Big Boi’s latest album, Vicious Lies & Dangerous Rumors, hits stores tomorrow — which is neither a lie nor a rumor, despite earlier release-date delays.
EW talked to the OutKast-famed rapper about filling the big (left) shoes of his critically acclaimed 2010 solo debut Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty, his response to hearing André 3000 apologize to him in T.I.’s recent “Sorry”, and how the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan influenced Vicious Lies‘ first track. READ FULL STORY »
A few months back, Atlanta rapper Big Boi — one half of the legendary Outkast crew — got into a somewhat embarrassing scrape with the law when he was arrested in Miami for possession of a number of drugs, including ecstasy and Viagra, as he was leaving a cruise ship.
He was almost immediately release on bail, and now the 36-year-old rhymer (Antawan Patton to his mom) will also avoid jail time. Earlier today, Big Boi struck a deal that will see his two felony charges dismissed provided that he submit himself to drug testing, $2,000 in charitable donations, and three months of community service.
With that behind him, Big Boi can focus on musical endeavors. Last month, Outkast followed L.A. Reid, their former label boss at LaFace, to Epic Records, and rumors are floating around that both Big Boi and his tag-team partner Andre 3000 are working on solo projects as well as the beginnings of a new Outkast album.
The pair last appeared together on 2006′s Idlewild, the soundtrack to the high-concept film of the same name, and Big Boi most recently dropped his oft-delayed Sir Lucious Left Foot: Son of Chico Dusty in 2010, which landed on EW’s list of the best 10 albums of 2010; in keeping with his penchant for amazingly awesome names, his new solo collection is supposedly called Daddy Fat Sax: Soul Funk Crusader.
Read more on EW.com:
OutKast’s Big Boi busted for drugs in Miami
Cee Lo Green, Big Boi announce co-headlining ‘Georgia Power’ tour
Review: Big Boi, Sir Lucious Left Foot: Son of Chico Dusty
Cee Lo Green and Big Boi go back. As founding members of Goodie Mob and OutKast, respectively, they made Atlanta’s Dungeon Family crew one of the most fearsome forces in music throughout the ’90s and beyond. And both of them put out very strong new albums this year. So it’s only right that Cee Lo and Big Boi are joining forces for a co-headlining tour dubbed “Georgia Power,” per MTV.
No dates for the tour have been announced yet, but this is a great idea. In addition to all their new solo music, Cee Lo and Big Boi have a whole catalog full of collaborations to draw on. Who knows which classic OutKast/Goodie Mob crossover tunes you might hear if you stick around for the encore at one of these shows — “Slum Beautiful”? “Dirty South”? “Git Up Git Out”? “Liberation”? “Reset”? The possibilities are endless, and endlessly awesome.
Would you buy tickets to see Cee Lo and Big Boi in concert together? Let us know.
(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)
More from EW.com:
Cee Lo: Why wasn’t his album a hit?
EW’s A– review of Cee Lo’s The Lady Killer
EW’s A– review of Big Boi’s Sir Lucious Left Foot
“You Ain’t No DJ” is one of the finest moments on Big Boi‘s fine-moment-filled Sir Lucious Left Foot. This one’s got it all: a metallic rattlesnake beat crafted by Andre 3000, typically knotty speed-rapping from Big Boi, and not one but two braggadocious guest verses from Alabama upstart Yelawolf. Now “You Ain’t No DJ” has a suitably fun music video, too.
Click through to the jump to see Big Boi in a snazzy red track suit, a partially-mulleted Yelawolf lounging on a couch, and several limber break dancers. Beware, tons of artfully declined NSFW language awaits within.
Like the video? How does it compare to Big Boi’s headless “Shutterbugg” clip from this spring? Sound off in the comments. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Robin Wong/PR Photos; Matt Sayles/AP Images; Robb D. Cohen/Retna Ltd; Jay Valena/Retna Ltd.Signs that summer is, alas, nearly over: back-to-school ads are running high; the humidity index is running low; sunset happens just a little earlier every evening. And of course, out on the road today, you saw a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac.
But that doesn’t mean this season’s soundtrack is all wrapped up—not, at least, until you all weigh in and vote for your own supreme, summer-owning jam. Only then can we can shut the door on beach vibes 2010, and start talking Halloween costumes. (Oh, the Snookis we’ll see!)
Late-game addition of Cee-Lo’s delightful f-bomb aside, the poll below primarily covers the songs considered the most commercially successful and sonically unavoidable of the last several months. We encourage you, though, to leave your own highly subjective choices in the comments section below.
To inspire-slash-provoke you, here are a few personal picks from EW’s own music staffers: Janelle Monae’s “Tightrope”; Robyn’s “Dancing On My Own”; the Black Keys’ “Tighten Up”; Big Boi’s “Shutterbug,” Arcade Fire’s “Sprawl II”; Sky Ferreira’s “One”; Sugarland’s “Stuck Like Glue”; Against Me’s “I Was a Teenage Anarchist”; and Gyptian’s urban-irie “Hold Yuh.”
(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)
More news from EW.com’s Music Mix:
‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ soundtrack to be released September 1: Ta-da, ta-da, ta-da-daah-daah-daah…
Usher to perform at MTV Video Music Awards
Eminem leads Billboard Hot 100 chart again
Wyclef Jean records song to protest Haiti presidency disqualification
Russell Simmons speaks out in support of ‘Ground Zero mosque’
Eminem‘s Recovery spends it’s third consecutive week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 229,000 copies. In turn Drake’s Thank Me Later spends a third week at No. 2, selling 74,000 albums. The chart’s top newcomer is OutKast’s Big Boi. His debut solo album Sir Lucious Left Foot … The Son of Chico Dusty starts at No. 3 with 62,000 units moved.
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse soundtrack slips one spot to No. 4 with 45,000 records sold. Justin Bieber‘s sold 43,000 copies of his My World 2.0. It climbs one spot to No. 5. The Now 34 compilation drops a spot to No. 6 with 33,000 sold. Jack Johnson’s To The Sea moves up one to No. 7, selling 30,000 albums. Lady Gaga‘s riding high from her Today show performance last Friday. The Fame jumps up five places to No. 8, selling 29,000. Lady Antebellum’s Need You Now rises one rung to No. 9 with 28,000 copies sold. Enrique Iglesias’ Euphoria is the chart’s second-highest debut at No. 10, He sold 27,000 copies.
Did you buy any of the albums released this week? Let us know.
(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)
More from EW.com’s Music Mix:
Glee star Amber Riley and Colbie Caillat sing at the All-Star Game
‘DJ Hero 2′: Check out the exclusive list of artists here!
Picture of Lady Gaga at John Lennon’s piano lands on Twitter; Beatles fans freak out
Usher puts his lady to bed in ‘There Goes My Baby’ video: Watch here
Robbie Williams to reunite with Take That, film ‘Brokeback Mountain’-themed comeback video
Big Boi’s Sir Lucious Leftfoot: The Son of Chico Dusty is coming! Really. He swears. The latest release target for the OutKast spitter’s long-delayed solo debut is July 6, 2010. One reason to believe this date over all the other ones we’ve heard through the years is that the promotional gears at Big Boi’s new label, Def Jam, have begun visibly grinding. For instance, “Shutterbugg,” the superb new single that marked Big Boi’s debut as a Def Jam artist early last month, now has a video.
The clip boasts appropriately nutty imagery to go with the song’s wild sound. There are dancers in neon-accented jumpsuits. There’s a band of Crank Yankers-esque puppets, including one felt fella on vocoder. There’s a woman holding Big Boi’s disembodied head in the crook of her arm as if he were a hip-hop Ichabod Crane. There’s also a wall of red plastic cups accompanied by four kegs, which I’m guessing might contain something stronger than mere beer, considering all the other trippy sights in this video. Absinthe, perhaps?
Check out the “Shutterbugg” video after the jump (clip via One Thirty BPM). How do you like it? Looking forward to Sir Lucious Leftfoot?
A post recently appeared in this space under the headline “Big Boi plays SXSW. Now, where’s that album?” Just kidding — I published that piece over a year ago, after the OutKast star promised last year’s SXSW attendees that his solo debut, Sir Luscious Left Foot, would be in their hands by “June or July.” Needless to say, June and July 2009 came and went with no Big Boi album.
Things have been looking up for Big Boi lately, though. He officially decamped from his and OutKast’s longtime label home at LaFace/Jive and signed with Def Jam. And last night, he premiered a new single from the still-upcoming Sir Luscious Left Foot called “Shutterbugg.” It’s fantastic. Andre 3000 reportedly picked this as his partner’s next solo single, and it shows: Like so much of their best work together over the years, “Shutterbugg” knows no fixed genre. The beat has a left-field party vibe that would have fit comfortably on OutKast’s classic Stankonia, all liquid synth lines and elastic guitars. Singers sing, with and without vocoders, over and around Big Boi’s rhymes. Oh, those rhymes. His flow and wit haven’t aged a day since Speakerboxxx. Are there still people who doubt that Big Boi is on the same level of lyrical talent as the great Andre? There shouldn’t be.
Then again, this is hardly the first awesome taste Big Boi has given us of Sir Luscious Left Foot. If “Shine Blockas” and “Royal Flush” didn’t get him out of release-date purgatory, will “Shutterbugg” be any different? Let’s hope so. I haven’t seen a solid new date for the project yet, but I’ve reached out to his new label to see if one exists. In the meantime, give “Shutterbugg” a listen after the jump (NSFW language) and let us know how much you’re looking forward to Big Boi’s album.
What’s not to like about “Tightrope,” the brand-new single from Diddy/OutKast protegée Janelle Monae? It’s a wildly catchy future-funk workout, led by a jumpy walking bassline and featuring a characteristically suave guest verse from OutKast’s Big Boi. Monae has always had style and out-there ambition to spare, but “Tightrope” works better as an undeniable pop blast than anything I’ve heard from her to date. My only complaint is that it’s not a cover of Yeasayer’s tune of the same name — surely Monae could work wonders with that song, right? — but I suppose that’s really neither here nor there.
Head over to Janelle Monae’s official site for a free stream of her “Tightrope,” then let us know if this has you anticipating her full-length debut, May 18′s The ArchAndroid, as much as we are.
(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)
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Tom DeLonge on Angels & Airwaves’ free LOVE, the blink-182 reunion, and more
Dixie Chicks sisters announce details of new project, Court Yard Hounds
Photo credit: Jiro Schneider
“The album is done,” Big Boi told the assembled masses at the Austin Music Hall shortly after 1 a.m. this morning. It was a theme the OutKast kingpin would return to repeatedly throughout his show. Maybe he thought we needed reassuring, or maybe he wanted to reassure himself. His solo debut, Sir Luscious Left Foot, has been pushed back too many times to count. Big Boi told the crowd that Sir Luscious Left Foot will arrive in “June or July” last night, but a rep for his label tells me that the album has no confirmed release date. At this point, it’s reasonable to start wondering whether it will ever really come out, whether it’s done or not.
Despite his frequent references to newer material, Big Boi’s actual set last night leaned heavily on selections from OutKast’s well-stocked cabinet of wildly innovative hits. “Rosa Parks,” “ATLiens,” “Skew it on the Bar-B,” “So Fresh, So Clean,” and “Elevators (Me & You)” haven’t aged a day in over a decade. The show’s peak came when Big Boi laced into the mighty “B.O.B.”, inspiring protegee Janelle Monae to dash out on stage and dance a manic two-step shuffle to that diabolical beat.
Was it all just a nostalgia trip? Tough to call when those ‘Kast cuts are still light-years ahead of anything in present-day rap. Sure, it would have been even nicer to see Big Boi performing them along with OutKast partner Andre 3000, whom he acknowledged in a perfunctory shout-out toward the end of his set. But seeing him perform those songs with most of his old vigor, the question isn’t really whether Big Boi has another solid album in him. It’s how much longer we can afford to wait for it.
