* En anglais uniquement
Outside his partnership with
André 3000 as
OutKast, and apart from his central role in the
Dungeon Family collective, rapper and producer
Big Boi has built a lengthy parallel discography on his own. Known for his cool demeanor and witty, high-velocity wordplay,
Big Boi effectively debuted as a solo artist with the first half of
OutKast's Grammy-winning blockbuster
Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (2003).
Sir Lucious Left Foot...The Son of Chico Dusty (2010), his first true solo album, hit the Top Ten of the Billboard 200 with a push from the Grammy-nominated single with "Shutterbugg."
Big Boi's additional solo albums, namely
Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors (2012) and
Boomiverse (2017), along with the collaborations
Big Grams (with
Phantogram; 2015) and
The Big Sleepover (with
Sleepy Brown; 2021), have been balanced with extensive time clocked as a producer and featured artist.
Killer Mike and
Janelle Monáe are among the artists whose careers he has boosted in those and other capacities.
After
OutKast broke through in 1993 with the Top 40 hit "Player's Ball,"
Big Boi -- born
Antwan André Patton in Savannah, Georgia -- made select solo featured appearances for the next ten years. "Dirty South" (by fellow
Dungeon Family members
Goodie Mob), "All N My Grill" (
Missy Elliott), "In da Wind" (
Trick Daddy), and "A.D.I.D.A.S." (
Killer Mike) were charting singles. For the fifth
OutKast full-length,
Big Boi and
André 3000 opted to record separate sets bundled as
Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. The Billboard 200-topping release won the 2003 Grammy Awards for Best Rap Album and Album of the Year. Over the next three years,
Big Boi branched out with his Purple Ribbon label, which released the
Purple Ribbon All-Stars compilations Got That Purp and
Got Purp? Vol. II. The sequel contained early appearances from
Janelle Monáe and the Top 40 hit "Kryptonite (I'm on It)," a posse cut featuring
Big Boi and
Killer Mike.
Big Boi additionally guested during this time on
Brooke Valentine's Top 40 entry "Girlfight" and
Fantasia's charting "Hood Boy."
OutKast's lengthy hiatus began after the subsequent
Idlewild project in 2006.
Big Boi prepared his first proper solo album, and over 2008 and 2009 offered some stray singles. "Royal Flush," on which he linked with
André 3000 and
Raekwon, was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. In 2010, he was on
Janelle Monáe's "Tightrope" and issued another solo single, "Shutterbugg," before
Sir Lucious Left Foot...The Son of Chico Dusty arrived that July. The loose and rollicking set entered the Billboard 200, R&B/hip-hop, and rap charts at number three. "Shutterbugg" bagged another Grammy nomination in the rap field, and "Tightrope" was up for Best Urban/Alternative Performance. In December 2012, the follow-up
Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors hit number 34 on the Billboard 200 with a guest list that extended far beyond the rap realm to involve the likes of
Little Dragon,
Wavves, and
Phantogram.
Big Boi continued to work with the latter act as
Big Grams, whose self-titled EP peaked in the Top Ten of the rap and alternative charts in 2015. He offered his third official solo LP,
BOOMIVERSE, in June 2017. The production was handled primarily by longtime partners
Organized Noize, along with assists from the likes of "Shutterbugg" collaborator
Scott Storch,
Dr. Luke, and
Cirkut.
Between albums,
Big Boi picked up a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Song with
Danger Mouse's "Chase Me," a track that also involved
Killer Mike and
El-P (aka
Run the Jewels). Coinciding with his appearance in February 2019 alongside
Maroon 5 at the Super Bowl half-time show in Atlanta,
Big Boi issued the single "Doin' It," featuring
Sleepy Brown. Additional collaborations with
Brown followed, such as "Intentions," which also featured
CeeLo Green, and 2020's "Can't Sleep."
The Big Sleepover,
Big Boi and
Sleepy Brown's long-promised collaborative album, was planned for 2021, preceded by another single, "The Big Sleep Is Over." ~ Andy Kellman