Show Recap: Big Boi Rocks NYC’s SOBs with A$AP Rocky & Phantogram

OutKast legend Big Boi stormed New York City’s SOBs last night (December 10), blasting through a catalog of OutKast classics and selections from his new solo album, Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors. Hot 97’s Cipha Sounds and Peter Rosenberg hosted the invite-only release show for the highly anticipated album that drops today.

All in camouflage, Big Boi and his live band commanded the stage with a confident energy throughout the performance. They kicked off with a set of OutKast classics, including “Skew It on the Bar-B,” “Rosa Parks," incited crowd sang-along with hooks from “Ms. Jackson”, “So Fresh, So Clean,” “B.O.B.” and General Patton cut a few tracks from earlier solo ventures, including “GhettoMusick,” and “Daddy Fat Sax."

Clearly eager to showcase materials off his new album, Big Boi referred to the first part of the show as “appetizers” and switched up the gears. He gave the audience a generous sampling of Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors, which features an all-star list of guest appearances, including T.I., Kelly Rowland, Ludacris, Killer Mike and New York’s own A$AP Rocky. Along with indie duo Phantogram, A$AP took the stage last night to perform his verse from “Lines.”

In an interview with XXL before the show, A$AP Rocky spoke of the new track as "eclectic, genuine and it came together like a masterpiece." The Harlem rapper added, "I didn’t expect to be on this album, but it went together, it was really compatible because those guys, OutKast, are some of the biggest inspirations on A$AP. It was just a pleasure to even have a legend acknowledge me.”

Cipha Sounds echoed this idea, telling XXL that “I’ve heard a lot of the new album, and I love it. But for Big Boi to put A$AP Rocky on a song—and it’s not just because it’s a New York thing—I feel like their styles, their vibes are very similar. For A$AP Rocky and Big Boi to do a song together, it makes perfect sense. When I hear it, I can’t even tell who’s who because they’re so intertwined in the rap.”

Bookending the new material with recognizable favorites, Big Boi went on to dance his way through “Elevators (Me & You),” “The Way You Move Me” and OutKast’s very first single, “Player’s Ball.” The Atlanta artists wrapped up the night with hometown anthem “Kryptonite” as the New York crowd threw their A’s up and worked hard to hang with Big Boi’s unstoppable energy. —Katie Moore