This past weekend, Big Boy and Andre 3000 closed out their 40+ date reunion tour with, #ATLast, a headlining three-day festival whose supporting acts ranged from young guns like Raury and Childish Gambino to OGs like 8 Ball & MJG and the Dungeon Family. To take the temperature on the celebration of all things ATLien, we spoke to three DJs, A-Trak, DJ Lindsey and Speakerfoxx, to get the low down on the vibe at Outkast's royal homecoming.
I was already going to be in town to perform at Tomorrowworld that weekend, so when I saw that the Outkast homecoming show was going to be the same weekend I quickly made the call to get some tickets. That was like a week ago. Then I saw that Kid Cudi and Raury were going to open and I thought "even better". Let me cut to the chase: Outkast's performance was incredible. I remember seeing them arguably in their prime the year Stankonia came out, so I remember how good they can be live. This show was even better because it was in their hometown. There was a palpable joy in the air shared by everyone. DJ Greg Street played a perfect warm up set, and it was awesome hearing the whole crowd chant along the "we ready!" in Pastor Troy's "No Mo Play" and remembering the Pimp Trick Gangsta Clique interlude from Aquemini. That contrast showed what Outkast represents even before they went on. I've been a huge fan since ATLiens, and Aquemini is still a benchmark for the perfect album in my opinion. The set flowed really well between all the eras and Andre & Big played off each other like the quintessential odd couple that they are. Bonus points go to Big Gipp for his all-white deconstructed outfit.
— A-Trak, DJ, producer and world travel enthusiast
We stood in the gold circle section, but I was kind of envious of everyone who was in the general admission area because it was so live. There were people wearing alien space suits and antenna headbands, there was like a girl wearing a white wig like Andre’s—they were just way more turnt up. Everybody loves being from Atlanta so much and they really respect what came before. They had to add two additional nights and the line up for Sunday’s show really proves that, it was like a history lesson in Southern rap—from Houston to New Orleans. Big Boi mentioned that the Saturday ticket holders were cursing him out on Twitter like ‘We were the first ones to buy tickets to the show and we get to see Childish Gambino and Kid Cudi, which is cool but we would rather have seen Sunday’s line up.’ For all these OG’s, like Kilo Ali, 8 Ball & MJG and DJ Unk to perform, still be relevant and for people to be mad that they didn’t get to see them, that says a lot about the music scene in Atlanta. That’s not the case in a lot of other cities where kids are just like ‘this is the new shit and we don’t care about anything that came before it,’ that is not the case in Atlanta. You know I’m all about the classics, so to see people get hyped about all that No Limit stuff and Mystical cuts which were kind of club jams in Atlanta in the late 90s early 2000s, and people were going crazy for those songs, just made me feel good. Because those were songs I’d love to be playing right now but I cant because people just don’t care.
—DJ Lindsey, DJ and former Atlanta resident
I always buy CD’s of artists that I support. Like when a good album comes out, like the new Jeezy album I made sure to buy that in the store or buy it online. Even though I can get on the list, I like to pay for shows of artists that I love. I immediately wanted to buy tickets just to make sure that I was going to be there. Then the site went down because like everybody tried to buy tickets. So I was unable to buy tickets, I tried a few times then they announced the extra days and I tried again, and it was just a headache. It was difficult, but I was able to get tickets right in the VIP area. Money wasn’t an issue. I would of paid whatever. It’s like the experience you’re buying.
I was in New York for almost two weeks and I play a monthly party in Miami, so it felt like I’d been away from Atlanta for a month. It was kind of nice to be back in town just in time for the Outkast show. We came in during Kid Cudi’s set. People had camped out in blankets, there all day. The vibe was not like a regular hip-hop show. The vibe was like a very… community, very feel good…I can’t describe it. It was like a hippy vibe. Everybody was real loving and chill. There were people from all walks of life like, black, white, old, young, preppy kids, hipster kids, adults —it really represented the makeup of Atlanta. It was like a homecoming for real. I guess it was like church, like we were all coming together for this one thing that we appreciate you know?
— Speakerfoxxx, Atlanta resident and DJ for Gangsta Boo.
