Big Boi Launches Label, Andre 3000 Signs TV Deal

Mike's only previous release, 2003's Monster, was also issued by an Outkast-run imprint, the now-defunct Aquemini. So why bother setting up another label when the Aquemini name is just sitting there? "Basically Dre is mostly into acting now and didn't want to deal with the label anymore," Boi said, "but I'm still into music."

Bubba Sparxxx is also among the first crop of Purple Ribbon artists, according to allhiphop.com. The rest of the roster draws heavily from the extended Outkast family, including Sleepy Brown, Konkrete, and Scar.

As for Andre, you're more likely to read about him in Variety than in Vibe these days-- he is indeed full-on chasing the Sinatra/Elvis crossover dragon. There's the still-untitled, still-unseen Outkast movie-- manager Blue Williams told VH-1 back in March that it was at the editing stage, with a soundtrack to consist of new music by Big Boi and Andre. There's his just-announced production deal with MTV and Nickelodeon, the first fruits of which will be a kid-meets-Cupid-and-gets-Dad-a-new-wife kinda thing called The Hit. According to Hollywood Reporter, that project starts production sometime in 2006. There are his other film projects with big fancy directors, including Guy Ritchie's upcoming Revolver and John Singleton's just-finished Four Brothers (Dre plays Mark Wahlberg's brother, naturally). And let's not forget his current project, a star turn as the voice of Elwyn the Crow in a Nickelodeon animated remake of Charlotte's Web. By this time next year, we half expect to see Dre as Max Bialystok in The Producers, or possibly as the fifth Desperate Housewife.

href="http://pitchforkmedia.com/news/05-02/04.shtml#story3">Outkast Reveal Details of Their HBO Film
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