When you think of hip-hop in Atlanta, who do you think of? ATL has run rap for years now in terms of mainstream viability. Trap music from the days of T.I., Jeezy, and Gucci Mane to when Future and Young Thug dominated the public imagination. Over time, the gears shifted towards rap stylists like Playboi Carti, influencing generations. But no group quite paved the way for Atlanta or represented it as well as OutKast.
Back in 1994, André 3000, Big Boi, and the rest of the Dungeon Family released Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, a timeless reflection of what the A looked and sounded like. Progressively, they hooked themselves deeper into funk/soul history to imagine Atlanta and Black culture as a whole under different contexts. They could dive into something more intergalactic (ATLiens), mystical (Aquemini), and radical (Stankonia), while still staying true to their roots, leaving behind a bulletproof legacy when Outkast finally disbanded.
With their legend officially cemented in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, it’s worth looking at Outkast’s best songs of all time. As a result, we’ll see how their seamless chemistry lasted and how their visions expanded over the years.
Four of The Greatest Outkast Songs of All Time
“Git Up, Git Out”
A lot of Outkast fans tend to favor the albums that went a little more left-of-center. Consequently, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik can occasionally go unmentioned when riffing on their classic catalog. However, focusing on their debut record helps us understand how André 3000, Big Boi, and co. expanded their portraits of Atlanta.
Records like “Git Up, Git Out” capture a distinct essence only Southerners can accurately parse. The horns spurt out like an exasperated sigh on a miserably muggy day down south. “You need to get up, get out, and get something,” Cee-lo raps over the humid production. “Don’t let the days of your life pass by.” It’s the kind of record that puts the battery in your back. The last thing you want is to look around at a crummy apartment after wasting away your prime.
“West Savannah”
Similar to “Git Up, Git Out”, Big Boi spends “West Savannah” plunging us into his stomping grounds. What really makes it sing, though, is the meticulous storytelling. Sharply creased jeans, Cadillac Broughams, Sade in the tape deck, furry Kangols, gold teeth and gold chains, Big Boi acts as the tour guide to usher us into life in his Frazier Homes. “So follow the fiends, follow my lead, through the nooks and crannies. It’s everyday life off in my hood, so come and holla at me,” he raps from the velvet interior of his ride. By the end of the song, we might as well be official citizens of Georgia.
“Gasoline Dreams”
As much as Outkast have historically embraced Southern living, they’re not ignorant of the history. America built its empire upon Black slave labor, and that all took place down in places like Atlanta. To this day, people have to be wary of where they stop for gas because sundown towns still run rampant down south. That racism also manifests in microaggressions and the prison system. Drugs are pumped into lower-income neighborhoods, and the world is burning due to pollution and going to war over oil.
It’s an evil, ruthless life André 3000 distills on “Gasoline Dreams”. “I hear that Mother Nature now’s on birth control. The coldest pimp be looking for somebody to hold. The highway up to Heaven got a crook on the toll. Youth full of fire, ain’t got nowhere to go, nowhere to go,” 3 Stacks snarls on the hook. Meanwhile, Big Boi grunts that the police officers won’t ease up on him, regardless of their fame. One day, it’ll all be over through a war of attrition or self-destruction. Regardless, the evils won’t last forever.
“Elevators (Me & You)”
“Elevators (Me & You)” is Outkast at the peak of their powers. It works at every frequency; on the surface, it operates at a mellow, smoked-out frequency in a neon-blue glow. The tried and true Cadillac riding still lives like any other song where André and Big Boi trade bars.
But there’s a gradual tension bubbling underneath the surface. The Atlanta duo muses on their ascent through the music industry. Where Big Boi raps self-assuredly that they’ll maintain their spot in the hip-hop hierarchy, 3 Stacks is a bit more cynical. He tells a story in the last verse of an old schoolmate-turned-fan who imagines Outkast swimming in nice cars and fine women with the money they made from rap.
However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. “And I replied that I’d been going through the same things that he has. True, I’ve got more fans than the average man but not enough loot to last me to the end of the week. I live by the beat like you live check-to-check. If it don’t move your feet, then, I don’t eat, so we like neck-to-neck,” André raps. Still, it beats “them slim ass cigarettes,” so he perseveres anyway. At their best, Outkast captures the heart of American life, in all of its struggles and successes alike.
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