Artist JEKS paid homage to Atlanta’s rap duo Outkast by painting a huge mural of the group on a wall in the city’s Little Five Points neighborhood.
What We Know:
- The rap group Outkast consists of two members: Andre “Andre 3000” Benjamin, and Antwan “Big Boi” Patton, who made their debut into the hip hop scene in the 90’s. WXYZ Detroit reports that the mural of the historic rap group is a part of a larger collaboration between “WISH ATL a local retailer, and Outer Space project, outdoor mural project in Atlanta”.
- The mural is based on photos taken by legendary Hip Hop photographer Jonathan Mannion, in which each detail of the mural was painted by hand and was completed within a week. The artist JEKS described his artwork and painting of the group as “Atlanta Royalty,” reports AJC.
- “Each day I painted, more and more people would stop by,” JEKS said. “I hoped the piece would make a positive impact in the community and cause some local buzz, but I didn’t think it would blow up like it has. The amount of posts, messages, and ‘thank you’s’ I’ve received are almost overwhelming.”
- Outkast made their debut onto the Hip Hop scene in 1994 when they released their hit single “Players Ball”. Their debut album Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik would go platinum within a year. The group would go on to win six Grammys and release several multi-platinum albums throughout the 1990’s and 2000’s.
Many rap artists from Atlanta, GA have credited Outkast for pushing the sound from the city mainstream and has truly deemed them Hip Hop royalty.
