|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
André Lauren "André 3000" Benjamin (born May 27, 1975) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, hip hop producer, pop producer and actor. He is half of the successful hip hop duo OutKast and is also the creator of Cartoon Network's Emmy-winning show Class of 3000. Benjamin was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Sharon Benjamin Hodo, a single mother who sold real estate, and Lawrence Walker, a collections agent. Being an only child and growing up in East Point, Decatur and Bankhead, Benjamin saw many different lifestyles (clothing and music) that he combined throughout his career. He attended Sutton Middle School, where a renowned orchestral teacher named Mrs. Natalie Colbert taught him how to play a violin. As the more outlandish and introspective half of the experimental rap duo Outkast, Andre Benjamin—or Andre 3000—has established himself as a bona fide innovator in a musical genre that has seen better creative days. Along with high school buddy Antwan Patton (a.k.a. Big Boi), Outkast has become a giant in the rap world, separating themselves from their hip-hop contemporaries by incorporating more than just thuggish lyrics and pumping beats—they’ve added elements of funk, jazz and rock-n-roll into a genre desperate for change. As for Andre 3000, the exploration into other modes of expression has included delving into jazz and classical music, learning the saxophone and clarinet, and acting in films and on television. Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Andre 3000 met Big Boi while the two were sophomores at Tri-Cities High School in East Point. In high school, Benjamin met Antwan "Big Boi" Patton and after a few lyrical battles the two teamed up to form Outkast. Shortly after graduating high school the duo were signed to the Atlanta-based LaFace label and released their debut album Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik in 1994. Buoyed by the success of the single "Playa's Ball", the album went platinum by the end of the year and Outkast was named Best New Rap Group of the Year at the 1995 Source Awards. On their next two albums ATLiens and Aquemini, Outkast experimented with their sound by adding elements of trip-hop, soul, and jungle. Benjamin's lyrics in particular took on a more surreal, space-age tinge. At this time Benjamin took up the guitar and painting and became involved with neo-soul singer Erykah Badu. Outkast's fourth album, Stankonia, saw Benjamin take on the new name of Andre 3000 and increased the group's crossover appeal with the single Ms. Jackson, which hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written in the aftermath of Benjamin's breakup with Badu and was a fictionalized account of the disintegration of their relationship. In 2001, Outkast released a greatest hits album Big Boi and Dre Present... OutKast which contained three new tracks. One track, The Whole World won a Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. Later that year, Benjamin participated in the Dungeon Family group album, which saw a number of prominent Atlanta-based hip-hop groups combine into a supergroup. In 2003, Outkast released Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, a double album which highlighted the differences in the musical styles of the group's two members. André's half of the album, The Love Below, garnered the most attention from mainstream audiences, with the popular singles "Hey Ya!" and "Roses". The album's fourth single and video (Andre's third), "Prototype", was released shortly after, where as Big Boi's Speakerboxxx has seen the release of the hit "The Way You Move" and most recent single "Ghetto Musick." The Love Below was, unlike Speakerboxxx, an exercise in funk, jazz, and alternative music, featuring mostly sung (instead of rapped) vocals from André. After earning the respect of the other after a few lyric battles, the two formed Outkast and were quickly signed by Antonio “L.A.” Reid to his LaFace label in 1992. Two years later, the pair released Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik on an unsuspecting listen audience and immediately set the music scene on fire. With a blend of hip-hop, southern guitar riffs and laid-back 70’s-style soul, Outkast’s first album peaked at number 20 on the charts and left fans salivating for more. Their second effort, ATLiens, issued in 1996, was a sudden shift from the bubbling funk of Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik to futuristic beats and trance-like rhythms. Outkast attracted a wider audience with the ambitious album, as ATLiens hit number 2 on the Billboard 200. For their third cut, Aquemini, the duo infused jazz, reggae and world beats into their music, thus broadening an already wide palette of sounds. As their rhymes matured, becoming more spiritual and introspective, the music came back down to earth from the interstellar space explored in ATLiens. The first single, Rosa Parks, was a hit, but the Civil Rights heroine sued the group for the unauthorized use of her name The suit was later dismissed. Meanwhile, the album rocketed up the charts and cemented itself at number 2 on the Billboard 200. The best, however, was yet to come: in 2000, Outkast released what has been considered a rap masterpiece, Stankonia. Combining classic P-Funk beats with rock, Outkast produced an album that defied standard hip-hop or anything else on the pop charts. The duo won two Grammy awards in 2001—one for Best Rap Album, the other for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for the single, Ms. Jackson. It took another three years for Outkast to release their fifth effort, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, a dual release that featured Andre 3000 and Big Boi on separate albums. Rumors swirled about whether or not the two were breaking up: they began conducting separate interviews and Andre 3000 refused to tour to support the album. But the rumors—according to the duo—were untrue. Meanwhile, Andre 3000 began branching out on his own. While learning how to play saxophone and clarinet, Andre 3000 began to appear in feature films and television series, billed as Andre Benjamin. His first roles were memorable: he played a screenwriter in the otherwise forgettable “Hollywood Homicide” (2003) and appeared on a 2004 episode of the f/x crime drama "The Shield" as a comic book store owner who decides to take keeping the piece in his violence-torn neighborhood into his own hands. Then as the wanna-be gansta rapper Da Boo in “Be Cool” (2005), he stood out as welcome comic relief in this second go-round with John Travolta’s popular character, Chili Palmer, who tries this time to make his mark in the music industry. He then ably played the more settled and straight-laced brother among four troubled foster sons seeking to avenge the mysterious murder of their adoptive mother in director John Singleton's hard-edged, if sometime implausible, revenge thriller "Four Brothers" (2005). Andre 3000 was also considered to play Jimi Hendrix in the Hughes Brothers’ biopic, but that project has languished a long time in development hell. André has moved into the film world and has made appearances in Families, The Shield, Be Cool, Revolver (2005), and a co-starring role in Four Brothers. Andre is also cast as Percival in Idlewild, released on August 26, 2006. He is currently shooting a movie with Big Boi for HBO. He is also currently working on an as-of-yet untitled project, filming on location in Louisiana and is being produced by Chesley Seals and Kat Hantas. He voiced a crow in Charlotte's Web, a movie adaptation of the 1952 children's book. As of November 2006, he voices "Sunny Bridges," a prize-winning musician who gives up touring to teach at his alma mater, in a new animated series he produced on Cartoon Network called Class of 3000. He has also worked with Esthero on a promotional version of "Jungle Book" which was on a Wikked lil' grrrls sampler, but never made it to the actual album due to issues with Esthero's publisher, Warner. He launched the "Benjamin Bixby" clothing line in spring of 2008, inspired by college football, circa 1935. He has returned to hip-hop, appearing on many various remixes of including "Walk It Out," "Throw Some D's," "You," Jay-Z's "30 Something," UGK's 'Players Anthem' and Devin the Dude's What A Job. Benjamin has recently stated that he is making a solo rap album, and that the response to his remixes is part of the motivation. In the same interview, he stated that he wanted to write a verse for a remix to "Beautiful Girls" by Sean Kingston, but there is yet to be one. Benjamin has also ventured into acting in recent years. Starring in Be Cool with Cedric the Entertainer, Four Brothers with Tyrese Gibson and Idlewild. Andre also did a voice over for the classic cartoon Charlotte's Web. Benjamin also starred in the 2006 Guy Richie film, Revolver. In November 2006, Benjamin released his project "Class of 3000" on Cartoon Network along with his own production company "Moxie Turtle" on each episode there is a moral and a song produced by Benjamin himself. The following year, in February of 2007, Andre started practicing for the basketball comedy Semi-Pro, in which he appeared with Woody Harrelson and Will Ferrell. He also starred in the 2008 film Battle in Seattle, a film about the 1999 Seattle riots. Benjamin is also a vegan. In 2004, alongside Alicia Silverstone, André was voted by PETA to be the 'World's Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity.' He also has a son with ex partner Erykah Badu. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Celebrities Guide 
| WhoABC
Home : Disclaimer
: Terms
: Privacy
Policy : Contact
Us : Links All original content Copyright Celebrities Guide, WhoABC.com © 2004 - 2008. All Rights Reserved |