Big Boi, whose career began in 1992, is an American rapper, songwriter, and producer from Atlanta, Georgia, best known as one half of the legendary hip-hop duo OutKast. Born Antwan André Patton in Savannah, Georgia, in 1975, he relocated to Atlanta as a teenager and met André 3000 (André Benjamin) at Tri-Cities High School, where the two formed OutKast and became the creative force that put Southern hip-hop on the global map.

OutKast's breakthrough came with their debut Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik (1994), which went platinum and won them a Best New Rap Group award at The Source Awards. They followed with the critically celebrated ATLiens (1996) and Aquemini (1998) — the latter earning the coveted five-mic rating from The Source — before their commercial peak on Stankonia (2000), which produced the No. 1 smash "Ms. Jackson" and the Grammy-winning "B.O.B."