big boi ArchivesAmbrosia For Heads

The 25 Most Important Rap Albums Of Hip-Hop’s First 50 Years

Over the years, countless music lists have laid out the "Greatest" of a particular category–album, artist, song, etc. These lists often cite vague criteria and then lay out what they claim to be objective rankings. But, they are subjective. At Ambrosia For Heads, we have generally provided opportunities for the people... Read more

August 17, 2023 Exclusive, Food for Thought, Hip-Hop's 50th Anniversary

Hip-Hop Legends From The Last 50 Years Gave The Most Iconic Tribute Ever

Last night (February 5), the Grammy Awards celebrated Hip Hop's upcoming 50th birthday. LL Cool J, one of the culture's first superstars, introduced the special concert, in which he also performed. During the presentation, LL pointed to August 11, 1973, and the Bronx back-to-school jam at a rec center, made... Read more

February 6, 2023 Video

The Top 20 Rap Albums Of All-Time As Determined By Millions Of Fans

Earlier this month, the Hip-Hop community reacted to the latest high-profile lists ranking the greatest Rap albums of all time. Rolling Stone magazine and a team of journalists and writers ranked 200 Hip-Hop LPs, prompting plenty of reaction. It was not the first list of this kind, and it certainly will not... Read more

June 21, 2022 Video

Here Are Some Reasons Why 2000 May Be Hip-Hop’s Greatest Year

At Ambrosia For Heads, we celebrate Hip-Hop throughout the ages. Earlier this year, our What's The Headline podcast launched a series examining the calendar years that made the music and culture reach its full potential. After taking a loving look back at 1984, the next episode drops in on Y2K.... Read more

April 6, 2021 Video

Big Boi, Sleepy Brown & CeeLo Green Have A Dungeon Family Reunion With Bad Intentions

Shortly following his halftime performance at 2019's Super Bowl LIII, Big Boi did a led tour with members of the Dungeon Family in Goodie Mob, Sleepy Brown, Organized Noize, and KP The Great. While on the road, Sleepy Brown and Big Boi's rejuvenating reunion invigorated the two longtime friends to... Read more

September 14, 2019 Video

A 300+ Song Mix Gives The Definitive History Of Southern Hip-Hop (Audio)

For more than 30 years, Rap music from the South has stood out. Many cities have their own sound, slang, and influences. During the 1980s and 1990s, many Southern Hip-Hop artists had to assert that their communities "had something to say" in the Rap music conversation. However, by the late... Read more

April 17, 2019 Audio, Mixes

Big Boi Announces Dungeon Family Tour With Goodie Mob & Organized Noize

Big Boi recently purchased the home that included The Dungeon Studio. In the basement of Rico Wade's family's house back in the early 1990s, OutKast, Goodie Mob, and other artists recorded some of their earliest music. Wade's Organized Noize, with Sleepy Brown and Ray Murray, was at the helm, mentoring... Read more

March 4, 2019 Fresh

Big Boi Buys The Dungeon Studio That Birthed Early OutKast Albums

D&D, Can-Am, Chung King. Hip-Hop has its fair share of famous recording studios. In Atlanta, few labs rival the notoriety of The Dungeon. This grimy, no-frills lair in Rico Wade's mother's basement in Lakewood Heights section of East Atlanta, Georgia would be a meeting place and breeding ground for some... Read more

January 16, 2019 News

How OutKast Begrudgingly Made One Of The Best Christmas Rap Records Of All-Time

Twenty-five years ago this season, OutKast released their first single, "Player's Ball." Big Boi and André 3000 had appeared on TLC's remix to "What About Your Friends" as teenagers in 1992. Like that opportunity, "Player's Ball" was birthed out of LaFace Records trying to cross-promote its fledgling Rap duo. For... Read more

December 20, 2018 Do Remember

Big Boi’s Tiny Desk Performance Is So Fresh & So Clean (Video)

From the nearly flawless catalog he put together as half of OutKast to his celebrated solo catalog, Big Boi is a 25-year-legend in Hip-Hop. NPR released their latest Tiny Desk concert series episode, and it includes Big Boi and his Dungeon Family associate Sleepy Brown. The Organized Noize producer/singer performs... Read more

October 9, 2018 Video

OutKast’s Aquemini Turns 20. This 1998 Interview Shows They Saw The Future (Video)

OutKast has one of the most consistent catalogs in all of music. Their first four albums, in particular, are revered as some of the best Rap music released between 1994 and Y2K. However, during that legendary run, André 3000 and Big Boi turned on the turbo jets 20 years ago... Read more

September 28, 2018 Do Remember

Finding The GOAT Group: OutKast vs. Wu-Tang Clan. Who Is Better?

“Finding the GOAT Group,” the fourth installment of Ambrosia For Heads’ annual competition series features Hip-Hop’s greatest collectives vying for the #1 spot. Sixty-two groups have been pre-selected by a panel of experts, and one slot will be reserved for a wild-card entry (which has been determined), including the possibility... Read more

September 21, 2018 Best Hip-Hop Group, Finding the GOAT

Which One Of These Hip-Hop Groups Will Be Named The Best Of All-Time?

“Finding the GOAT Group,” the fourth installment of Ambrosia For Heads’ annual competition series features Hip-Hop’s greatest collectives vying for the #1 spot. Sixty-two groups were pre-selected by a panel of experts, and one slot was reserved for a wild-card entry, including the possibility for write-in candidates, to ensure no... Read more

September 16, 2018 Best Hip-Hop Group, Finding the GOAT

Finding The GOAT Group: OutKast vs. Gang Starr. Who Is Better?

“Finding the GOAT Group,” the fourth installment of Ambrosia For Heads’ annual competition series features Hip-Hop’s greatest collectives vying for the #1 spot. Sixty-two groups have been pre-selected by a panel of experts, and one slot will be reserved for a wild-card entry (which has been determined), including the possibility... Read more

September 14, 2018 Best Hip-Hop Group, Finding the GOAT

Finding The GOAT Group: OutKast vs. Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. Who Is Better?

“Finding the GOAT Group,” the fourth installment of Ambrosia For Heads’ annual competition series features Hip-Hop’s greatest collectives vying for the #1 spot. Sixty-two groups have been pre-selected by a panel of experts, and one slot will be reserved for a wild-card entry (which has been determined), including the possibility for... Read more

August 27, 2018 Best Hip-Hop Group, Finding the GOAT

Finding The GOAT Group: OutKast vs. Migos. Who Is Better?

“Finding the GOAT Group,” the fourth installment of Ambrosia For Heads’ annual competition series features Hip-Hop’s greatest collectives vying for the #1 spot. Sixty-two groups have been pre-selected by a panel of experts, and one slot will be reserved for a wild-card entry (which has been determined), including the possibility... Read more

July 18, 2018 Best Hip-Hop Group, Finding the GOAT

DJ Paul Gives The Secret History To UGK & OutKast’s “Int’l Players Anthem”(Video)

"Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)" is one of the biggest Hip-Hop collaborations of the 2000s, and contends as one of the greatest Rap mergers of all-time. Featuring OutKast, UGK's record and thematic video became a jet-pack for Bun B and Pimp C's long-awaited fifth (and eponymous) album to reach... Read more

June 27, 2018 Throwback, Video

Finding The GOAT Group: OutKast vs. 8Ball & MJG. Who Is Better?

“Finding the GOAT Group,” the fourth installment of Ambrosia For Heads’s annual battle series features Hip-Hop’s greatest collectives vying for the #1 spot. Sixty-two groups have been pre-selected by a panel of experts, and one slot will be reserved for a wild-card entry, including the possibility for write-in candidates, to... Read more

April 30, 2018 Best Hip-Hop Group, Finding the GOAT

A New Video Shows The Music OutKast Had In The Caddy To Make A Classic Album

Yesterday (April 26) marked the 24th anniversary of OutKast's debut album Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik. Looking back, the LP's influence stretches wide, especially for southern Hip-Hop. The Funk-laden, groovy tunes André 3000, Big Boi, and producers/musicians Organized Noize brought to the culture set the standard for everything that wasn't New York or West... Read more

April 27, 2018 Throwback, Video

J. Period’s New Mix Blends Verses From OutKast With The Sounds Of Wakanda (Audio)

J. Period has made some of the best, most conceptual, and musically-moving mixtapes of the last 15 years. That gift has led the New York City-based California native to work up close and personal with Black Thought, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Nas, Q-Tip, and others. Having now earned a #1 album... Read more

April 19, 2018 Audio, Mixes

Big Boi Provides Black Panther Screenings For Hospice Patients & Families (Video)

Big Boi appears to be deeply inspired by the Black Panther film. The OutKast co-founder wanted some viewers who may not be otherwise able to see the Marvel film to experience its power and glory. Yesterday (February 23), Daddy Fat Sax and his Celebrity Trailers company bought out an Atlanta,... Read more

February 24, 2018 News, TV/Film, Video

Big K.R.I.T. Rates The Bars & Hands Pimp C The Lowest Score In The Batch (Video)

Big K.R.I.T. is the latest rapper in the hot seat for "Rate The Bars." More than most, Krizzle seems to be a generous rater (handing out almost exclusively 4's and 5's). Heads have long found this artist to be generous with his music, whether giving away acclaimed mixtapes and making... Read more

February 12, 2018 Video

All Signs Say Eminem’s New Album Is Less Than 3 Weeks Away (Video)

Hip-Hop news and culture move fast, and it’s easy to miss significant developments. Every week, Ambrosia For Heads takes a look back at the LAST 7 days. This video series, hosted by Justin “The Company Man” Hunte examines the current issues with a colorful rundown of the what, where, and why. While the LAST... Read more

October 31, 2017 Exclusive, Last 7, Video

Andre 3000 Said Big Boi Was The Best In OutKast. He’s Really 1 Of The Best In The South (Video)

Big Boi’s latest single from his Boomiverse album (Epic Records) is just as the title has it: a southern affair. Bringing together two of Atlanta’s favorite sons, Gucci Mane alongside Big Boi and featuring a prominent sample from the Underground King from the Lone Star state, Pimp C. Big Boi’s... Read more

October 31, 2017 Video

Andre 3000 Explains Why Big Boi Is The Best Rapper In OutKast

OutKast's André 3000 is in a season of transformation. The Georgia—born MC, producer, actor, and fashion designer now calls New York City his home. He's leading a line with Tretorn and breaking some of his silence surrounding beats, rhymes, and life. Following his summer conversation with Complex, 3 Stacks spent... Read more

October 30, 2017 Fresh

Big Boi Is Giving A 5-Year Old Victim Of Gun Violence A Life-Changing Gift (Video)

Outside of his career as a prodigious solo rapper and one-half of the incomparable Outkast, Atlanta, Georgia's Big Boi has been involved in the professional breeding of dogs for many years. Focusing primarily on American Bully breeds, the man born Andre Patton is the owner of Pitfall Kennels where he... Read more

August 11, 2017 Lifestyle

Andre 3000 Thinks He’s Gotten Too Old To Rap. He’s Wrong.

It has been more than a decade since Andre 3000 released any album. The Outkast co-founder has picked his spots since 2006's Idlewild and used scarce verses to freshen his discography. From UGK to Frank Ocean, DJ Unk to Divine Council, 3 Stacks has made those appearances count. However, at... Read more

August 1, 2017 News

Big Boi Explains Just How Real The OutKast & A Tribe Called Quest Joint Album Was (Video)

Between 2007 and early 2016, two of the most exciting Hip-Hop acts on Epic Records were seemingly inactive. Through a series of label moves, restructuring, and dissolving imprints, Outkast and A Tribe Called Quest were label-mates. LaFace/Arista rolled into Jive, which restructured into Epic. Both groups had fans and media... Read more

June 26, 2017 Video

Run The Jewels Run An Epic Heist With Big Boi & Danger Mouse (Video)

Naming themselves after an LL Cool J-inspired term for committing robbery, Run The Jewels do just that in a the new video for Danger Mouse's latest single, which also features Big Boi. Together, they join forces to commit a complex heist, complete with an exciting, death-defying car chase through the... Read more

June 22, 2017 Video

Big Boi Shows His Boomiverse Is Filled With Space Aged Funk (Audio)

For the last 25 years, Big Boi has been one of Hip-Hop's leading proponents of Funk music. Multiple times, the Outkast co-founder has even worked with "Dr. Funkenstein" himself, Parliament-Funkadelic's George Clinton. Since 2010, stepping into his solo catalog, Daddy Fat Sax struck a hit with some futuristic funking around... Read more

June 13, 2017 Audio

Outkast & UGK Redefined Southern Rap. A New Song Shows Their Work Isn’t Done (Audio)

In the early 1990s, both OutKast and UGK made some incredible records. From Atlanta, Georgia and Port Arthur, Texas, these two duos used Funk, Blues, Rock & Roll to create their brand of Hip-Hop colorful, unpredictable, and highly authentic. Both acts wanted the rest of the Rap map to know... Read more

June 9, 2017 Audio

Big Boi, Killer Mike & Jeezy Are 2017 Atliens On “Kill Jill” (Video)

Big Boi's Boomiverse arrives later this month, and with it come some formidable collabs. On "Kill Jill," the second single from the Outkast MC's first solo LP since 2012's Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors, Killer Mike and Jeezy join forces with Daddy Fat Sax for a Quentin Tarantino-inspired record starring... Read more

June 2, 2017 Video

Big Boi, Run The Jewels & Danger Mouse Dare Competition To Keep Up (Audio)

Since 2013's "Banana Clipper," Run The Jewels' Killer Mike has cemented the fact that even with his latest brand of music, mentor Big Boi fits into the fold nicely. On single, "Kill Jill," Daddy Fat Sax welcomes Mike Bigga to his lates party-starter. The Dungeon Family vibe is alive and well,... Read more

May 18, 2017 Audio

Big Boi, CeeLo & Organized Noize Unite For A Dungeon Family Reunion (Audio)

UPDATE: The official music video for "We The Ones": ORIGINAL MAY 6 POST: Last week, Hip-Hop celebrated Outkast and Organized Noize with the 23rd anniversary of Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik. That LaFace Records classic was a true collaboration between Andre 3000, Big Boi, and the production trio of Sleepy Brown, Ray Murray, as... Read more

May 6, 2017 Audio, Video

J. Period Releases A Mix Of Mashups & Classics Celebrating 23 Years Of OutKast (Audio)

Today (April 26), OutKast's debut album Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik turns 23 years old. The 1994 full length introduction of Andre 3000 and Big Boi was one for the ages. Deemed the "Best New Artists" at the following Source Awards, 'Kast raised the profile of Atlanta, Georgia's contributions to Hip-Hop simply by creating... Read more

April 26, 2017 Audio, Mixes

Big Boi Is Releasing A New Album. His Song With Killer Mike & Jeezy Is A Monster Start (Audio)

While Big Boi has stayed more active in music than his OutKast partner Andre 3000 since they split, it's been 5 years since Daddy Fat Sacks released a solo album. In 2015, he teamed with Phantogram for their joint LP, Big Grams, but that was very much a collaborative project in... Read more

April 20, 2017 Audio

Raekwon Discusses His New Album, Working With OutKast, His Wu-Tang Classics & More

For nearly 25 years, Raekwon has been an elite source of inventive Rap music. The Staten Island MC made his debut on the classic Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) by transmitting some of that album's most memorable lines and verses. Following, Rae' pivoted in a different direction with a cinematic... Read more

March 7, 2017 Food for Thought

OutKast Warned About The Dangers Of Phobia 20 Years Ago…They Were Right (Audio)

To follow up Poetic Justice, John Singleton’s 1993 romantic drama starring Tupac and Janet Jackson, the Boyz n the Hood director released his third movie two years later, in 1995. Higher Learning confronted issues like racism and sexual assault through the lens of students on a fabricated multicultural college campus.... Read more

November 17, 2016 Do Remember

Outkast, Goodie Mob & Killer Mike Prove Its Still Family In The Dungeon (Video)

Last night (September 10), Atlanta, Georgia played host to the One Musicfest at Lakewood Amphitheater. As announced leading up to the event, the concert included a Dungeon Family reunion including Outkast, Goodie Mob, Killer Mike, and others. From those three entities, only Khujo Goodie was not in attendance. However the... Read more

September 11, 2016 Video

20 Years Later, OutKast’s ATLiens Is A Masterpiece Of Space & Time

True to its extraterrestrial theme, OutKast's 1996 sophomore album ATLiens was of another world. Like the "Paid In Full" vocal sample proclaimed, André 3000 and Big Boi added "new color, new dimension, and new value" to the mid-'90s Hip-Hop ethos. Arguably, this came at a time when Hip-Hop's soul needed... Read more

August 25, 2016 Food for Thought

Big Boi & Killer Mike Are Working On A Joint EP

Big Boi and Killer Mike go back. Way back. The two met in the mid-90s, while Mike was at Morehouse and Big Boi was in the early stages of changing the face of Hip-Hop, as one half of OutKast. Big Boi took Mike under his wing, eventually having him record... Read more

August 22, 2016 Fresh

Outkast’s Aquemini Gets Broken Down to Expose the Art in Storytelling (Video)

In his ongoing web series Lyricology 101, Andre Gainer takes a highly detailed approach to analyzing not only the lyrics but also the form and function of some of Hip-Hop's greatest hits, both old and new. He's broken down everyone from Joey Bada$$ to Eminem bar for bar, and in... Read more

August 17, 2016 Video

Big Boi Shows How To Truly Rock Off The Top In An Unreleased 2004 Freestyle (Video)

The vast majority of freestyles are not off the top rhymes. Instead, they are typically previously unheard verses, many of which ultimately make their way to albums. This is an occurrence that has shown itself time and time again, as many revered freestyles from the 90s and beyond resurface years... Read more

July 21, 2016 Audio

Big Boi & Killer Mike Conjure Up Some Of That Dungeon Family Magic On “Born To Shine” (Video)

Late last year, Big Grams (Big Boi + Phantogram) released their self-titled debut EP. The major label hybrid featured two guests: Skrillex and Run The Jewels. One half of R.T.J. is Killer Mike, who 15 years ago, burst on the scene as one of the strongest branches of the Dungeon... Read more

March 28, 2016 Video

Q-Tip Opens Up His Archive Of Live A Tribe Called Quest Recordings To Celebrate Phife Dawg (Audio)

While Q-Tip did not appear on last night's edition of his Abstract Radio show on Beats 1, he dedicated the entire episode to his fallen A Tribe Called Quest brother, Phife Dawg, and celebrated him with a 2-hour mix of live and rare Tribe recordings, from Tip's personal archives. During... Read more

March 26, 2016 Audio

How Organized Noize Created The Atlanta Hip-Hop Sound With Outkast & Goodie Mob

In looking at Rap superstars, their producers are never far behind in recognition. Rick Rubin was the musical architect that would have a hand in the success of Run-D.M.C., LL Cool J, and Beastie Boys. Dr. Dre's "Midas Touch" with N.W.A., Snoop Dogg (and to a lesser extent) Tupac cleared... Read more

March 23, 2016 Food for Thought

There Are Only 8 Left. Which One Will You Name The Greatest Hip-Hop Album Of All-Time?

Last September, Ambrosia For Heads launched a debate among its readers seeking to answer one of Hip-Hop’s most hotly-contested questions: what is the greatest Rap Album Of All-Time? “Finding The GOAT Album” has considered more than 120 albums from the 80s, 90s and 2000s (40 in each), with options for... Read more

March 22, 2016 Finding the GOAT

Eric B. & Rakim’s Paid In Full vs. Outkast’s Aquemini. Which Is Better?

Last September, Ambrosia For Heads launched a debate among its readers seeking to answer one of Hip-Hop’s most hotly-contested questions: what is the greatest Rap Album Of All-Time? “Finding The GOAT Album” has considered more than 120 albums from the 80s, 90s and 2000s (40 in each), with options for... Read more

March 18, 2016 Finding the GOAT

Got DJ Skills? We Need You To Make A Finding The GOAT Sweet 16 Mix

Last September, Ambrosia For Heads launched a debate among its readers seeking to answer one of Hip-Hop’s most hotly-contested questions: what is the greatest Rap Album Of All-Time? “Finding The GOAT Album” has considered more than 120 albums from the 80s, 90s and 2000s (40 in each), with options for... Read more

March 16, 2016 Finding the GOAT

Here Is Your “Finding The GOAT Album” Sweet 16. The Bracket Just Got Real.

Yesterday (March 8) closed Round 3 of “Finding The GOAT Album.” You—the voter—definitively took 32 albums and divided them into a "Sweet 16." The last bracket took the Top 10 albums from the 1980s, the 1990s, and 2000s, respectively and included two user-generated Wild Card winners. In examining the Sweet... Read more

March 9, 2016 Finding the GOAT