FEATURE:
Big News Travels Fast
IN THIS PHOTO: In a recent conversation with Mark Ronson, the legendary Big Boi revealed he and Kate Bush have recorded a track together
What Can We Expect from the Collaboration from Kate Bush and the OutKast Legend?
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THINGS are never quiet…
PHOTO CREDIT: Araya Diaz/Getty/RB/Redferns/Gered Mankowitz
or boring when it comes to Kate Bush and news! Even though she is not putting out new music at the moment, there are anniversaries and bits of news here and there that keep us all interested. 50 Words for Snow – her most-recent studio album – is ten on 21st November. The last recorded vocals we heard from Bush was in 2014 for Before the Dawn. That live residency was one where Bush made a rare return to the stage. There was a song from that residency/live album, And Dream of Sheep (originally from 1985’s Hounds of Love), where Bush recorded herself singing the song in a huge flotation tank at Pinewood Studios. I think that this is the last ‘single’ – even though it wasn’t an official single – from her. That was back in 2014. Since then, there have been books released about her, magazine and newspaper articles, blog pieces…in addition to countless posts on social media. If you asked most music lovers which artist they’d like to see release an album in 2021, Kate Bush’s name would be near the top. Another name near the top of that list is OutKast. The iconic Hip-Hop duo of rappers André ‘300’ Benjamin (formerly known as Dré) and Antwan ‘Big Boi’ Patton get referred to in the past tense. I do not think we have heard the last from them! Patton/Big Boi’s love of Kate Bush is no secret.
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in a promotional photo for 2011’s Director’s Cut/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush
The two crossed paths and shared a drink (or two) in 2014. I guess, as Bush has always had her ear to the ground and is always looking to venture in different directions, one could never rule out a collaboration between her and Big Boi. There have been rumours and talks of them recording together for a long time. Earlier in the year, I wrote about how Big Boi was being coy and seemed to suggest that a song had already been recorded. Nothing came of that. This week, the rumours seem to have transformed into fact – well…it would seem odd if they were not true! Seemingly confirming that something has been put on tape, it has sent fans of Big Boi and Kate Bush (especially the latter) into a spin! FADER were among those to report the news:
“Big Boi's love of Kate Bush is no secret, he likes to talk about her and her music at every available opportunity. He has also spent much of that time speaking about his dream of working with the elusive artist, who has largely retired from the public eye in recent years. However, in a new interview with Mark Ronson on The FADER Uncovered podcast, Big Boi confirms that he has been in the studio with his idol and that a "monster" collaboration is ready to be released.
Speaking to Ronson about his various collaborators throughout the years, Big Boi said: "I have a monster hit with Kate Bush that I'm just holding." Adding: "It's a dream come true and the people are going to fucking love it. It's fucking incredible."
Going into specific details, Big Boi explained that he met Bush in London when OutKast were on their 2014 reunion tour and Bush was staging her Before The Dawn residency in the city.
"I got tickets, me and my wife, and we went to go see her show that she had, played the live shows," he said. "And so from there, I get invited backstage, we have some wine and we talk. And her kid is there, he's about the same age as my kids, which is cool. And she signs an album for me and give me her number. So after that, about a year or so pass, and I told her I was coming back, I just said, "Hey, when can we do a song?" Just send her a text every now and then. I talked to her on the phone, "Hello. Hello. So lovely." And so I came back and she's like, "Let's go to dinner." So we went and she took me to dinner to this cool little pub place where I had almond cognac. And we was both throwing them back. It was the coolest experience."
"So we had dinner and then we're like okay. Her son was going off to college and she was just like, "Okay, I'm going to try to get to something when I get my studio set back up." And so my manager, being the great, great manager he is, he reached out to her manager a couple years ago and was like, "Hey, we need to make this happen."
IN THIS PHOTO: Mark Ronson/PHOTO CREDIT: Stephen Lovekin/WWD/Shutterstock
And I just so happened to have the right song that is fucking phenomenal, and sent it to her. And it had the words on there and she just had to sing the words. And then I wrote my verse and my boy Go Dreamer wrote her parts and wrote the hook. And it is incredible. It's incredible."
Big Boi says he has no specific plan to release the collaboration, but that it will arrive "whenever I think they deserve it, I'm going to give it to them." He also added that he hopes to incorporate an NFT element to the release involving the artwork.
The FADER Uncovered, the podcast series in which host Mark Ronson talks with the world’s most impactful musicians. The second season is currently airing with recent guests including DJ Premier, Japanese Breakfast, and J. Balvin. Follow and subscribe to The FADER Uncovered here and check back for new episodes every Monday”.
It is interesting to think that the two of them have worked up something. I am not sure whether Big Boi was literally in the same studio as Kate Bush, or whether something was done remotely – or perhaps there was a combination of the two. In terms of release date, it could come out in the next few days…or it may be something that is held back and teased.
For me, any news of Bush remerging and putting something new into the world is exciting! I have spent so much time recently talking about 50 Words for Snow and how beautiful an album that is. There is this enormous demand and yearning for new Bush music. It would be great if there was a Bush solo album first and then, whenever it is planned, putting out the collaboration. Given how rare Bush music is – definitely the past decade -, one cannot be choosy or too demanding! I think, if a song is coming out this year, it will be instantly unleashed and not teased with videos and too much fuss. It would be awesome to think the two have recorded a Christmas track together! I would love to hear that! Realistically, I doubt it is going to be a duet akin to what Bush and Peter Gabriel did on 1986’s Don’t Give Up. I know Big Boi would like that – especially if he got to recreate the video -, though it is more likely the song is more similar to what Big Boi and OutKast have put out through the years. Maybe something OutKast-sounding would be far-fetched. Again, it would be amazing if they recreated something from the 2003 double album, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. I have said multiple times how Bush can inhabit any sonic space and own it. She would ably be able to do a vocal with edge and Hip-Hop potency. Maybe her vocal would be a brief backing that adds an ethereal touch to Big Boi’s lead (imagine her Night Scented Stock from 1980’s Never for Ever or something from 50 Words for Snow).
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush during 2014’s Before the Dawn/PHOTO CREDIT: Ken McKay/Rex
In my opinion, there will be a fairly significant vocal offering from Bush. If you have the opportunity to record with her, you’re not going to reduce her to a few lines, are you?! In truth, predicting what two pioneering and unpredictable artists are going to do when joined together is impossible. I would say we’d get a combination of Kate Bush’s 50 Words for Snow – where she is on piano and her vocal is powerful-yet-softer -, and Big Boi would deliver a vocal that works around that. Not having heard a single second from any song between them, we also do not know what form it will come out on. I hope that it is available through streaming sites and people can access it easily. The fear is that it would be an NFT or there would be some sort of barrier or big cost involved. After almost a decade without a new Kate Bush studio album and so many people wondering whether OutKast will record again, there is this huge build and excitement about a partnership that, whilst unlikely on paper, makes perfect sense. These are two artists who respect one another and could deliver something magical! Let’s hope that something does come soon. I have said how I would prefer a Kate Bush album first. Though if she has no plans for one or it will not be until next year at the earliest, people are going to be more than eager for her and Big Boi to release something as soon as possible. When that song does arrive, the reaction across the music world and the Internet…
WILL be unbelievable!