The Vine interview: Big Boi
An interview for The Vine: face-to-face with Big Boi in Sydney. Excerpt below.
In Australia for one night only to promote the new Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit video game, American hip-hop artist Antwan “Big Boi” Patton had been booked wall-to-wall with media commitments from the moment he arrived at the Hordern Pavilion. From 1pm onwards, he was being filmed, questioned, and photographed by an extensive media contingent, all eager for a moment in the presence of one half of the multi-million selling duo OutKast. In the hall adjacent, a few million dollars’ worth of cars are having their tires kicked – though not literally, as they’d probably be escorted from the building – by a couple of thousand gig attendees, all of whom were offered free tickets through a variety of web outlets. Initially access was only guaranteed to those who pre-ordered the new game, but in the weeks leading up to the event, it seems that EA and their partners couldn’t get rid of the tickets fast enough. Indeed, at the height of Big Boi’s kickarse, hour-plus-long set, the Hordern was only about half full.
Before the show, The Vine was initially scheduled for 10 minutes with Big Boi in a space upstairs at the Hordern that’d been designated as the venue’s green room. In actuality, it was a room flanked with thick black curtains, long tables, and a couple of dozen people milling around. A curious combination of anticipation, expectation, and desperation hung in the air. Only two chairs were set up, atop one of which sat Big Boi in front of a television, an Xbox 360, and the new Need For Speed game. The other seat was warmed by a revolving door of interviewers, most of whom were committing their conversation to video. This wouldn’t be a problem if each team filming used the same chair, game banner and lighting set-up, but of course, it’s never that easy. The Vine watched as a half-dozen video teams – mostly Australian, but a couple of New Zealanders, too – generally spent more time re-arranging the set than they did actually speaking to Big Boi.
It’s past 8pm when my interview opportunity arrives, and by that time, I could tell that the rapper was well and truly over posing for photos and answering the same five questions. I’m informed that since they’re running behind schedule, my time with Big Boi has been cut in half. Great! “Try and keep it close to that five minute mark,” his tour manager tells (warns?) me; “We wanna get him to relax a little bit before the show.” And fair enough. I’d moved the chairs a few metres away from the television because I wanted his full attention, but his tour manager insists that they be moved back, directly in front of the screen. Big Boi mishears my name (“Anthony?”), shakes my hand, picks up a controller and turns his sunglass-clad eyes to the game, where he’s driving a yellow Lamborghini at high speed through a beautiful, snowy mountaintop setting. This will take some skill.
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“So I hear you’re a bit of a gamer,” I begin.
“Yeah, man,” he replies. “I do a little somethin’ here and there, you know.” Eyes on the screen. Mind more interested in the game than in speaking with yet another journalist he’ll never meet again.
Full interview on The Vine. More Big Boi on MySpace. The music video for his song ‘You Ain’t No DJ‘ is embedded below.
Elsewhere: a review of Big Boi’s debut album, Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son Of Chico Dusty for The Vine.
The Vine album review: Big Boi
An album review for The Vine.
Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son Of Chico Dusty
Though they both effectively released a pair of solo albums under the OutKast moniker with 2003’s Speakerboxx/The Love Below, Atlanta-based rapper Big Boi steps away from his songwriting partnership with André 3000 for the first time to deliver nothing less than a monster album in Sir Lucious Left Foot. The title refers to one of Boi’s numerous alter-egos; two more, ‘Daddy Fat Sax’ and ‘General Patton’, are name-checked as song titles in the album’s first half. The key to this album’s thrilling ride lies within this approach: by taking advantage of the freedom to flit between several personas, the rapper can both shrink and exaggerate his true self. It’s less a schizophrenic episode than a tactic to unlock new songwriting ideas and it’s one that works beautifully.
In a decision seemingly born from label-related frustrations – this album was first due out in 2008 – Big Boi leaked two tracks of originally intended for Sir Lucious Left Foot prior to the album’s release, in ‘Royal Flush’ (featuring Raekwon and Andre 3000) and ‘Sumthin’s Gotta Give’ (featuring Mary J. Blige). A slew of pre-release singles would follow, including ‘Shine Blockas’ (featuring Gucci Mane), ‘For Yo Sorrows’ (featuring George Clinton and Too $hort), and ‘General Patton’ (featuring Big Rube). All of which might seem like overkill if it weren’t for the monster lead single proper ‘Shutterbugg’ (featuring Cutty).
Full review at The Vine. More Big Boi on MySpace; music video for ‘Shutterbugg‘ embedded below. For mine, this is a real contender for album of the year. I don’t get into most hip-hop, but this is outstanding.
