Ozone Magazine

Being “alone” can be looked at the same way as that “half-full/half-empty” argument. On one hand you have perks like going where you want to, when you want to and leaving when you feel like it. On the other hand, you’re talking to yourself because no one else is around. Life can be cheap because you’re only looking out for self, but it can also get costly trying to compensate for lack of company.

Big Boi is figuring out where he stands on being “alone.” As a member of Outkast with his rhyme partner Andre 3000, Big Boi has made history, blazed trails and helped build the entity that is “Southern Hip Hop.” Even as the group began to show noticeable splits in personality, dress and musical direction, the pair was still just that – a pair. But in 2003 when Outkast released their most successful album to date, Speakerboxx/The Love Below, the split started becoming even more apparent. Not only did they release two different albums, but Dre also elected to stop touring after its release. Three years later when they put out the soundtrack to their movie Idlewild, rumors and rumblings said Outkast had broken up as a group. To this day, neither Big or Dre has confirmed any break up, but that hasn’t stopped the people from forming their own opinions.

Big Boi, obviously the more outgoing half of the group, hears these conspiracies and questions often. Why? Because he’s the only one out there still making music, doing shows and being amongst the people. For the last four years Big Boi has used the Outkast logo and both a shield and flag to let people know that the music has not died. Similar to Bun B’s “Free Pimp C” campaign, Big Boi has been in the streets going at it alone trying to juggle a label and friendships along the way. But in his case, he wasn’t crusading to free a person. He was actually trying to get his own album out.

After working on it for the past 3 years and experiencing numerous delays, Big Boi’s solo album Sir Lucious Leftfoot: The Son of Chico Dusty is finally seeing the light of day. The journey started on Jive Records, but is now ending on Def Jam Records. Def Jam has finally given the project a solid release date of July 6th. His move to the house that Russell built reunites him with the man who signed him to his first deal, LaFace Records co-founder Antonio “L.A.” Reid. With many former LaFace staff now working under Reid at Def Jam, Big Boi compares his new situation to a family reunion.

Now, all eyes are on Big Boi to see if he can deliver the same ground-breaking music he did as a member of Outkast, alone.

OZONE caught up with Big over a span of weeks to find out about outrageous label demands, making moves in this current musical climate, and the status of his Purple Ribbon Entertainment record label.

So you are officially signed to Def Jam Records now? The last time this news leaked out, you came back and refuted it.
I’m signed to Def Jam as of a week ago. Jive let me go. I asked to be released due to creative differences. I’m back with the man [Antonio “L.A.” Reid] who understands my music and the creative process. Much respect to Barry Weiss at Jive though. Much thanks to him for respecting my craft and letting me do what I gotta do.

Did you ever imagine yourself being signed to Def Jam?
I always loved Def Jam since Krush Groove, but I never imagined being over there. But I don’t care where I’m at, as long as the team has the marketing and promotion to get it where it needs to be. That’s all that matters.

You said the final straw was when Jive asked you to record your own version of Lil Wayne’s “Lollipop.” Why would they think that would be a good idea?
They don’t know us like that. Up until Speakerboxx/The Love Below, Outkast was not a radio-driven group. We are Soul Funk crusaders. The type of music we make, we weren’t seeing eye-to-eye with the label on it. For a man to tell me to go make my own version of “Lollipop?” That doesn’t even sound right. That’s what the president of Jive told me. When he told me that, that’s when I had to start putting my own songs out. I was leaking songs just trying to figure out how to make the right moves. I want to put this album out under the right circumstances. Things weren’t jelling over there.

Did you take a suggestion like that as disrespectful?
At first, you take it as disrespect, but then you realize that they just don’t know any better. They’re just trying to work the radio. It’s not about integrity with music anymore. We make music. We’re not just making songs for your phone to ring to, were making music for you to live by. [Jive] didn’t get that. They didn’t get that memo.

There was a time that whenever an Outkast song left the studio, whether by design or by mistake, radio was all over it almost instantly. Why aren’t we hearing any of the joints you leaked on the air?
It’s programming. The people are not picking the music, it’s the suits now picking the music for the people to listen to. There’s not a lot of respect for it. It’s all about the dollar, so they want what sells the fastest. With music being such a fast burn nowadays, there’s a new song today and a new song tomorrow and another one on Wednesday. My thing is, my focus is to make timeless classics and not conform into what’s going on now. Ice Cube said it best: “Don’t follow trends, set them.” Don’t let them dictate to you. I’ve been doing that, and it’s working.

With all the success he’s achieved, you’d think Big Boi would be the last person to have any record label drama. He’s proven that he can make great music and sell a couple records. No Outkast album has gone less than platinum. When you combine all of their albums totals, it reaches 25 million. That’s more than Luther Vandross, Sade, Earth, Wind and Fire, Green Day and Nirvana, to name a few. They are the only rap group to win six Grammys. Aside from Run-DMC, they are widely considered the greatest rap group of all time.

So it goes without saying that whatever Big Boi has been doing for the past 17 years must be working. Unfortunately, the industry doesn’t work the same way. The consensus right now is that “music sucks” and if you’re not on the radio or 106th & Park, you’re not going to do well. Anybody that really still listens to rap music will tell you that there’s actually quite a bit of great music out there, it’s just not being broadcast. But the reality is that yes, for an artist of Big Boi’s stature, radio and TV has to be an option that is exploited. Big knows this and has made the best adjustments he can without “selling out” in the process.

You’ve been working on this album for a while now. You played a couple of the songs during your listening session at the 2008 TJ’s DJ’s Conference / OZONE Awards in Houston. Has anything changed since then?
I added a few things. I’ve been done with it for year now. I’ve got a couple new songs that Dre produced and a record with Janelle Monae. To me, it’s not done until they say, “Give it to me,” so I’m still recording. Instead of being in the club everyday, I’m still in the lab.

Earlier you said Outkast is not a radio-driven group, but the reality is that you’re going to have to get on there somehow.
I definitely have songs that can go to radio. I’ve got 8 or 9 singles on the album. The first single is “Shutterbugg” produced by Scott Storch. I shot a video for it. When you have a team that knows where you come from, it helps.

Listening to the album, it sounds like you escaped and went into a cave while recording. It sounds like nothing else that’s out right now. Do even keep up with the current music?
I don’t listen to the radio, I just keep my iPod on shuffle. From day one, we listened to the radio, but we didn’t let it influence us. That weak-ass shit can rub off on you. You can’t listen to the same song every hour on the hour.

You have a song called “Shine Blockers” with Gucci Mane on the album. That caught a couple people off guard. You must be paying some attention to what’s going on out there.
That’s why I do stuff like that, to throw people off. I’m still in the strip clubs and the clubs. I listen to everything from Gucci Mane to Johnny Cash. I’m gonna bring out the best in whoever’s on a song with me. I’m not gonna do anything halfway, I’m gonna make them bring it. I saw comments on the ‘net like, “I can’t stand Gucci, but he’s bustin’ on Big Boi’s song.” You have to let people grow and get better and accept it. If you can’t, get the hell on.

You have a wide range of features on the album, everyone from Lil Jon to Jamie Foxx. But none of them necessarily stole the show with their appearances. How did you get all of these big personalities to contribute to your sound and vision?
Everything has to be organically done. I did a song call “Night Night” and B.o.B was recording down the hall, so he got on it and smashed it. I had one song that I wanted Prince on, but I couldn’t get him. Then I wanted Beyonce and Rihanna, after that didn’t happen I was like, “Fuck it.” Then I saw Jamie Foxx in L.A. and we knocked it out.

You also have George Clinton on your album on “For Your Sorrows” with Too $hort. What was it like working with him?
We always started out on funk, so it was great. We worked with him before on “Synthesizer” from the Aquemini album. He has a plethora of information. He loved the record “For Your Sorrows.” He shot it back within a day. It’s about organic positive energy. You have to respect your forefathers.

Respect seems like it’s something Big Boi is working to get, again. Recently, some have said that Big needs Dre and that Big is not as good as Dre. Some may even infer that Big has lost his larger-than-life appeal. He seems “normal” now, some would say. No doubt, he is a lot more accessible. You might just run into him at Wal-Mart. You just might pull up next to him at a stoplight. He’s a father, so you might catch him at a little league football game. He even responds to his fans on Twitter like a “regular” guy.

The other side to this reality is that, for the first time since Outkast came on the scene in 1994, Big Boi isn’t the main focus of people’s music tastes. With new stars being born since Outkast’s last album, the internet and an influx of “artists” outnumbering actual fans, people have more options than ever before. Big Boi is no longer the “event.” Of course, this doesn’t really bother him. If you pose a question about any of this, he’s probably going to chuckle, puff his Black N’ Mild cigar and keep it moving. However, Big is aware of the current climate and where he fits in.

The main thing that people always appreciated about Outkast’s music was that you weren’t afraid to try new things. Times have changed, obviously. Do you fear that your music in this day and age may go over people’s heads?
I don’t think it’s going over anybody’s head. If it’s jamming it’s jamming. The response I’ve been getting from playing it for people over the last year and a half is that they miss the music. They always say, “Oh, this is real music,” “Oh, this is layers of music,” and “We miss the music.” They love the guitars and pianos. This is music. It’s not loops and the same rhyme patterns and niggas sounding the same on every song. No two songs on the album sound alike. This is some of the best work I’ve done in my life.

It seems to be the hardest you’ve ever worked in your life as well. You’ve been touring as a solo artist since 2003. Has it taken a toll?
No, I just reinvented myself, doing outside appearances and things like that. I’ve got a vicious pen, I love to rap and perform, and it made me better as an artist. If I didn’t want to do it, I wouldn’t be doing it no more. Outkast is supergroup. We actually started off that way, but people didn’t get it. Even when we did Speakerboxx/The Love Below they still didn’t get that. So now with the solo [album] coming out, you get to see Big.

Has it been a humbling experience for you? As one-half of the most successful rap group of all time, it’s kind of a surprise to hear you pop up on the umpteenth verse on DJ Khaled’s “I’m So Hood” remix.
You can’t think about anything you’ve done in the past. You can’t base future works on what you’ve already done. You’ve gotta act like you never came out before. That’s how I approached his album, like I’m starting all over from scratch. I’m doing shit like going to the OZONE Awards and everything me and Dre went through early on, before they made the game a bunch of Wrigley’s gum. When I get on a song…first of all, I don’t get on songs I don’t like. Niggas send me bullshit all day. I don’t care who else is on the song. When I get on tracks I try to set the bar so high you can’t jump over it. But it’s about the people. That’s why me and Dre hopped on [DJ Unk’s] “Walk It Out” remix. That’s why I have Gucci Mane on my album. It’s about the people. Cool people do cool shit. Once you start shitting on people, that’s not a good look. Interviewers try to get me to shit on people all the time. Certain songs are for dancing while others are not. You can’t have that dancing on the radio all the time, though.

What’s the status of your label Purple Ribbon?
I’ve still got Purple Ribbon. I have [artists like] Vonnegutt, Janelle Monae, Blackowned C-Bone and Cutty Cartel (formerly of Jim Crow, the group that also featured producer Polow Da Don). I just supply like the dope house. I have three rooms in the studio and a squad of producers. That’s how I’ve been able to work and also get complete albums [done] on them.

You have a diamond-selling album and Grammy Awards. How do you maintain the hunger after achieving great success?
Just wanting to make some new shit. It’s what we were put here to do. We ain’t get into it for the paper and hoes. We started as 20 niggas in a basement who love Hip Hop and funk music. When you relax, it shows, because you don’t sound as good as you used to. //

For more, check out Issue #84 of OZONE Mag: