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Outkast – aka Big Boi and Andre 3000 – reunited for the first time in 10 years at Coachella Saturday night. It was a pretty big deal. The set was broadcast live, so even those unlucky souls who couldn’t shell out for the festival/didn’t feel like traveling for hours to have the three dustiest, most exhausting days of their lives, got to see Outkast perform. The gig generated 90,000 tweets in 24 hours, and by Monday afternoon the recorded set had been viewed more than 1.7 million times, according to NPR.

Andre's most recent endeavor was playing Jimi Hendrix in a biopic, to be released later this year.

There’s a lot of excitement in the air right now about the reunion, especially since Andre and Big Boi announced their 2014 festival tour. So far the tour includes 18 dates, with 40 gigs promised, but Outkast have made it clear that the reunion is not permanent. The duo are calling it a “victory lap” – a thank you to their loyal fans.

Continue reading: Did Technical Difficulties Fail Outkast During Reunion Gig At Coachella 2014?

Janelle Monae's career has skyrocketed over the past few years, leading to her being nominated for three Grammys in 2011 for Best R&B album and also for her collaboration with Big Boi. This year another collaboration, with Fun has catapulted her further from the peripheries of music and further into the view of the public. Speaking to Billboard she has explained how this year's awards meaning something entirely different to Grammy Awards gone by.

"This year's Grammys has a significant meaning," she says. "I was nominated before for my own work, you know, my own album and I had the opportunity to perform in 2011. That was a big moment for my career... This time around I'm there to support Fun. and we're there together. This is about team work; it's about collaborations and making people happy with our music. That means a lot; that's a big deal."

While team work is certainly an important part of her career - she's now top of the list for many artists to collaborate with - but just as importantly is her ability to have done that without compromise. When she started her career financial success wasn't a drive force, she says. "It was just to make music on my own terms or create my own image, do my own hair, do my own makeup. It's an artistic expression for me... That's why I'm here today, because I've been able to be in control of that." 

Continue reading: Janelle Monae In Control, And Why The Grammy Awards 2013 Have A 'Significant Meaning' For Her

Last week saw the mighty talents of Alicia Keys displace Rihanna’s Unapologetic from the top of the Billboard 200 in a big way, with the former holder of the number one spot falling down to sixth. Girl On Fire was Keys’ fifth number one record in the States, taking in sales of 159,000 on its way to the top spot. Those are solid figures to be sliding off coming into the new weekend, but will they be enough to hold on? The good news for Keys is that, with Christmas approaching, new releases are thin on the ground. The bad news is that one of them’s the new Bruno Mars album.

Yes, though he may appear to physically have the consistency of candle wax, Mars has written a darn fine second album, with Unorthodox Jukebox a canny exercise in carefully choosing the right combination of influences to click together; allayed with the Grammy Award-winning star’s penchant for a big whole-hearted chorus, we can see this doing just as well as his 2010 debut Doo-Wops & Hooligans, which went on to sell over six million copies worldwide including 1.7 million in the States. 

Read our review of Unorthodox Jukebox

Continue reading: Out Now: US Album Releases - The Game Enlists Some Big Competitors; Can They Stop Bruno Mars From Going Stratospheric Again?

Outkast’s Big Boi is adding another string to his bow, by featuring in a videogame, along with his friend and collaborator B.o.B. The two of them will reportedly feature in the Electronic Arts shoot-em-up entitled Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel. It’s the third release in the successful Army of Two franchise.

According to Los Angeles Times, Big Boi will star as Charles “Chuy” Rendall and B.o.B. will be Anthony “Baker” Barnes, both agents, who appear in the game to help players in their quest. Sadly, players won’t be able to control Big Boi and B.o.B’s characters in the main issue of the game but apparently, anyone who pre-orders the game will receive an additional mission in their package, which will allow them to do so. BigBoi and B.oB. have also written the theme tune for the game, entitled ‘Double or Nothing.’

In addition to his foray into the world of video games, Big Boi will also be releasing a new album on December 11. Entitled Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumours, it will be released via Island Def Jam. The single ‘Mama Told Me,’ featuring Kelly Rowland, was described by The Los Angeles Times as “As catchy as a classic Outkast collaboration.” The reviewer added “Mama Told Me' features a Kelly Rowland hook that weaves through a wobbly, melodic rhythm. Big Boi illustrates why he's one of the most mellifluous rappers in hip-hop by offering floating verses that move through the measures like sing-along bouncing balls."

Big Boi dropped into MTV Rapfix recently to play down rumors of beef between he and his Outkast band mate Andre 3000, whilst at the same time drawing a line under answering any further questions about whether the legendary rap duo might get back together.

Reports of friction between the two not-always-close pals surfaced again after a recent interview saw Big Boi say that Andre isn’t on his new album Vicious Lies And Dangerous Rumours because he’d rather be off shooting razor commercials. However, Big Boi insists that he was just joking. "I was being sarcastic and they took it and ran with it," he told MTV. "It was a vicious misunderstanding, how my man ain't gonna be on my album to do a shaving commercial? Get the f--- outta here."

So things are fine then? "Yeah, for sure, we're good. That's my brother, man. Y'all don't see us. We do us," he said. "So people want an Outkast album so bad they'll stir up somethin' but you can't break that bond." It’s been six years though since the pair’s last album Idlewild, and people are asking when the next will be. Too many people as it turns out. "I ain't gonna answer no more Outkast questions... after today, that's it. This the last one," Big Boi finished. "Until you see me and Dre sit side by side... when you see both of us together then you'll know it's coming."