The 2025 performer inductee made up of André 3000 and Big Boi is Outkast.
Outkast—stylized by the group as OutKast—formed in Atlanta in 1992 when André 3000, born André Benjamin, and Big Boi, born Antwan Patton, met as students. Their partnership helped put Southern hip-hop at the center of popular music while expanding the genre’s palette with funk, soul, jazz, psychedelic rock, electronic textures, and ambitious storytelling.
The duo broke through with “Player’s Ball” and developed its reputation through albums such as Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, ATLiens, Aquemini, and Stankonia. Their 2003 double album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below produced major hits including “The Way You Move” and “Hey Ya!” and won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, a rare achievement for a hip-hop act.
Outkast was inducted in the Rock Hall’s 2025 Performer category. The wording matters because the class also included acts receiving other honors, such as Musical Influence or Musical Excellence awards. Common wrong answers such as Run-DMC are also Hall inductees, but they are a separate pioneering hip-hop group.