NEW Big Boi Interview (August 12th, 2008 )

[Elano]

HipHopDX: Why did it take you so long to push out your own solo album?
Big Boi: The reason it took so long is because we’ve been doing the OutKast records and those take time. I’ve actually been working on this record right now for – I started getting the beats for it like four years ago – and actually started recording 19 months ago. I started recording on Martin Luther King’s birthday last year. It takes time. It’s not like fast food. It takes a minute to create that new, new fresh shit.

DX: What’s going to be your first single when you push it out?
BB: The first single is a song called “Something’s Gotta Give” featuring Mary J Blige. It’s definitely for the people. The album is filled with all types of songs; from club bangers to songs that deal with relationships and everything else but if you know anything about me and what I stand for, I’m going to give the people something to think about too at the same time. Now, being that we got the biggest election of our lifetime coming up, I just thought it was only appropriate to give the people something that’s kind of catered to that.

DX: When you guys first came out, you guys said that the South had something to say. Do you think that what’s coming out of the south right now is kind of repetitive?
BB: You can’t just clump it all together. I mean I don’t think it’s repetitive; you got different artists that do different things. Yes, there’s a lot of dance music that goes on in Atlanta but you also got artists like Lil Wayne who came out and sold a million fucking records the first week. You can’t clump it all together. People do different things, and Hip Hop started in the parks of New York with Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash. And what were they doing was dancing like a ma’fucka in their videos. They were breakdancing, the whole entire yard! Don’t hate on the south, man, ‘cause they found their nature and what they like to do down there! I mean if you don’t like it, don’t deal with it. I know some Hip Hop purists are like, “Oh this is a disgrace to Hip Hop,” but who are they to judge? That’s the shit that be killing me.

DX: You and The Dungeon Family all stand up for the entire A; does it upset you to see the in-fighting about who’s from Bankhead or who’s not from Bankhead; that type of little bullshit?
BB: To me, the only thing about the beef shit is like, you know, niggas from the south don’t really participate in that shit. What’s going on now is some new shit niggas started doing. With the Internet going on and people being able to just put up little videos talking about this person, it’s like going for television ratings. I guess certain artists might use it as a vehicle to get more exposure.

DX: It kind of seems that’s what is going on with this Rick Ross situation. I mean even if Trick had beef with Rick Ross, he could’ve said, “Well yeah, I did it,” or throw him under the bus or whatever. I guess for the sake of business and how Florida is doing right now, he kind of just shied away from all of that. Do you think the same thing should’ve happened between Shawty Lo and T.I.?
BB: I don’t know what’s going on between Rick Ross and Trick Daddy right now or Shawty Lo and T.I.; I mean that’s their business. I know one thing, I’m about this music and when I’m on these interviews I don’t comment on these things. To me, that’s feminine and I don’t get with that type of shit.

DX: You and Dre have redefined style with your clothes and the hair, with “So Fresh, So Clean” being one of your biggest hits coming out. How do you feel about the new trend of dressing different? Does it coincide with the music in any way?
BB: It depends on the artist man, like some artists… well a lot of artists have stylists and that’s why many artists have that bandanna and shit around their neck. You have a lot of artists that look alike. Of course, me and Dre, we’ve never had stylists. We styled ourselves from the beginning. What our thing was, we always wanted to look like the music and portray a certain part of the music from the way we dress. As far as everybody else, you never know… A lot of labels out here have a stylist and they’re not picking out their own clothes and wouldn’t even know about what they’re putting on.

DX: For the fans who are coming around or people who may not be hardcore OutKast fans, were does the name Sir Luscious Left Foot come from?
BB: Actually, we definitely consider ourselves hip-hop royalties, so [Sir] Luscious Left Foot is basically the “Knight in Rhyming Armor.” I started out 15, 16 years old and I went from a boy to a man now so Luscious is the most serious of my mind and that’s what I’m going to run with right now. And Left Foot being that we always put our best foot forward. It’s just a change. I’ve grown up and I’m still a deadly emcee, a lyrical assassin – whoever wants some will get some.

DX: That brings me to the MTV Hottest MC's list… Is this album going to be your ‘Lupe Fiasco’…? He wasn’t on there for the first go ‘round, but then homie dropped The Cool and then they put him on. How do you feel about lists?
BB: The whole thing about lists and the whole nine yards with us is like, man, we don’t give a fuck about no lists. We got history! We’ve been proven, tested and guaranteed. We have a career that’s outlasted most people in the game right now. We’ve sold over 50 million records worldwide, so to me, a list is a list. Some people put a list together, they do that because that’s their thing, but to us it’s not about who’s the best and who’s this. Everybody got an opinion and everybody got an asshole, so they can take that list and shove it up their ass. I don’t give a shit about no list.

DX: I guess when you guys released the double set album, Speakerboxx/The Love Below, people were thinking that this was it for OutKast; that you guys were fighting, tired of each other and were going to call it quits. Will there ever be a day where you say you know the rap shit was cool, but just want to move on to your own individual businesses full-time?
BB: Not right now, not that I can see. They’ve been saying we were breaking up since before Speakerboxx/Love Below . We put out five albums – five records since then and I think the whole breaking up thing ain’t nothing but a little conversation piece people put together. The only thing we can do and the only thing we can say is that we’ve grown. I’ve been a friend, best friend and brother to Dre since teenagers. I’ve slept on his bedroom floor throughout my high school years. We were already brothers before this music thing came and now that people don’t see us together as much, they think a certain way. But you know people get a little bit older and there are certain things they’d like to pursue, you know, like movies, starting your own clothing line, having your own business or just doing different things. We’re not joined at the hip, if you don’t see us together, you just don’t see us together. It’s OutKast till we die, buddy, we got the Big Boi album coming out then we got the Dre album coming out. And then we putting an OutKast album out after that. People could keep saying we breaking up, it just brings press and it’s good.

DX: You recently had your listening party in New York – what did you hope the people expected and what do you want the fans to get ready for?
BB: I’m just played the album for them and they can take what they want to take from it. The process has been nothing more different than working on Stankonia . It’s just all Big Boi. It was really like Speakerboxx was the solo album, my first solo album, but this is the first one that’s going to be released by itself. You’re gonna get me. It’s Big Boi to the extreme, the way I feel; how I like my music and different instrumentation, the Funk, the Blues, Reggae, the whole nine yards. I’m going to give you all of that. Expect the unexpected ‘cause that’s what I always give.

DX: Anything else coming out of the Dungeon Family that people should be taking a look at?
BB: Most definitely, you got that Goodie Mob album coming out soon! Yeah, the reunion is in effect. You also got my artist, Janelle Monae; me and Puffy did a deal and he came through and wanted to work with her, so we did a deal at Universal.

DX: You guys always had a political voice in most of your songs. Do you want people to be more aware of what’s going on in the world? Ludacris just did a song called “Politics” and he’s about to start catching a lot of flack from the press and Bill O’Reily for calling Hillary Clinton a bitch. Could you share your opinions about politics?
BB: I don’t know if you’ve heard the song yet, HipHopDX was one of the first sites to play it… But that’s why I put that out as my first song because it’s dealing a lot with politics and the social and economic situations that are going on in the world right now. We did a behind-the-scenes look at it on [BET’s] Access Granted and if you look at the video, you’ll get an idea of my whole take on the whole political effort that’s happening right now. My whole point to make is that it’s really about freedom of speech, it’s a free country, you can say what you want to say; not saying you could disrespect people but it is a free country and it’s all a form of expression. Once they see the video, they’re gonna know what I’m talking about.

DX: “Royal Flush” was the song that put everybody on their ears about it. Since HipHopDX are Outkast fans for life, I had to ask – do you know how to play poker?
BB: Nah I’m a Spades player.

DX: Well, if you had to play a Spades game with three other individuals who you highly respect, who would they be?
BB: Definitely 3000, Luda and I’d say T.I. .

DX: Out of all those, who would win?
BB: Me! [Laughs]

DX: People have been really trying to split you guys up, trying to say “Dre is this…” and “Big Boi is that…” but for everybody who knows you two and for how long you’ve been friends – what is the impact you want to get across with this album Sir Luscious Left Foot?
BB: Just the fact that great music is still here. If the fans like any OutKast album from the first to Idlewild then you’re going to love this ma’fucka right here. And that’s what people have been saying and that’s what they’ve been liking, so I stand by it. The sound is what people love and lyrically it’s devastating. It’s coming in October and I’m gonna give it to you, on the real! I’m definitely proud of it! It’s been 19 months so.

[Lunatic]

cant wait 4 da cd

[TheWestCoast]

big boi is cooler den da otha side of the pillow
ya i used a banks line