It was a chill Sunday evening on the beach, before OutKast hit the main stage at the 2014 Hangout Festival, and showed the crowd what the ATLiens were all about.
Performers like Jack Johnson delivered laid back sets earlier in the day, but Big Boi and Andre 3000 didn’t waste any time turning energy levels all the way up, as they jumped right into the bass-fueled cut “B.o.B.,” just two songs in their performance.
Where to go from here? Into all of their greatest hits, that’s where. OutKast was in golden form for the last show of the weekend.
Three Stacks, with his penchant for off-the-wall outfits, kept it weird and wonderful in a white wig and black jumper emblazoned with the text, “Big girls are beautiful to me.” And then there was the reversible “For Sale/Sold Out” sign hanging from his waist — a glimpse into his thoughts, perhaps?
Big Boi balanced Andre’s quirky getup with a fresh white button down shirt and matching shorts, splattered with floral prints.
Classics like “Rosa Parks” and “Ms. Jackson” were peppered into the first round of songs — making the crowd go absolutely insane — and Sleepy Brown’s cameo for “SpottieOttieDopaliscious” was a trip of its own. Because only Sleepy could make a pair of silk pajamas look so good onstage.
Before the boys launched into “Da Art of Storytellin’ (Part 1)” they thanked fans for rockin’ with them for 20 years, recalling their teenage years in the rap game.
When the Atlanta rappers temporarily split up to perform some solo tracks, Big Boi reminisced about the days of practicing raps in his auntie’s kitchen. He then delivered songs like “Kryptonite,” “Ghettomusick” and crowd favorite “The Way You Move,” while spitting inside of an LED-lit box, shadowed by holographic images of himself and Andre.
After commanding the crowd to engage in a chant of “Come back 3000,” Three Stacks returned for three of his own cuts, including “She Lives in My Lap” and “Hey Ya!”
Note: only when you see OutKast live, for the first time, do you realize just how many different ways there are to “shake it like a Polaroid picture.” Andre summoned some ladies from the audience to join him on stage for that particular number.
With the crowd sufficiently engrossed, the duo took an opportunity to dive into some of their earliest material, hitting more tracks from their 1994 debut album Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, including “Hootie Hoo,” “Players Ball,” “Crumblin’ Erb,” and the album’s title track.
Those nostalgic numbers made the last few songs of the night that much more hard-hitting. It was just one smash after another — Andre and Big Boi had clearly hit their stride, after warming up with those early festival sets.
A spirited delivery of “Roses,” was followed by “So Fresh, So Clean,” “International Players,” and “The Whole World,” which commanded an appearance from Killer Mike.
At this point the crowd was an eruption of cheers, and although Big Boi and Andre didn’t return for an encore, no one could dispute that they had completely owned the weekend.
All hail the ATLiens.
Nadeska Alexis
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