ATLANTA – From a purely visceral standpoint, people on both sides of the cultural isle would believe that rap and ballet go together about as well as a slice of cheesecake and malt liquor beer. Or George Bush and the NAACP. But Big Boi of the iconic supergroup OutKast was the perfect personality for the avant-garde synthesis of the world’s most infl uential music form [rap] with one of its most prestigious artistic expressions [ballet]. From Thursday through Sunday at the Fox Theatre in Midtown, the aptly titled “big”, featuring Big Boi and the Atlanta Ballet will make its visually stunning debut on stage. And if there was an artist who would audaciously coalesce the disparate and seemingly incompatible music forms, it would be the ATL-ien born Antwan Patton. After all, Big Boi, along with Andre “3000” Benjamin, became legends stretching the boundaries of rap and hip hop en route to a critically-acclaimed, multiplatinum, six- Grammy-winning career that would rival any artist of the last 20 years, much less their own genre. The roof-rattling rumble of rap rushes through the speakers, with an all-black music cast juxtaposed against a mostly white dance team swathed in tutus and performing poetic pirouettes on stage. As ballerinas perform the rond de jambe to the booming sounds of “Bombs Over Bagdad”, audiences will be able to imbibe on the harmonious confl uence of transcendent art forms in action. White Tees and white leotards together. At a theater near you.
Big Boi: The [Atlanta Ballet] artistic director, John McFall, came over to my fundraiser that I hold annually, my Big Kids Foundation. Apparently, they were in the board room and my name was being thrown around a little bit. And he came and he asked me to do a collaboration. And I said ‘yes’. And now it’s just going on. It’s dope. It’s a Big Boi collaboration. I had to call it the ‘Ballerino’. It’s just really expression all the way around.
RO: Please share with our
readers what the story is about.
Big Boi: It’s like we went in the studio, and we went into the catalog and picked out the songs that would best tell the story. The story is about a little bitty Boi version of me, his name is Lil’ Big, and it’s about innocence and children. And it’s basically like emotions and just feelings and him reacting to different things.
RO: Prior to “big” at the Fox Theatre, have you ever been exposed to, or been as involved in, ballet before?
Big Boi: I went to the Nutcracker actually when I was in grade school. But I went to the high school of performing arts. And all types of dance and music and things were happening. So I’ve been exposed to it. But this is the most revolutionary thing I done did.
RO: What has been the response to the production “big” so far?
Big Boi: Mind-blowing, man. Phenomenal. They loving it. It’s definitely a visual experience. It’s something they can see and take with them. Just networking, man. Just coming together and seeing both sides of the fence.
RO: There has historically been the belief, right or wrong, that ballet is an ultra-exclusive, predominantly homogenous art form that was not very inclusive of young African Americans. What are your thoughts about the world of ballet being conspicuously devoid of a black presence?
Big Boi: Hopefully, this will kind of open doors and let people get more interested in what’s going on. Blacks are definitely into dance, from the whole Alvin Ailey to the whole Harlem Renaissance era, so we tap into everything. We just gotta really show people that it can be done. For some people, they just got to get to the whole visual first.
RO: there is already a buzz created citywide. Just this week, you and the “big” production have been featured in the New York Times and the Associated Press, among others. Is there talk of doing a multi-city tour if the show is wellreceived in Atlanta?
Big Boi: They talking about taking it around the country, then taking it overseas. Things have been snowballing, and people are just really excited about it. So tomorrow night, we just going to give it to they ass, for sure.
RO: We peeped you stealing a nap before you had to go on stage. So we know you’ve got a lot going on in addition to this event. Tell us about it.
Big Boi: Aw man. I got my solo album coming out. It’s actually my follow up to Speakerboxx. Right now, I got a single out with Andre 3000 called “Royal Flush”. It’s killing right now for all the hip hop lovers out there. I’m doing a duet with Mary J. Blige, a change-the-world duet, called “The World is Too Big”. And that’s coming out soon, too. The album will have 13 cuts. It’s got production by Organized Noize.
What: “Big” production, featuring Big Boi and the Atlanta Ballet. The event also stars Janelle Monae, Sleepy Brown, Scar, Khujo Goodie, C-Bone, Konkrete, Rock D and Rolling Out columnist Big Rube.
