OutKast Proves It’s No Johnny-Come-Lately

“I bet there’s a lot of people that think that ‘Stankonia’ is our first album,” OutKast’s Andre 3000 said to the supercharged capacity crowd Saturday at the Universal Amphitheatre. The rapper then led the backing band into the smooth-flowing title track from his group’s debut album, 1994’s “Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik.”

His comment underscored the breakthrough the Atlanta duo has made in the last half-year.

OutKast moved to pop music’s front ranks with the release of last fall’s “Stankonia,” which was named album of the year in the Village Voice’s annual poll of pop music critics and has sold more than 3 million copies, with the help of the singles “Ms. Jackson” and “B.O.B.”

But “Stankonia” is only the latest of OutKast’s sonic masterpieces. Throughout its eight-year career, OutKast--Andre and his partner Big Boi--has constantly reinvented itself and regularly pushed hip-hop’s stylistic envelope, whether including a harmonica on its controversial “Rosa Parks” single in 1998 or by ditching the pimped-out feel of its first album for the stripped-down sound of its second, 1996’s “ATLiens.”

On Saturday, OutKast, backed by two singers, two guitarists, a DJ and occasionally four male dancers, delivered a thoroughly pleasing 100-minute set that displayed its virtually flawless catalog.

OutKast has also garnered attention because of Andre’s outlandish outfits. At the Amphitheatre it was an aqua get-up that was part Sgt. Pepper, part Parliament-Funkadelic and part spacesuit. Big Boi, by contrast, was draped in a low-key lavender denim suit that was more in keeping with traditional hip-hop gear.

The backdrop was a cave that hinted at OutKast’s otherworldly approach to music. From the moment it took the stage with “Gasoline Dreams,” a guitar-driven song from “Stankonia,” OutKast remained in full throttle. With little in the way of choreography, Andre and Big Boi commanded attention by delivering their polished raps with intensity and flair, moving from song to song quickly and with little of the trite call-and-response requests that plague many rap concerts.

The opening acts offered their own brands of scalding hip-hop. Xzibit, a Los Angeles rapper who is enjoying his first platinum album with “Restless,” ripped through 30 explosive minutes of his hard-hitting material, including a festive collaboration with his mentors Tha Liks. Ludacris, who like OutKast is from Atlanta, also delivered a combustible set.