Southern

OutKast’s ‘Player’s Ball’ turns 20; a debut single that changed hip-hop

“Player’s Ball” changed the hip-hop landscape like only a handful of singles had before. In the same way that Run-D.M.C.’s “It’s Like That” announced the end of hip-hop’s first wave and the start of a new, more aggressive brand of rap; and in the same way that Dr. Dre’s “Nuthin’ But A ‘G’ Thang” put G-Funk and Death Row Records at the forefront of hip-hop visibility, “Player’s Ball” was the opening shot from a city that would soon become the center of hip-hop in the new millennium.