Outkast Case Study

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There is one key moment that details how OutKast challenged inflexible notions of geographic authenticity in Hip Hop away from its New York centric roots. In 1995, OutKast won New Artist of the Year at the Second Annual Source Awards, while one of the biggest rap wars, based on geographical authenticity, was brewing at the award show. The East Coast vs. West Coast coastal war stemmed from the rise of California over New York as many West Coast rappers, including N.W.A. and Snoop Doggy Dogg, dominated rap music. West Coast rappers began reshaping Hip Hop with influences from their home-place including clothing (flannel shirts, Dickie pants), slang (hella, cuz), dance moves (locking), and images of California, that took

They read the name with disappointment as they looked down and rolled their eyes. Further, when OutKast was declared the winner, they were met with boos and negative chants as they approached the stage to collect their award. The hostile reaction that they received stemmed from the audience’s rejection of OutKast as authentic enough to receive such an award. Since they were not a part of either coast, they were automatically considered outsiders. Additionally, the two legitimate coasts lost the coveted award to geographical outsiders, making tensions escalate even further. This slight against both the West and East Coasts was particularly hard to swallow because The Source Magazine, which hosted the award show, was considered the Hip Hop bible and the de facto voice for determining Hip Hop legitimacy and worthiness. Also, the award show was held at Madison Square Garden in New York, making the loss even harder for East Coasters because they were defeated on their turf. Still, it was in this moment that OutKast, specifically Andre, challenged the notions of geographic authenticity, signaling the arrival of a new legitimate coast when he stated,

“But it’s like this, though… I’m tired of folks—you know what I’m saying’—closed minded folks. It’s like we got a demo tape and don’t nobody

Considering the troubled history of the South and its connection to the American Civil War, particularly for black people, his statement conjures up another form of authenticity; if black bodies were authentic enough to be viewed as American in the South. Further, when he reveals that they were the first to have to break through the North also creates an ironic juxtaposition; fighting for legitimacy as a rapper from the South trying to break into the North, which historically was a space where blacks sought freedom. This helps to understand how difficult it was for any artist from the South to prove that they were in fact authentic because even though New York is where blacks found refuge previously, it was the same space that was now being used as a measuring tool to delegitimize black post-civil rights babies. As black southerners, Big Boi illustrates a time when black people collectively were not authentic enough along with how that same ideology was now used by black people against Hip Hop generationers. Further, he details how much this experience upset him and Andre and how they used it as a catalyst to prove that they were in fact authentic representations of Hip Hop as