Queen Latifah recently made waves when she insinuated that André 3000 and Big Boi were working on a new album together as part of OutKast‘s 20th anniversary celebration. While she later backtracked from the statement, it’s hard to imagine the duo doesn’t have something else up their sleeve, especially if those 40 festival shows shows are as big a hit as we all imagine they will be. Revolt TV recently went looking for answers, and what they’ve discovered should intrigue fans.
Revolt caught up with the ATLiens’ long-time producer, Mr. DJ, and learned that both André and Big have been spending time in their Stankonia Studios recording music. Don’t jump the gun though, because the rappers haven’t been in the booth together. Instead, Mr. DJ says the pair have been working on solo albums, with André’s potentially dropping his by year’s end. That would be the first time he’s released a strict solo album, excluding The Love Below.
However, even if they’re not working on a new OutKast record at the moment, it doesn’t mean they won’t be in the future. “I get the feeling that the energy and camaraderie from the tour will bring everything full circle,” Mr. DJ told Revolt. “We may make it back in for an album following that.”
Revolt also touched upon new movements within the Dungeon Family, the collective made up of OutKast, Goodie Mob, Sleepy Brown, Rico Wade, and others. Goodie Mob’s Big Gipp divulged that a DF reunion is indeed being planned, and that many members will make appearances at OutKast’s festival gigs, specifically mentioning Georgia’s CounterPoint. Dré also recorded a verse on the track “Benz Bitch” for former DF member Future’s new album, Honest.
It seems that the festival reunion tour is only the beginning of what’s next for OutKast. Though as Revolt’s Reed Jackson points out, it might be worth considering if the (slight) risk of an inferior album is worth the risk. “If a recent string of forgettable and unfortunate reunions are any indicator, the notion of Outkast’s potentially subpar reunion album brings on the broader question of whether just having the duo back together is good enough, or if the reunion must spawn recorded greatness in order for it to be a success.” Some food for thought, though if anyone could buck the trend, it’d be OutKast.
