutKast parted ways to work on the accompanying album in separate studios. ”We wanted to incorporate the concept of the movie in certain songs but still maintain that OutKast sound,” says Big Boi. On the finished CD, Big Boi’s tracks do just that, remaining true to the group’s roots. Dré’s crooned contributions, on the other hand, are largely inspired by swing-era jazz and sound nothing like the group’s previous work.

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After the photo shoot, Dré heads for the recording studio to work on music for his upcoming animated series, Class of 3000, which will premiere on Cartoon Network this fall. Intriguingly, the show follows a pop star who abandons his career to become a music teacher. Is this a hint about his next move? ”I don’t like to talk about the future,” he says.

Maybe not, but Dré and Big Boi will have to make some big decisions soon. OutKast have one album left on their contract with Sony BMG (although Dré insists that ”contracts don’t really mean s—”). Big Boi says he’s game to go out with a grand finale, or maybe even renew their deal. ”Me and Dré talked about it,” he says. ”It just depends how he’s feeling.”

Right now, Dré doesn’t seem optimistic. Or does he? ”The business has put a strain on our relationship,” he says. ”We’re like brothers, though. We can argue, but we’re still gonna be together. I want Big Boi to do well inside and outside of OutKast. Because certain things don’t last forever, and you have to start preparing for that.” Fans might want to start preparing themselves as well.

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(Posted:05/19/06)