Welcome in my first series of blogs, called ''Rapalphabet'' where Im gonna introduce some of my favourite rappers, their lives, successes, music and curiosities.
André 3000 is entering the first fire!
André Lauren Benjamin, because this is his real name, comes from Atlanta, where he was born on May 25, 1975. He was raised in poverty by a single mother as an only child. He has shown interest in music since childhood and devoted much of his time to learning. During his life, he mastered the play on many instruments, which is why he is considered a multi-instrumentalist in the environment. During his high school he met Big Boi, with whom he soon founded the rap duo OutKast. In April 1994, they released an album: '' Southernplayalisticadilacmuzik '', which gained the status of a platinum album. OutKast's debut was honored by the magazine 'The Source' as the best one in the whole year, and it rocked Benjamin's career for many years. An interesting fact about his work is the change of a pseudonym during his musical career, abandoning the nickname Dre to Andre 3000. He believed that the pseudonym Dre is too much associated with a well-known doctor of the industry and this unique individual could not afford it.
In his songs, he talks about the hardships of living in his youth or drug dealing, but the resources of his texts are much wider and the art of capturing reality with rhymes is shocking!
During his career, he became associated with Erykah Badu, with whom he has a son, Seven, and at which he developed artistically, additionally dealing with painting and acting. Their relationship, unfortunately, did not survive, (which is a pity, because such a level of artistry in couples in the world of music is a rarity) but '' thanks '' ago a hit was created '' Ms. Jackson '', whose words '' I'm sorry Ms. Jackson ... "are directed to mother Erica, after their separation.
The next great success was the album ''Speakerboxxx'' (the part for which Andre 3000 is responsible), which with the hit '' Hey Ya! '' Received the status of a diamond disc, becoming one of the best-selling albums in the history of the American music industry. Over 11 million copies of this CD were sold at that time.
Another interesting fact is Benjamin's participation in the production of the cartoon ''Class 3000'', which was broadcast on Cartoon Network, also in Poland.