Atlanta, Georgia has long been a hotbed for hip-hop artists, but—due to record execs and the media’s longstanding focus on East and West Coast acts—has only recently received the recognition it deserves. With this newfound attention, Atlanta-based artists such as Young Thug, Future, Migos, Lil Yachty and 2 Chainz have not only become household names for their music, but have received increasing attention for their style. While many of these artists are changing the way hip-hop looks and sounds, they are also drawing from a musical and stylistic canon created by the many Atlanta legends that preceded them, namely OutKast. The incomparable duo of André “André 3000” Benjamin and Antwan “Big Boi” Patton have not only helped define the way Atlanta hip-hop sounds since 1991, but have broken ground for the way Southern rappers—and rappers in general—dress, borrowing from a wide spectrum of influences, including rock, early hip-hop, and hustler cultures, as well as their own sprawling imaginations. Below, we explore the ever-changing style of OutKast over their twenty-plus year career, and how the group has influenced both fashion and hip-hop.

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