Eric B & Rakim had the flow; Mobb Deep had the ambience; UGK had the character; 8Ball & MJG had the chemistry; Gang Starr had the depth; and EPMD had the style. But there has never been a hip hop duo quite like OutKast. The eccentric Andre 3000 and the lyrically dextrous Big Boi will forever be the quintessential experimental rap duo that put Atlanta on the map and opened the flood gates for the left-field sounds coming from the South. In an era when gangster and mafiaso rap were bounced back and forth between the East and West Coasts, OutKast completely flipped hip hop on it's head.
In their heyday, there were not many listeners who could deny the variety of ATLiens and Aquemini - OutKasts two greatest albums – or shun the vintage sound of Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik. Yet in this day and age there seems to be a refusal to explore the back catalogue of two of the most influential hip hop artists of our time. Hence, the crowd at Coachella.
When an OutKast reunion was announced it was absolutely mind-blowing for fans who have bothered to dive deeper than “Hey Ya” and “Ms Jackson”; less so for others. A tumblr collating various tweets of peoples' ludicrous statements like “they only have two hits!” and “another one-hit wonder headliner wtf” popped up poking fun at the situation; similar to when Arcade Fire fans got into a fuss about the whole “Who are The Suburbs” ordeal. The difference here is that it was young Bieber fans who questioned Arcade Fire's commercial viability; with OutKast, it was people who pride themselves on their musical knowledge.
What followed was a ton of pressure on a duo who haven't performed together in over a decade. Fans expected things to be rusty, but the amount of hype surrounding this reunion was never going to allow anything less than great. As such, OutKast's first-weekend Coachella performance was disappointing to say the least.
An ill-advised and nepotism-based appearance from Future was awkward; Andre's constant sound problems were awkward; the way the set list was structured was awkward (“Hootie Hoo” shouldn't have been the only Southernplaya.... track); and the tepid crowd was the most awkward of them all. From the jumbled up and discordant hook of "B.O.B" to the disengaged rendition of "Hey Ya," things were underwhelming; the two emcees were still rapping like "Player's Ball" was released yesterday, but a combination of sound issues, crowd issues, and a progressively uninspired 'Kast resulted in disappointment.
A bemused Questlove stood tweeting amongst the floral headpieces which were only hanging out for “Hey Ya”: “keep in mind its been 10 yrs for Kast and this is show 1.” .
The sentiment that all OutKast need is time to get their performance game on lock rang true as thankfully the second weekend of Coachella saw a vast improvement. Andre looked happier; Big Boi looked brighter; and there was no Future. We still got more long-time collaborator Sleepy Brown (also referred to as 'a random guest' in a review I read after the first weekend) and the always-excellent Killer Mike, bringing things back to a true Dungeon Family type show, which seemed to help OutKast feel much more comfortable on stage. This was Atlanta invading Coachella; whereas on the first weekend it was Coachella overwhelming Atlanta.
Now that OutKast have shown us that they can (rapidly) improve, erase any mis-steps, and give their long-time fans a satisfying set list while still rocking a festival crowd, their appearance at this year's Splendour in the Grass is all the more exciting. They may not bring Sleepy Brown and Killer Mike down under, but they won't need them; if OutKast can demonstrate such a change during show two, imagine how refined their live show is going to be by the time July rolls around. That's more than enough time to acquaint yourself with one of the best and most diverse catalogues in hip hop history.
Check out 15 essential OutKast songs HERE
OutKast headline Splendour in the Grass 2014 which takes place over the weekend of July 25-27. Tickets to the festival go on sale Friday 2 May 9AM (EST) from HERE
Coachella Weekend 1 Setlist:
B.O.B
Gasoline Dreams
ATLiens
Skew It on the Bar-B
Rosa Parks
Da Art of Storytellin’, Part 1
Aquemini
SpottieOttieDopaliscious (with Sleepy Brown)
Bowtie” (with Sleepy Brown)
Shutterbugg
Ghetto Musick
Tightrope (with Janelle Monáe)
Kryptonite (I’m on It)
Vibrate
She Lives in My Lap
Prototype
Behold a Lady
Roses
Same Damn Time (with Future)
Ain’t No Way Around It (with Future)
Benz Friends (Whatchutola) (with Future)
Hootie Hoo
Elevators (Me & You)
Ms. Jackson
So Fresh, So Clean (with Sleepy Brown)
The Way You Move (with Sleepy Brown)
Hey Ya!
Coachella Weekend 2 Setlist:
B.O.B
Gasoline Dreams
ATLiens
Skew It on the Bar-B
Rosa Parks
Da Art of Storytellin’, Part 1
Aquemini
SpottieOttieDopaliscious (with Sleepy Brown)
Ms. Jackson
Kryptonite (I’m on It)
GhettoMusick
The Way You Move (with Sleepy Brown)
She Lives in My Lap
Vibrate
Prototype
Hey Ya!
Hootie Hoo
Crumblin’ Erb
Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik
Player’s Ball
Elevators (Me & You)
Roses
So Fresh, So Clean (with Sleepy Brown)
Int’l Player’s Anthem (I Choose You)
The Whole World (with Killer Mike)
