OutKast Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik: 20th Anniversary

It all started back back in 1993, when R&B/Soul oriented label LaFace Records took a chance on signing a duo of teenaged rappers from Atlanta called OutKast based on their work with in-house production outfit Organized Noize.

LaFace previously struck gold (and platinum) when they picked up TLC and felt that the gamble might pay off again. OutKast were to be featured on the A LaFace Family Christmas compilation alongside TLC, and Organized Noize was going to handle the production on their contributions which ended up being singles; TLC’s “All I Want For Christmas” and OutKast’s “Player’s Ball.” However, an unexpected thing happened, OutKast’s holiday single started gaining traction and spins because no one realized it was a Christmas song (even with the sleigh bells throughout which are no longer audible in the mix).

The popularity of “Player’s Ball” grew significantly after Bad Boy’s Sean “Puffy” Combs (LaFace and Bad Boy were both Arista distributed labels)  directed the video for their lead single which entered the regular rotation on both BET and MTV. The single caught fire on the radio, ultimately spending 20 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped Billboard’s Hot Rap singles for 6 weeks. LaFace’s first ever Rap act earned an RIAA gold plaque on their first single out the gate. Sales for the single and anticipation for the album were bolstered by radio and video airplay in addition to their exposure from performing on MTV’s Spring Break in San Diego which aired in late March.

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Photo: Big Boi

On April 26th, 1994 OutKast’s debut album Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik was released on the heels of an impressive 4.5 mic rating and glowing record review in The Source, which was regarded as the Bible Of Hip-Hop publications at the time. Things were looking up for a young Andre 3000 and Big Boi.

Sales for the album remained steady upon it’s release as fans really appreciated the themes, pacing and cohesiveness of the full album over focusing on it’s singles. It spread through word of mouth and caught on organically rather than behind the buzz generated by one particular song. The follow up single shared it’s title with the album and it also cracked the Billboard Hot 100 (peaking at #74), the F. Gary Gray directed video entered the regular rotation on both BET and MTV for the second time in a row further raising awareness of the duo. The dank smell of the versatile funk from The Dungeon orchestrated by Organized Noize was finally being put on display. The mixing of live instrumentation with traditional Hip Hop production techniques found the perfect intersection between influential Soul, R&B and Funk albums of the late 60’s to the mid 70’s on Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik. Dre and Big Boi’s tales of transitioning from adolescence to adulthood in Georgia resonated with many young people facing the same adversities all across the nation and the world. Music is universal, after all.

Although OutKast’s third single didn’t become a commercial hit, it became one of the album’s defining moments. “Git Up, Git Out” was a song that endeared this group and this album to many of not only Southern Rap’s detractors but rap in general. It features the introduction of Goodie Mob (Cee Lo and Big Gipp) and is led off by a young Cee Lo who earned the Hip Hop Quotable Dopest Rhyme Of The Month for his efforts. This introspective song showed the range and maturity of these young men and it echoed many of the same feelings of aimlessness and struggle the listening audience was also experiencing in their lives.  It was easy for some heads to find parallels between the themes of Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik and Nas’ Illmatic released the previous week as he was also an old soul in a young body. Rap fans began to realize that we were really in the midst of another Golden Era. The Dungeon Family first made their presence felt in the Hip-Hop world through this LP via Goodie Mob (“Git Up, Git Out” and Society Of Soul (“Funky Ride”), foreshadowing the classic material they’d create in the future.

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At a time when East Coast Rap biases were at their highest levels in the midst of an East Coast Rap resurgence fueled by Wu Tang Clan, Nas and Notorious B.I.G. amongst others OutKast carved out their own niche. Their distinct flows, lyrical content, approaches to songwriting, themes and Southern fried production on Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik made them stand out from the pack all the more while others seemed to be borrowing from and drawing influences from their contemporaries. OutKast was steadfast in representing for Atlanta and walking their own path. The final single from the project never charted but it consisted of three of the fan favorites off the album (especially when they were performed live), “Ain’t No Thang”, “Crumblin’ Erb” and “Hootie Hoo”. The album went gold in June 1994 but it organically spread more and more all throughout the rest of the year. By April 1995 it was certified platinum aided by buzz from their single “Benz Or Beamer” off the New Jersey Drive OST Vol. 1 . Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik spent 26 weeks on the Billboard 200, never once rising higher than 20th. Slow and steady wins the race indeed.

On August 3rd, 1995 the 2nd Annual Source Awards were held in New York in what was supposed to be a celebration of the best and brightest in Hip-Hop music during another Golden Era. It was instead marred by enmity, jealousy and violence. The tension in the audience was impossible to ignore according to attendees. OutKast won the award for New Artist Of The Year, Group and took the stage to be met with boos from the New York crowd. Andre 3000 defiantly declared to the audience that “the South got something to say!” before leaving the stage. There was no way for a young Andre Benjamin to know how influential his statement made on that humid summer night would be in later years but today OutKast is credited with being the duo who opened doors for Southern Hip Hop in the mainstream.

One.