But for all Outkast’s success and creativity, many – myself included – thought that 3000 was their greatest weapon. But Patton’s extraordinary, long-awaited proper solo album Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son Of Chico Dusty changed all that last year. But the man himself doesn’t sound too fussed by other people’s opinions. “The people that know about me know that…I’m always gonna be a bad motherfucker,” he says in his trademark quick-fire style. “So, to the people that don’t know the truth of me – they might get a little confused. But I’m pretty sure everybody know. And if they didn’t know, they know now what time it is.”
Throughout our conversation Patton remains adamant that he’s not really doing anything differently. He’s still playing with the same live band, still working outside of mainstream radio and still sees a killer live show as the bedrock of the Big Boi experience. The fact that he is still doing what he’s always done even in these days of upheaval and uncertainty in the music industry suggests that he knows, ultimately, that his music is good enough to stand on its own.
As he always has, Patton is backing his style to succeed despite falling outside the usually accepted sound of America’s king-making radio stations. “You can’t make funk for the radio”, he explains. “Radio don’t play good music like they used to – it’s all big business, and all programmed. So, really, I don’t give a fuck about no radio. And radio ain’t playing nothing but commercial stuff. They not playing what the people want to hear. They programming you to like the songs they playing. So who’s being programmed?”
In many ways the 2011 landscape is perfectly suited for artists like Patton. The best way to reach new people is by word of mouth, impressing one person so that they tell five others about it. And it’s all based on live performance, rather than selling millions of records. “It’s all about branding, now,” he tells me with ironclad certainty. “You have to cross-brand, and cross-market, and sometimes you team up with different partners to do things. Record companies now, being that everybody is downloading all the music, the music is basically free. And concert tickets and merchandise are where the money is. If you don’t have a live show, if you don’t know how to kill shit live, your ass stupid.”
Mind you, that’s not to suggest that Patton doesn’t put a lot of effort in to his records, and he’s poised to drop a follow-up tentatively titled Daddy Fat Saxx: Triple Unadulterated Funk. Or Daddy Fat Saxx: Soul Funk Crusader, depending on who you ask. Really poised. And if that doesn’t suggest confidence in your style, I don’t know what does.
“I’m like 17 songs in to it, and everything sounds phenomenal”, Patton says, full of self-belief rather than boastfulness. “Some of the most ferocious rhymes you ever gonna hear in your life. The nastiest, grittiest, fry-your-face-off funk, we got it going… and the beats gonna be banging. I could put that motherfucker out tomorrow if I wanted to, but I’m just going to wait and marinate on it. Just chill. We having fun out here on the tour.”
This tour has been going on for a long time, and remarkably Patton will be coming to Sydney for the third time in the twelve months since the album’s release. The other two have been lightning-quick promotional trips with only a DJ and a backing track, but Patton is looking forward to a longer tour, and the opportunity to string a few shows together. “We gonna spend some time this time”, he begins, relishing the thought. “We gonna soak in that funk… I’ve been travelling with the same band for years, and they played on all our albums. And this is the same band, man. The same funk band. The drummers, the congo players, the guitar players, horn players, background singers, bass – everything, man. We put on a show that’s an experience you never want to forget. It’s high energy, high impact and we’re gonna have a lot of fun.”
Patton is clearly having a great time out on his own. He seems energised by the experience, and nearly all the reviews have been glowing. And I’m excited too, but a large part of me wishes it was a full Outkast tour. And although I know it’s never going to happen, I have to ask: will Outkast ever exist again? Patton’s answer couldn’t be more ambiguous, but it seems promising. “There’s something brewing”, he says, stringing me along. “But we’ll make the announcement. Anything that you see on the internet – we haven’t confirmed anything. We’re working on music right now, but when the fans hear from us they’ll know when it’s gonna come. So just tell everybody to stay tuned.”
