Happy Birthday Andre 3000

One half of Outkast turns 46 today.

Today, one of my favorite rappers to ever walk the Earth turns 46 today. Andre 3000, the second half of rap duo Outkast celebrates his birthday. 

Andre 3000 met his partner in crime “Big Boi” in high school and when they graduated, the two signed with LaFace, an Atlanta based record label. Immediately after the signing in 1994, the two dropped their first album, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik. That’s when the Outkast rocket ship was sent to the moon. 

What Andre 3000 and Big Boi did with their next two albums, ATLiens and Aquemini, was immaculate. They mixed rap with funk while combining R&B with some jazz style. 

In 2000, the Woodward and Bernstein of rap dropped one of the greatest albums of all time, Stankonia. Prior to this album, Andre 3000 was going by him birth name, Andre Benjamin but when Stankonia dropped, he embraced the Andre 3000 name. 

Stankonia has songs like Ms. Jackson and So Fresh So Clean that are absolutely timeless. 

Outside of Outkast, Andre 3000 has had an impact on other rappers. Eminem referenced Andre in Till I Collapse when referring to the greatest rappers of all time. Maine rapper Spose made an entire album that is available on SoundCloud, Dankonia, using Outkast beats. 

Even if we take ourselves out of Andre 3000’s music career, he is in one of my favorite comedies, Semi Pro. Andre plays Coffee Black, a point guard for the Flint Tropics. 

Happy Birthday to an absolute visionary and legend. Live it up Andre 3000.