Outkast will live forever (forever, forever-ever, for-ever-ever) in the minds of hip-hop fans across generations thanks to incredible tracks like “Ms. Jackson.” The magical ATLien duo of André 3000 and Big Boi synthesized their unique circumstances into a relatable song about romantic complications.
“Ms. Jackson” is inspired by André’s relationship with R&B artist Erykah Badu. The emotions behind the song were too raw for her to reckon with at the time, but the real-life Ms. Jackson saw its merits as soon as it dropped.
The Outkast hit ‘Ms. Jackson’ is a thrilling apology for a failed romance
Outkast’s third album Stankonia is a turn-of-the-century classic that expanded the scope of what was possible from a rap album and contributed greatly to the mainstream acceptance of southern innovations in the art form.
Relationship drama is a familiar topic for artists to explore, but few have gone as far as Outkast and dedicated a song to “all the baby mamas’ mamas”. While André’s earworm of a chorus offers a trillion apologies in the aftermath of a breakup, the entirety of “Ms. Jackson” is much more complex than that.
Both of Big Boi’s verses bristle with anger and defiance as an unnamed former partner keeps him at arm’s length even though he provides financial support and has a desire to be a presence in his child’s life. André strikes a more conciliatory tone, painting the picture of a whirlwind romance that fell apart despite their best intentions.
“Ms. Jackson” holds a high place in Outkast’s legacy. The song was their first of three singles to top the Billboard Hot 100 charts and won a Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. Also, it inspired one of the few good tweets in the history of the platform. There aren’t many endorsements of a song’s quality more powerful than that.
‘Ms. Jackson’ drew conflicting emotions from Erykah Badu’s family
The widespread adoration for “Ms. Jackson” was inescapable at the time, a fact that Badu did not appreciate while the song was at its apex. She and André were together from 1995 to 1999 and their son Seven was born on November 18, 1997. While appearing on an episode of the Rap Radar podcast, Badu explained that she was leery of the subject matter of “Ms.Jackson,” but respected the artistry of her ex’s lyrics.
“I still had kind of a sore spot. I didn’t wanna hear that. Especially when I heard Big Boi’s verse,” she said. “When I heard André’s verse, I felt very good because his verse was really, really inspiring. He just said how he felt and it was his honest feelings and I always respected that and listened to what he felt and appreciated it.”
Whatever emotional hurdles Badu still had to jump over were not in front of her mother, who instantly loved the song.
“How did my mama feel? Baby, she bought herself a ‘Ms. Jackson’ license plate,” she proclaimed. “She had the mug, she had the ink pen, she had the headband, everything. That’s who loved it.”
Erykah Badu and André 3000 are on much better terms now
All the tension between Badu and 3 Stacks is a thing of the past. The two are committed to being the best co-parents they can be to Seven and have grown closer to each other as a result. André provided a rare feature verse to Badu’s song “Hello” off her 2015 mixtape But You Caint Use My Phone and she told Rolling Stone in 2020 that the former couple are now best friends.
“We’re really close,” Badu said. “We laugh all the time, talk about things. It’s brother and sister, it’s grandmother and grandson, it’s father and daughter. It’s so many different things depending on what the situation calls for.”
