This rap duo comprises Dre (b. Andre Benjamin, 27 May 1975, Georgia, USA) and Big Boi (b. Antoine Patton, 1 February 1975, Savannah, Georgia, USA), who first met while studying at Atlanta's Tri-City high school. The duo signed a contract with L.A. And Babyface's LaFace imprint prior to graduation, and immediately broke big with "Player's Ball", produced by TLC backroom gang Organized Noise. The track, which topped the Billboard rap chart for over six weeks in 1994, featured on the duo's platinum selling debut, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik. Comprising tales of the streets of their local East Point and Decateur neighbourhoods, the album helped establish the south as a new force in hip-hop. "Elevators (Me & You)" became a major rap chart success in July 1996 and broke into the US Top 20, while the attendant ATLiens debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200 album chart. The musically diverse and mystically inclined Aquemini repeated the success of its predecessor, debuting at US number 2 in October 1998.

In a nod to George Clinton's work with Funkadelic and Parliament, the duo's first album of the new millennium, Stankonia, purveyed a mindbending fusion of funk and hip-hop soundtracking a wickedly satirical examination of the state of the constitution. This superb album also featured the US chart-topping single "Ms. Jackson". The success of the album confirmed Outkast as a leading creative and commercial force on the international music scene. The follow-up comprised a two-disc package containing a solo album each from Dre and Boi. Despite this rather strained conceit, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below debuted at number 1 in the Billboard charts in October 2003.