We all know that Outkast’s Andre 3000 is a consummate exhibitionist. In addition to his flamboyant stage persona and newly minted clothing line, Andre is foraging into a new and glitzy genre: the rock musical. The long-awaited project from Dre and Big Boi is slated for release this summer. Fantasies of Dre as the next pinball wizard (a la the Who’s Tommy) or cowardly lion (like in Diana Ross’s the Wiz) should be put aside: Though he has a penchant for the over-the-top, this rock opera is set in the 1930s, not in a mystical land of Oz. Outkast’s manager, Blue Williams, compares the as-yet-unnamed film to Prince’s 1984 masterpiece of kitsch, Purple Rain. Macy Gray and Patti LaBelle are also featured along with the boys from Hotlanta. Look for the Outkast movie in mid-June.
