Jackson.вЂќ Their music was unlike anything heard in hip-hop before, but as with their first three albums, OutKastвЂ™s visual presentation challenged ideas of what a hip-hop performer might, or should, look like. The album catapulted to quadruple-platinum status with its smash singles, вЂњHey Ya!вЂќ and вЂњMs. In 1995, the group was booed when they won Best New Rap Group at the Source Awards, an act that unleashed Andre 3000вЂ™s famous rejoinder, вЂњThe South got something to say.вЂќ It was a mission statement, a call for action, and a cultural reset-a callout that reverberates in hip-hop culture to this day.ДЇive years after making that iconic statement, OutKast released Stankonia, an authoritative body of work, crafted to introduce their idiosyncratic style to the larger mainstream. ItвЂ™s difficult to fathom today, but OutKastвЂ™s bold, imaginative style wasnвЂ™t always championed by mainstream hip-hop. Twenty-eight years prior, the spot even served as one of the birth places of OutKast, speaking to one of their core artistic obsessions: what it feels like to be young, Black, brilliant, and from the South. And the allure hasnвЂ™t changed for decades. Today, hundreds of vloggers film inside the mall, and stars like Lil Baby and Drake casually walk its halls. Among creatives who heavily consume social media, Lenox serves also as a hub for the вЂњcoolвЂќ kids. There are very few spaces where being Black and spending an excessive amount of money can be expected however, Lenox allows that comfortability. Yet, when entering Lenox, there is a feeling of community. The mall hosts brands like David Yurman, Cartier, Burberry, and Fendi, all fashion houses that have seemingly ignored the Black shopper. Located in Buckhead, Atlanta, suburbs that are home to some of the cityвЂ™s wealthiest, Lenox Square is where Black customers experience a euphoric atmosphere of luxury shopping-in stark contrast to how luxury stores treat Black patrons in predominantly white areas. But before the group would go on to win six Grammys, score three number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100, and become one of the most critically acclaimed rap groups, the two would meet in 1992 at an intermediate connector in Atlanta, an abstract wonder in the South: the Lenox Square Mall. In their three previous albums, the duo were unapologetically redefining the Black male consciousness, with meditations on loss, imagination, love, the Atlanta child murders, and a longing for recognition. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Stankonia, the groupвЂ™s breakout fourth studio album that cemented OutKastвЂ™s legendary mark on the music industry. ItвЂ™s also where Andre вЂњ3000вЂќ Benjamin and Antwan вЂњBig BoiвЂќ Patton, the hip-hop duo behind OutKast, grew up. Atlanta is Black Hollywood, the epicenter of Black music, film, and fashion. Image from Wesley HodgesвЂ™ review in the Consequence of Sound.To understand the multifaceted, nonconforming fashion futurist group OutKast, one must take into consideration the duality of Black culture in the South-particularly in Atlanta, Georgia. The flag design is similar but not identical to StankoniaвЂ™s: the stars are right side up. OutKast performing in AtlantaвЂ™s Centennial Olympic Park, September 27, 2014. Fun fact? This flag is actually enormous and hangs on the wall in the tracking room at OutKastвЂ™s northwest Atlanta recording studio. StankoniaвЂs album cover presented OutKastвЂ™s Andre Benjamin and Antwan Patton as they were and are-strong, smart, funky and ready to вЂњ the youth the truth from this booth.вЂќ Most striking of all is the stark, black-and-white-American-flag backdrop, hinting at a separate America-a place that exists apart from the country experienced by the masses. Paste magazine ranked it 21st in their list, The 25 Best Album Covers of the Decade (2000-2009): For their critically acclaimed 2000 album Stankonia, in what became an iconic image, they appear on the cover in front of a huge black and white variant of the US flag, with inverted stars.

OutKast are a celebrated hip hop duo from Atlanta.

Outkast outkast album cover