It was a match made in heaven for the Calgary Stampede: Big Boi at the Big Four Roadhouse.
"Canada The ATLiens have landed" Big Boi announced on his Instagram story atop a cellphone video of Alberta's sprawling prairie landscape just hours before the show. While evoking the term might have been a harmless plug, it also draws connections between Big Boi's presence in country-clad Calgary and the general unexpectedness of a fest like the Stampede continuing to book major American hip-hop artists.
Big Boi seemed to pick up on the vibe early, though. "Where's my cowboy hat?" he demanded after motoring through a greatest-hits set of OutKast tracks, accompanied on stage by collaborator and producer Sleepy Brown. "Where's Big Boi's cowboy hat?" Sleepy responded, laughing. "I want my motherfucking boots!"
It's about all you can say when you're confronted with an audience of 20 and 30 somethings decked out in Western wear. While some of Calgary's hip-hop heads had made their way to the Big Four, it was an underwhelming showing for the decorated legend. Competing in the same time slot as country mainstays Charley Crockett and Dallas Smith, the Stampede's choice of scheduling had unceremoniously split their audience — and as a couple hundred people trickled into the Big Four after tiring of the country-forward acts, it was clear who had won out.
Big Boi took the small crowd in stride, though, as any professional of his calibre would. Kicking things off with crowd pleaser "Throw Ya Hands in the Air," the introductory song set the tone as the place to party. Buoyed by Sleepy's high energy, call-and-response stage tactics, Big Boi was the more toned down of the two, taking a few songs to find his flow. But after barreling through OutKast hits "So Fresh, So Clean" and "B.O.B. (Bombs Over Baghdad)" and the even fresher "Can't Sleep" from 2021's Big Sleepover, Big Boi's mood seemed to brighten.
Big Boi's show is a well-polished machine of nostalgia-inducing visuals and callbacks to OutKast's early aughts fame amidst bass-laden, party friendly hits. It's something that should be the perfect formula for the Stampede, but the show's booking on a Monday night meant that just like Big Boi himself, the crowd needed some time to get warmed up before really letting loose. After bangers "All Night" and "Chocolate" from 2017's BOOMIVERSE, the crowd was in a better position to bump and grind. But a good hip-hop show is subject to the temperament of its crowd, and it took some time for the audience to get used to the idea that they were there to have a good time.
The marketing machine that is Big Boi was the glue that held things together, and Sleepy didn't miss the opportunity to shout out Big Sleepover (though referring to it as a new release was a bit of a stretch) and toss branded T-shirts to the crowd. The mystique of OutKast has always, somewhat unfairly, surrounded André 3000 — Big Boi's role in revolutionising the genre, setting the pace of modern hip-hop and putting the South on the map amidst the East and West's bitter rivalry can't be denied or ever outshined. But still, the show's focus on serving OutKast legacy banger after legacy banger left one wondering about what Big Boi himself has to say now.
Nearly half an hour before the end of their scheduled set time, Sleepy and Big Boi headed off stage. Their DJ, seeming confused, was prepared to keep things rolling, and it was his declaration of "I'm going to play one more" that coaxed the duo back.
Big Boi didn't miss a beat after his return, using the opportunity to gather a group video for Instagram to finish out the night in Calgary. The crowd dutifully put their hands in the air, desperate for a chance to get a stray arm in the group shot. It was about as close as they could get to Big Boi's glimmering legacy without getting burned.
"Canada The ATLiens have landed" Big Boi announced on his Instagram story atop a cellphone video of Alberta's sprawling prairie landscape just hours before the show. While evoking the term might have been a harmless plug, it also draws connections between Big Boi's presence in country-clad Calgary and the general unexpectedness of a fest like the Stampede continuing to book major American hip-hop artists.
Big Boi seemed to pick up on the vibe early, though. "Where's my cowboy hat?" he demanded after motoring through a greatest-hits set of OutKast tracks, accompanied on stage by collaborator and producer Sleepy Brown. "Where's Big Boi's cowboy hat?" Sleepy responded, laughing. "I want my motherfucking boots!"
It's about all you can say when you're confronted with an audience of 20 and 30 somethings decked out in Western wear. While some of Calgary's hip-hop heads had made their way to the Big Four, it was an underwhelming showing for the decorated legend. Competing in the same time slot as country mainstays Charley Crockett and Dallas Smith, the Stampede's choice of scheduling had unceremoniously split their audience — and as a couple hundred people trickled into the Big Four after tiring of the country-forward acts, it was clear who had won out.
Big Boi took the small crowd in stride, though, as any professional of his calibre would. Kicking things off with crowd pleaser "Throw Ya Hands in the Air," the introductory song set the tone as the place to party. Buoyed by Sleepy's high energy, call-and-response stage tactics, Big Boi was the more toned down of the two, taking a few songs to find his flow. But after barreling through OutKast hits "So Fresh, So Clean" and "B.O.B. (Bombs Over Baghdad)" and the even fresher "Can't Sleep" from 2021's Big Sleepover, Big Boi's mood seemed to brighten.
Big Boi's show is a well-polished machine of nostalgia-inducing visuals and callbacks to OutKast's early aughts fame amidst bass-laden, party friendly hits. It's something that should be the perfect formula for the Stampede, but the show's booking on a Monday night meant that just like Big Boi himself, the crowd needed some time to get warmed up before really letting loose. After bangers "All Night" and "Chocolate" from 2017's BOOMIVERSE, the crowd was in a better position to bump and grind. But a good hip-hop show is subject to the temperament of its crowd, and it took some time for the audience to get used to the idea that they were there to have a good time.
The marketing machine that is Big Boi was the glue that held things together, and Sleepy didn't miss the opportunity to shout out Big Sleepover (though referring to it as a new release was a bit of a stretch) and toss branded T-shirts to the crowd. The mystique of OutKast has always, somewhat unfairly, surrounded André 3000 — Big Boi's role in revolutionising the genre, setting the pace of modern hip-hop and putting the South on the map amidst the East and West's bitter rivalry can't be denied or ever outshined. But still, the show's focus on serving OutKast legacy banger after legacy banger left one wondering about what Big Boi himself has to say now.
Nearly half an hour before the end of their scheduled set time, Sleepy and Big Boi headed off stage. Their DJ, seeming confused, was prepared to keep things rolling, and it was his declaration of "I'm going to play one more" that coaxed the duo back.
Big Boi didn't miss a beat after his return, using the opportunity to gather a group video for Instagram to finish out the night in Calgary. The crowd dutifully put their hands in the air, desperate for a chance to get a stray arm in the group shot. It was about as close as they could get to Big Boi's glimmering legacy without getting burned.
