I so wish I was as cool as Big Boi. May have to track down ATL style clothes after watching this Chris Robinson directed vid. There are some hip hop cliches in there- but with some nice out there Outkast twists. Bring on the album.
We had Big Boi (from Outkast) in the office this week and I had the pleasure of interviewing him.
He was an absolute gent and seems very intelligent. You can see why his group have survived so long (over 15 years) in the rap world. He talked at length about his new album, plans with Andre 3000 and single Shutterbugg. Look out for the interview soon…
When I asked about new artists there were two the Atlanta native raved about. B.o.B- who’s going to number one this week with Nothin On You and whose debut album is worth checking out.
And Janelle Monae- who was originally discovered by Big’ and is now being mentored by P Diddy. Check her out absolutely SMASHING David Letterman earlier this week…
This is exactly what you want from a Big Boi single. Twisting, confusing, unusual and yet utterly banging. DOWNLOAD AT THE FADER
Thankfully his 'Sir Lucsious Leftfoot' album should be out soon after the Outkast man switched to the Def Jam label. I've said it before on multiple occasions but I CANNOT WAIT.
Both these songs have been around since last year but it's great to see promos for them. Kid Cudi's vid references Michel Gondry and is enjoyably trippy. I love those girls in the OTT outfits and the cameo from production duo Ratatat.
While Big Boi's has a lower budget but is cool sinply because it features George Clinton. On a sidenote I wish BB would hurry up and release his solo album....
Haven't yet blogged about one of my all time favourite groups. But news that Outkast's record label is messing them (and particularly Big Boi) around has prompted me to. (Check the Rolling Stone article here)
The duo have been with Arista for over 15 years- releasing their raw but essential debut Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik in 1993 and then evolving into arguably the most innovative rap group of all time. Plus they've sold records on the way including massive singles Miss Jackson and Hey Ya.
Now Andre 3000 and Big Boi are working on proper solo albums after the split disc Speakerboxxx/ The Love Below. Big' doesn't always get the credit he deserves, his portion of that album is deinitely equal to Dre's. Though he's not a Squarepusher obsessed multi-instrumentallist Big Boi is one of the best MCs in the game- intelligent, funny, polished and yet still raw.
In theory his brillantly titled Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty will be out soon. And Andre's solo record and a proper Outkast LP will follow in 2009. I hope so.
I distinctly remember an NME interview with Jay Z around the time Blueprint came out. The interviewer was told that he couldn’t ask the ‘greatest rapper alive’ about anything politics-related because he didn’t feel qualified to answer and wasn't interested in the subject.
Fast forward seven or so years and Jay was on stage around the world (including Glastonbury and London) shouting ‘Fuck Bush’ and campaigning for Obama. Under Dubya it wasn’t just Mos Def, Talib or Dead Prez who went political. Eminem was suddenly a conscious rapper protesting against the Iraq war on Mosh. And after Katrina Kanye West announced on national TV “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.”
So I guess what I’m saying is- the former President was good for Hip Hop. Yes I said it. Songs about Barack are currently coming out but love-letters to the promising President will certainly get boring over four (or maybe eight) years.
Posted are two of my favourite anti-Bush tracks from Mos Def (certainly one of my Top 5 MCs) and Big Boi- who was never political on early Outkast albums.
