In 2017, Andre 3000 sat with GQ and described the misconception most have of him, saying, вЂњWhatвЂ™s funny is this idea that people have of me as being straight-edge. Pointedly, both menвЂ™s fashion statements and personae refused to conform to fit into narrow boxes. In the video for their first single, вЂњPlayerвЂ™s Ball,вЂќ his вЂ™90s rapper uniform consists of an oversized baseball jersey, jeans, and a gray fur Kangol. Andre 3000 from the outset was more experimental with his style. Big Boi, exuding a cooler-than-life persona by rocking braid-outs or sleek perms, would pair his flamboyant hairstyles with what we would consider now a vintage sports jersey. and Public Enemy mostly wore correlating looks, but OutKast knew early on that they were the misfits of the industry. In the 1980s and early вЂ™90s, rap groups like Run-D.M.C. Outsiders didnвЂ™t know what to make of the group, considering they were two contradictory characters. Until recently, the band's style wouldnвЂ™t be widely dissected, and the eclectic pair would cover only Black-centric magazines and Rolling Stone in their prime. White fashion press was slow to cover OutKast. Jackson.вЂќ Their music was unlike anything heard in hip-hop before, but as with their first three albums, OutKastвЂ™s visual presentation challenged ideas of what a hip-hop performer might, or should, look like. The album catapulted to quadruple-platinum status with its smash singles, вЂњHey Ya!вЂќ and вЂњMs. In 1995, the group was booed when they won Best New Rap Group at the Source Awards, an act that unleashed Andre 3000вЂ™s famous rejoinder, вЂњThe South got something to say.вЂќ It was a mission statement, a call for action, and a cultural reset-a callout that reverberates in hip-hop culture to this day.ДЇive years after making that iconic statement, OutKast released Stankonia, an authoritative body of work, crafted to introduce their idiosyncratic style to the larger mainstream. ItвЂ™s difficult to fathom today, but OutKastвЂ™s bold, imaginative style wasnвЂ™t always championed by mainstream hip-hop. Twenty-eight years prior, the spot even served as one of the birth places of OutKast, speaking to one of their core artistic obsessions: what it feels like to be young, Black, brilliant, and from the South. And the allure hasnвЂ™t changed for decades. Today, hundreds of vloggers film inside the mall, and stars like Lil Baby and Drake casually walk its halls. Among creatives who heavily consume social media, Lenox serves also as a hub for the вЂњcoolвЂќ kids. There are very few spaces where being Black and spending an excessive amount of money can be expected however, Lenox allows that comfortability. Yet, when entering Lenox, there is a feeling of community. The mall hosts brands like David Yurman, Cartier, Burberry, and Fendi, all fashion houses that have seemingly ignored the Black shopper. Located in Buckhead, Atlanta, suburbs that are home to some of the cityвЂ™s wealthiest, Lenox Square is where Black customers experience a euphoric atmosphere of luxury shopping-in stark contrast to how luxury stores treat Black patrons in predominantly white areas. But before the group would go on to win six Grammys, score three number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100, and become one of the most critically acclaimed rap groups, the two would meet in 1992 at an intermediate connector in Atlanta, an abstract wonder in the South: the Lenox Square Mall. In their three previous albums, the duo were unapologetically redefining the Black male consciousness, with meditations on loss, imagination, love, the Atlanta child murders, and a longing for recognition. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Stankonia, the groupвЂ™s breakout fourth studio album that cemented OutKastвЂ™s legendary mark on the music industry. ItвЂ™s also where Andre вЂњ3000вЂќ Benjamin and Antwan вЂњBig BoiвЂќ Patton, the hip-hop duo behind OutKast, grew up. Atlanta is Black Hollywood, the epicenter of Black music, film, and fashion. To understand the multifaceted, nonconforming fashion futurist group OutKast, one must take into consideration the duality of Black culture in the South-particularly in Atlanta, Georgia.

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