“Misfit Yesterday, Icon Today” Andre 3000 is the stage name of African American Hip Hop songwriter, Andre Benjamin who debuted in the 90s and was a member of Oukast. In addition to being raised in a household in a single mother, he was born at the end of the Vietnam War and grew up around the streets of Atlanta. Andre is a vegan, animal rights activist, has his own clothing line, is an actor and was an advocate and supporter of the 2008 election of President Barrack Obama. He was nicknamed, “Ice Cold” for his outlandish sense of fashion with the gangs and is almost always seen wearing a symbolic bow tie and hat in any outfit with goofiness. Andre 3000 is an only child and has been living the life of a public performer since he was in high …show more content…
The song “Hey Yeah” sounds like it is just an attention grabber at a party but it actually talks about this time of his life, how easily relationships can fail, and the apathy by anyone not going through it. The lyrics state sometimes you don’t always get along but since you are the only person you can control, you should keep dancing even when things are out of your hands. When people started taking the time to stay in their seats and listen to the song’s words, they finally starting understood that Outkast was not just some ordinary soul group or another plain and simplistic band about mainstream gangster life and luxury. Even the title, Outkast which can be defined as a synonym for “misfit” itself hints their outstanding uniqueness and past rebellious streaks. Few of their fans know this but it is that same rebelliousness that made the once Amateur Andre 3000 famous. “Hey Yeah” just like Outkast has more to it than meets the eye because it could have been a potentially depressing song but it was disguised by a smile invoking chorus and dressed with a good beat to create a great mood. This masked the artists intentions to tell a story, in order to sell CDs however it still let him legitimately express himself in his own words. Outkast still sees itself as pariah not because they are literally misunderstood but due to the fact their verses are mistaken and no one pays attention to what they are really talking about. Perhaps no one knowing who they are is not the reason they consider themselves Outkasts, maybe Andre 3000 and Big Boi are misfits because of a more internal outlining cause. Few of us have felt their experiences to know what it’s like being in their shoes, resisting crime and juggling the adversity of fame to exercise full compassion,