OutKast

In addition, Outkast will be starring in a HBO movie, My Life in Idlewild and will be doing a movie soundtrack album based on the movie. After Dimebag's death, a Pantera reunion has become impossible but comments made in public by Phil Anselmo suggest that he had planned on reuniting the band. Intended as a throwback to the Southernplayalisticadillakmusic days, the album will feature ten songs, all strictly hip hop, and all produced by Organized Noise. An audience member, a club employee, and a member of the bands' security entourage were killed before Gale was shot dead by police officer James Niggemeyer (for more on the shooting, see Dimebag Darrell). The sixth OutKast album, 10 the Hard Way, is due for release in 2005. In 2004 Gale shot and killed Dimebag Darrell at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio as they took the stage. Its first signees were Sleepy Brown and Bubba Sparxxx. It is believed that negative comments made by Anselmo in the press about Dimebag inspired Nathan Gale to take his Beretta pistol to a Damageplan performance.

OutKast's Earthtone III recently founded Purple Label, an new imprint to be distributed by Virgin Records. The break-up of the band was not amicable and invariably a war between Superjoint and Damageplan was waged via the heavy metal and musical press. CBS later apologized. After this, Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell formed a band of their own called New Found Power which was later renamed Damageplan. The Native American Cultural Center called for a boycott of OutKast and of CBS, the broadcaster of the awards show. It was thought he would return to Pantera, but didn't and instead formed Superjoint Ritual, who have released two albums. OutKast was one of the headlining acts at the show, and gave two performances: Big Boi performed "The Way You Move" during a medley with George Clinton & P-Funk and Robert Randolph and the Family Band, while André performed "Hey Ya" as the show closer. In February 2004, OutKast was criticized by Native American groups for André's performance, which featured dancers moving wildly around a green teepee in war paint and feathered headdresses. Pantera irretrievably dissolved after Anselmo left the band to pursue other work with such bands as Down.

Speakerboxx/The Love Below won the Grammy Award for the 2004 'Album of the Year. In this release, Pantera took an even more extreme direction. The final singles were André's "Protoype", which was paired with an unusual science fiction-themed video about alien visitors, and Speakerboxxx's' "Ghetto Musick", which featured both members of OutKast and a sample from a Patti LaBelle song. Pantera's breakthrough album was 1992's Vulgar Display of Power, which saw the replacement of falsetto vocals with a more shouted delivery and a heavier guitar sound. The extent to which this album grew in popularity can be assessed by the instant success of the 1994 follow-up, Far Beyond Driven which debuted at number one in both American and Australian album charts, the first metal album ever to achieve this, despite the failing fortunes of metal in America at that time. "Roses", a track featuring both members from The Love Below half of the album, did not met the level of success as either of its predecessors, but it became a modest-sized hit on urban radio and the American music video networks. At this point, Pantera's music was still heavily influenced by "classic heavy metal" — with Rob Halford-style vocals and the extravagant riffs and solos of guitarist Dimebag Darrell, though the album also showcased a more extreme style. Concerned with over-saturation, OutKast's next official single was not released until the summer of 2004. The first really successful record Pantera recorded was 1990's Cowboys From Hell.

Together, both singles spent over ten weeks at number one on the Hot 100 singles chart. Pantera then located Phil Anselmo and produced "Power Metal", a tape that had Phil singing some songs that were originally sung by Glaze, as well as a few originals. The digital video channels, MTV Jams and VH1 Soul also gave both videos the heaviest of play, MTV Jams having played each almost once an hour at their peaks. When Terry balked at the contract he was kicked out of the band. Despite a fall release, the songs' music videos (which were often aired segued together) became two of 2003's most played on MTV, VH1, MTV2, and BET, both having entered heavy rotation on all four channels at one point or another. Terry Glaze was included in talks to sign with a label that was fronted by Gene Simmons of KISS. "Hey Ya!" was also one of the first songs to become a hit on the Apple iTunes Music Store, replacing "Stacy's Mom" at #1 and staying there for months. Pantera released three forgotten albums (Metal Magic, Projects In The Jungle and I Am The Night) before ditching singer Terry Glaze in favor of Phil Anselmo with 1987's Power Metal.

Both immediately exploded at radio: "Move" initially becoming enormous on urban radio, then later pop and rhythmic, and "Hey Ya" becoming a smash crossover hit on pop, rhythmic, hot AC, and alternative rock radio then later on urban stations. They were modern (or so-called "groove") metal. The first two singles from the album(s), which were released nearly simultaneously, were Big Boi's "The Way You Move" and André's "Hey Ya!". Formed in 1983, Pantera were one of the most influential Heavy Metal bands of the 1990s. The album eventually sold over five million copies, and, as double-album sales count double for Recording Industry Association of America certification, the album was certified diamond (10 million units sold) in December 2004. Pantera was a popular heavy metal band from Dallas,Texas, USA. The album is also OutKast's biggest commercial success yet, having debuted on the Billboard Albums Chart at #1 and stayed there for several weeks. Pantera: 3 - Vulgar Videos from Hell (1997) (DVD re-release).

Speakerboxx/The Love Below has received what is perhaps the duo's most rapturous critical reception to date; both discs were considered highly innovative and accomplished. 3: Watch it Go. André 3000's The Love Below is a sprawling and ambitious work that featured only brief instances of hip hop, presenting instead funk and pop music inspired by Prince, Rick James, Sly Stone, and Frank Zappa. The Vulgar Video. Big Boi's Speakerboxxx is, for the most part, a joyous party record, tempered by more politically-minded tracks like "War". Cowboys from Hell - The Videos. It is essentially two solo double-albums, one by each member, packaged as a single release under the OutKast banner. Reinventing Hell: The Best Of Pantera [Compilation] - (2003).

In September 2003 OutKast released a double album, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. Official Live: 101 Proof [Live] - (1997). The following year, the group and Killer Mike contributed the lead single "Land of a Million Drums" to the Scooby-Doo soundtrack.. Reinventing The Steel - (2000). One of these new tracks was the popular single "The Whole World", which won a 2002 Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. The Great Southern Trendkill - (1996). In December 2001, OutKast released a greatest hits album, Big Boi And Dre Present...OutKast, which also contained three new tracks. Far Beyond Driven - (1994).

DJ to form the Earthtone III production company, and began producing tracks for the artists on their Aquemeni Records imprint through Columbia, including Slimm Cutta Calhoun and Killer Mike, who made his debut appearance on Stankonia's "Snappin' & Trappin". Vulgar Display Of Power - (1992). During the recording of Stankonia, OutKast joined with partner Mr. Cowboys from Hell - (1990). Jackson", and another for Stankonia as Best Rap Album. Power Metal - (1988). All three singles' videos had heavy MTV2 airplay, and OutKast won two 2001 Grammy Awards: one for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "Ms. I Am The Night - (1985).

The album's final single was the Organize Noise-produced "So Fresh, So Clean", featuring a credited guest appearance from regular guest vocalist Sleepy Brown. Projects In The Jungle - (1984). The single became their first pop crossover hit, landing the #1 position on the US pop singles chart, and the #2 position on the UK pop chart. Metal Magic - (1983). Jackson" is Badu's mother. Rex Brown (aka, Rexx Rocker) - Bass. Jackson", was about divorce and relationship breakups, particularly André's breakup with Erykah Badu; the titular "Ms. Vinnie Paul (Vincent Abott) - Drums.

The second single, "Ms. Dimebag Darrell (Darrell Abott aka, Diamond Darrell) - Guitars. (Bombs Over Bagdad)", a high-tempo jungle-influenced record. Phil Anselmo - Vocals. It debuted at #2 on the album charts and would eventually go double-platinum. Stankonia's first single was "B.O.B. The pair's fourth album, Stankonia was released to excellent reviews in October 2000.

In 2003, the Supreme Court allowed Rosa Parks to proceed with her lawsuit; the members of OutKast were dropped as co-defendants, and Parks continued to seek action against LaFace and parent company BMG. Parks hired lawyer Johnny Cochran to appeal the decision in 2001, but this too was denied, on First Amendment grounds. The initial lawsuit was dismissed. The song's lyrics were largely unrelated to Parks, save for a line in the chorus: "Ah ha, hush that fuss / Everybody move to the back of the bus".

She felt the song misappropriated her name, and also objected to some of the song's obscene language. In 1999, OutKast and LaFace Records was sued by Rosa Parks over the album's most successful radio single, "Rosa Parks". The album featured collaborations with, in addition to Organized Noise and the Goodie Mob; their infant son Seven is heard on the song "Slump". Both Big Boi and André explored more eclectic subject matter, and, producing even more of the album themselves, delved into more innovate sounds inspired by soul, trip hop, and electro music.

The album was widely praised as an innovative, unique and refreshing album full of hip hop with a progressive vision, both artistic and musically. OutKast's third album Aquemini (1998) also reached the #2 position on the charts; its title was a combination of the zodiac signs for Big Boi (an Aquarius) and André (a Gemini). "Elevators (Me and You)", the first single to be produced by OutKast themselves instead of Organized Noise, became the group's first Top 20 hit the same year. "AtLiens" was the group's first Top 40 single, and reflected the beginning of André's increasing self-consciousness: "No drugs or alcohol/so I can get the signal clear", he rhymes about himself.

The album hit #2 on the US album charts, and helped the group earn more recognition among East Coast hip hop fans in the northern US, many of whom usually panned southern hip hop artists. ATLiens was OutKast's second album, released in 1996. OutKast won Best New Rap Group at the Source Awards in 1995. On this early material, both André and Big Boi contrast lyrical content reflecting the lifestyles of pimps and gangsters with politically conscious material commenting on the status of African Americans in the southern US.

Their full length debut, Southernplayalisticadillakmusik, was issued the next year); follow-up singles included the title track and "Git Up, Git Out", a politically charged collaboration with Goodie Mob that was later sampled by Macy Gray for her 1999 hit "Do Something". The song's funky style, much of it accomplished with live instrumentation, was a hit with audiences, and "Player's Ball" hit #1 on the Billboard Rap Chart. In 1993, they released their first single, "Player's Ball". OutKast signed to LaFace Records in 1992, becoming the label's first hip hop act and making their first appearance on the remix of labelmates TLC's "Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg".

OutKast, Organized Noise, and schoolmates Goodie Mob formed the nucleus of the Dungeon Family organization. They eventually teamed up, and were pursued by Organized Noize, a group of local producers who would later make hits for TLC and Xscape. Big Boi and André went to Tri-Cities High School together in East Point, Georgia, and battled each other lyrically on a regular basis. OutKast is currently the most successful hip-hop group of all time, having sold 14 million copies of their six releases: four studio albums, a greatest hits release, and Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, a double album contaning a solo album from each member of the group. Speakerboxxx/The Love Below is one of only three hip hop albums to go diamond, the other two being MC Hammer's Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em and The Notorious B.I.G.'s Life After Death.

The duo is André "André 3000" Benjamin (formerly known as "Dre") and Antwan "Big Boi" Patton, both from the Atlanta area. Their original musical style was a mixture of Dirty South and G-Funk; since then, funk, soul, electronica, and rock elements have been added to the mix. OutKast is a popular and successful American hip hop duo based out of Atlanta, Georgia. 2004: "Prototype" (André 3000).

2004: "Roses" (#9 US; #4 UK). 2003: "The Way You Move" (Big Boi featuring Sleepy Brown) (#1 US; #7 UK). 2003: "Hey Ya!" (André 3000) (#1 US; #3 UK). 2001: "The Whole World" (featuring Killer Mike) (#19 US; #19 UK).

2000: "So Fresh So Clean" (#30 US; #16 UK). Jackson" (#1 US; #2 UK). 2000: "Ms. (Bombs Over Bagdad)".

2000: "B.O.B. 1)". 1998: "Da Art of Storytellin' (Pt. 1998: "Rosa Parks" (#57 US).

1997: "Jazzy Belle" (#52 US). 1996: "Elevators (Me and You)" (#12 US). 1996: "ATLiens" (#35 US). 1994: "Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik" (#74 US).

1994: "Git Up, Git Out". 1994: "Player's Ball" (#37 US). 2005: 10 the Hard Way. 2003: Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.

2001: Big Boi And Dre Present...OutKast (greatest hits LP). 2000: Stankonia. 1998: Aquemini. 1996: ATLiens.

1994: Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik. André 3000 and Big Boi just cut solo records, that's all." The last comment prompts one of the young adults, a blonde-bearded Caucasian, to say approvingly "alright" and to tap fists with Clark. "Well, to answer your questions, no, I would not have voted for the Iraq war… I am pro-choice and I am a strong believer in Affirmative Action… and I don't care what the other candidates say, I don't think OutKast is really breaking up. The young adults do not speak, but sit and listen as Clark appears to be answering their questions.

In the ad, Clark is sitting in a coffee shop with a dozen middle-class young adults of various American ethnicities. The reference was an attempt to get the attention of a much younger generation of potential voters. In a campaign commercial released October 30, 2003, the Wesley Clark presidential campaign made reference to OutKast. It featured sparring 1950s-style gangs, one representing Speakerboxxx, and one representing The Love Below, parodying the widespread arguing among critics and fans as to which half of the album was better.

The video for "Roses" is loosely based on the musical Grease. The video's storyline has "The Love Below" (a fictional band, with all members played by Andre with the use of special effects) performing in London. The video for "Hey Ya" is based on The Beatles' landmark appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.