An OutKast Reader: Essays on Race, Gender, and the Postmodern South

Bradley (African diaspora studies and English, Kennesaw State Univ., GA; Chronicling Stankonia: The Rise of the Hip Hop South) has compiled 16 academic essays about Andre “3000” Benjamin and Atwan “Big Boi” Patton, who together are the immensely successful hip-hop duo OutKast. Bradley’s introduction and the book’s first essay clearly demonstrate that the hip-hoppers overtly but critically embraced their Atlanta heritage and typified the emergence of the contemporary Black South. The six other contributions in the first section discuss the possible impact of the tragic murders of Black children between 1979 and 1981; the symbolism and importance of luxury automobiles for OutKast and for members of the Black working class; the duo’s enlightened perceptions of gender compared to more misogynistic gangsta rap; and the influence of Black gospel and funksters Parliament-Funkadelic. In the second section, four contributions convincingly demonstrate OutKast’s place in Afrofuturism, especially in the albums ATLiens (1996) and Stankonia (2000). A final, unfocused section data-mines the duo’s lyrics and analyzes images in their music videos and their 2006 feature film Idlewild.