Antwan André Patton (born February 1, 1975), known professionally as Big Boi, is an American rapper and record producer. Born in Savannah, Georgia, and raised in Atlanta, he was one half of the Southern hip-hop duo Outkast along with rapper André 3000, which the two formed in 1992.
As part of Outkast, the duo's six studio albums were each met with critical and commercial success, spawning hit songs including "Ms. Jackson", "Roses", "So Fresh, So Clean" and "Elevators (Me & You)", among others. Their fifth, a double album titled Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (2003), won three Grammy Awards and contained a solo single performed by Patton: "The Way You Move" (featuring Sleepy Brown), which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100 and was named the 22nd most successful song of the 2000s decade by Billboard. After the duo split in 2007, he signed with Def Jam Recordings to pursue a solo career; his debut studio album, Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty (2010), peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and yielded critical acclaim. His second and third albums, Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors (2012) and Boomiverse (2017), were both met with continued praise and moderate commercial reception.
His spin-off projects include a collaborative recording outfit with Phantogram, with whom he has released one extended play (2015). He formed the now-defunct supergroup Purple Ribbon All-Stars in 2004, which included Janelle Monáe, Bubba Sparxxx, and Killer Mike; the group released two albums until disbanding in 2007.
Big Boi performed at the Super Bowl LIII halftime show as a guest of Maroon 5. In 2025, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Outkast.
Patton was born and spent the first half of his childhood in Savannah, Georgia, attending Herschel V. Jenkins High School, before moving to Atlanta with his aunt Renee. He decided to pursue his interest in music at Tri-Cities High School, a visual and performing arts magnet school.
Patton credited his grandmother with getting him interested in music by sending him and his siblings to the store to buy 45 records. He further credited his uncle with introducing him to a wider variety of music, specifically Kate Bush, who he has described as his favorite artist.
Patton met André Lauren Benjamin (stage name André 3000) while attending Tri-Cities High School. The two joined forces as Outkast in 1992 and signed with the regionally-based record label LaFace Records as a duo. Patton originally performed under the stage name Black Dog.
After four successful albums, Big Boi and André 3000 chose to make two solo albums and release them in 2003 as a single double album under the Outkast name called Speakerboxxx/The Love Below; Big Boi recorded Speakerboxxx, André 3000 recorded The Love Below. Speakerboxxx featured a style similar to Outkast's previous efforts, while The Love Below explored a more offbeat territory, with André 3000 mainly singing rather than his usual rapping.
Big Boi released two of his songs as singles. "The Way You Move", featuring Sleepy Brown, was originally supported by urban radio, but crossed over to pop charts, where it supplanted André 3000's "Hey Ya!" as the No. 1 song. The second single from Big Boi was "Ghetto Musick", which featured both members of Outkast and a sample from Patti LaBelle's "Love, Need and Want You".
In November 2005, Big Boi released a mixtape/compilation album, Got Purp? Vol 2, in conjunction with the Purple Ribbon All-Stars through Purple Ribbon Records. The first single from the album was "Kryptonite", which reached 35 on the Billboard Hot 100. Outkast was also featured on the song "International Players Anthem (I Choose You)", the first single from UGK's album Underground Kingz.
In 2007, after Idlewild, the sixth official OutKast duo album, Big Boi announced plans to release a proper solo album. Speakerboxxx had been seen by many as a solo album (and it effectively was one), but it was still released under the OutKast name, which made Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty his first "full-fledged" solo album. The album's first promotional single, "Royal Flush", was released in 2007, and featured Raekwon and André 3000. Over the next few years the album was delayed many times, but multiple promotional and video singles were released, such as "Shine Blockas" (featuring Gucci Mane), "For Yo Sorrows" (featuring George Clinton and Too Short), and "General Patton" (featuring Big Rube). The first official single was "Shutterbugg", featuring Cutty, and the second was "Follow Us", featuring Vonnegutt. The album was formally released in July 2010. Guest artists included alternative urban singer Janelle Monáe, who went on to be a famed actor and entertainer in her own right, as well as T.I., B.o.B., and, on a hook, Big Boi's old Dungeon Family friend Khujo. Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty was warmly received by most music critics, earning praise for its inventive sound, varied musical style, and Big Boi's lyricism.
In a July 2010 interview for The Village Voice, Big Boi revealed that he was working on the follow-up album to Sir Lucious Left Foot, entitled Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors, stating that he was "maybe about six songs into it". It was released on November 13, 2012. The first single from the album was "Mama Told Me" featuring Kelly Rowland. The album featured guest appearances from ASAP Rocky, Ludacris, T.I., Little Dragon, Phantogram, Kelly Rowland and B.o.B.
Later in 2012, Big Boi revealed that he had written ten songs for his third studio album. He reiterated his plans for a new studio album in January 2014. He was featured on the Catch The Throne mixtape with the song "Mother of Dragons", it was released for free download on SoundCloud by HBO on March 7, 2014, to promote the fourth season of Game of Thrones.
Big Boi had signed a management deal with Jordan Feldstein's Career Artist Management in 2014, same year signed a record deal with Epic Records.
On April 19, 2017, Big Boi revealed that his third studio album would be titled Boomiverse, and that two singles, "Mic Jack" (featuring Adam Levine) and "Kill Jill" (featuring Killer Mike and Jeezy), would be released the following day. The track "All Night" from Boomiverse was used in the 2017 Apple iPhone X commercial which saw Alana Greszata lip syncing to the song for the "Animoji yourself" feature.
In 2018, Big Boi signed with L.A. Reid and Charles Goldstuck's newfound label Hitco.
In 2019, Big Boi performed at the Super Bowl LIII halftime show. Along with other performers, he was criticized for agreeing to participate despite the U.S. national anthem protests by Colin Kaepernick and others.
In November 2021, Big Boi announced that he had recorded a song with the British singer-songwriter Kate Bush, who Big Boi has repeatedly expressed his admiration for throughout his career.