Hip-hop fans will spend the rest of their lives begging for new Outkast music. At this point, we’ll take just one more song if it means we get that proper reunion. But both Big Boi and André 3000 have fruitful enough solo careers where they never have to make music together again. Still, that won’t stop fans from pleading with André to put the flute down and put down some raps.
However, what if I told you they’ve already tried rapping together again? What if I told you the final results are floating around on the internet instead of on a formal album? According to Big Boi in 2010, it was all typical music industry nonsense that robbed us of getting proper releases.
In an interview with GQ, the Atlanta legend revealed that there were initially supposed to be two collaborations with André 3000 on Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son Of Chico Dusty. Their old record label didn’t know what to do with his solo venture, though. Consequently, he took his ball and went over to Def Jam to release the album.
However, because Jive still had rights to their work as a duo, Big Boi effectively couldn’t release anything with his partner-in-crime on the other side. So he had to rely on the Wild West of the internet to get fans what they wanted.
Why Outkast Never Released Any Collaborations With Each Other Over The YEars
“They cannot block it. Au contraire. Either they’re going to do it the right way, or they’re going to do it my way. How you wanna do it?” Big Boi questioned. “The fans thirst will be quenched. You know, I’m no stranger to that internet, baby. So you already know what time it is. The thirst of the fans will be quenched.”
The two Outkast collaborations in question were “Royal Flush” with Wu-Tang Clan legend Raekwon and “Lookin’ 4 Ya” with Dungeon Family royalty Sleepy Brown. Eventually, those records live on in internet history, but they’ve effectively been lost to history due to the lack of ease of access.
All of this culminated in a larger frustration with Big Boi’s frustration with Jive Records. They held onto his music for years, let alone the Outkast collaborations. After a while, he got tired of playing their silly games.
“It’s plain stupidity. It’s stupid business and it’s stupid politics,” Big Boi scoffed. “I mean, Jive Records had ‘Shutterbug’ for three years. And [Sir Luscious leak] ‘General Patton’ for three years. You see what I’m saying? They told me to go in and make my version of Lil’ Wayne’s “Lollipop”! I love that song. That was my favorite song when it came out. But how you gonna tell me to go bite another MCs style?”
(Photo by Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
The post How Label Issues Kept Outkast From Reuniting for One More Song in 2010: ‘It’s Stupid Politics’ appeared first on VICE.
