Big Boi Biography

Big Boi is an American rapper, songwriter, and music producer and one-half of the hip-hop duo Outkast, along with André 3000.

Early Life

Antwan André Patton was born on February 1, 1975, in Savannah, Georgia afterward moving to Atlanta. While attending the visual and performing arts high school Tri-Cities High School, Patton decided to pursue music.

Outkast

He met  André “3000” Benjamin while attending the school. The two eventually formed Outkast and signed with LaFace Records. Big Boi wrote songs about the social problems facing the US and the African American community. The duo reached superstar status with multiple-platinum albums like the 1994 classic Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik,  ATLiens (1996), Aquemini (1998), Stankonia (2000) and Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (2003). Big Boi and André 3000 entered a hiatus in 2007 to focus on solo projects.

Solo Career

Speakerboxxx/The Love Below was a double album, consisting of solo songs for each member. Big Boi released the single The Way You Move, featuring Sleepy Brown. It became almost as successful as André 3000’s Hey Ya. In 2005, he released the mixtape Got Purp? Vol 2. Its single Kryptonite peaked at position 35 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. After some delay, Patton’s first solo project was Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty. The LP was praised by critics for its original sound and Boi’s lyrics. The follow-up was released som time later called Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors in 2012. The lead single was Mama Told Me featured by Kelly Rowland. In 2014 Patton signed a contract deal with Epic Records. Big Boi revealed the new singles from his upcoming third album in April 2017. Mic Jack featured by Adam Levine was issued first and Kill Jill featured by Killer Mike and Jeezy, was next.

Photo credit: TheSource