Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, he was one half of the hip hop duo Outkast along with rapper Big Boi, which the two formed in 1992.

[1][2][3][4] As part of Outkast, the duo's six studio albums were each met with critical and commercial success, spawning hit singles including "Ms. Jackson", "Roses", "So Fresh, So Clean", and "Elevators (Me & You)", among others.

Outside of music, Benjamin has acted in films and television series such as Families, The Shield, Be Cool, Revolver, Class of 3000, Semi-Pro, High Life, Four Brothers, and in the lead role of Jimi Hendrix in All Is by My Side.

[11] In high school, Benjamin (who was then performing as Dré) met Antwan "Big Boi" Patton in 1992 at the Lenox Square shopping mall when they were both 16 years old.

On their next two albums, ATLiens (1996) and Aquemini (1998), Outkast experimented with their sound by adding elements of trip hop, soul, and jungle.

With the duo's portrayal of themselves as out-of-place extraterrestrials in ATLiens, Benjamin's lyrics, in particular, were noted for their surreal, space-age tinge: "the funkadelic, futuristic, and seemingly unfamiliar, weird, or eccentric persona projected by André 3000 creates the chance to transcend the more pronounced characterizations of gangstas and pimps so regularly assumed by black men rap artists.

Outkast's fourth album, Stankonia (2000), introduced Benjamin's new alias André 3000 (largely to distinguish himself from Dr. Dre and to announce a new persona following his split with Badu) and increased the group's crossover appeal with the single "Ms. Jackson", which hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Though Big Boi's half of the album, Speakerboxxx, spawned the number-one hit "The Way You Move" and the relatively successful "Ghetto Musick", Benjamin's The Love Below garnered the most attention from mainstream audiences, with the popular singles "Hey Ya!"

Unlike Speakerboxxx, The Love Below is an exercise in funk, jazz, and alternative music, featuring vocals from Benjamin which are mostly sung instead of rapped.

His contributions to original songs included UGK's "International Players Anthem", Devin the Dude's "What a Job", Fonzworth Bentley's "Everybody", and Big Boi's "Royal Flush" alongside Raekwon.

[19] On June 7, Big Boi leaked a collaboration with Benjamin and Sleepy Brown entitled "Lookin' 4 Ya", which had originally been intended for Big Boi's debut solo album Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty before it was blocked by Jive Records from appearing on the album.

Benjamin continued his string of guest appearances throughout the year, featuring on Lloyd's song "Dedication to My Ex (Miss That)", Lil Wayne's "Interlude", and Drake's "The Real Her".

On July 10, 2012, Channel Orange, the debut album by singer-songwriter and Odd Future member Frank Ocean, was released.

Also in July 2012, Rick Ross's album God Forgives, I Don't featured Benjamin on the song "Sixteen", once again supplying vocals and guitar.

[21] On May 6, 2013, the soundtrack for the 2013 film The Great Gatsby was released, featuring a cover by Benjamin and Beyoncé of Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black", marking their second collaboration.

The following month, Capital Cities released their debut album, In a Tidal Wave of Mystery, on which Benjamin was featured on the song "Farrah Fawcett Hair".

"[22][23] In 2014, Benjamin appeared on fellow Dungeon Family member Future's second studio album, Honest, on a song titled "Benz Friendz (Whatchutola)".

[24] In November 2015, Benjamin made a surprise guest appearance on the track "Hello" from Erykah Badu's mixtape But You Caint Use My Phone.

[26] Benjamin also appeared on the track "the ends" from Travis Scott's second studio album, Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight.

[33] Benjamin's early hip hop influence was Rakim, who inspired him to rap at school talent shows as a teenager.

[34] He was also heavily influenced by A Tribe Called Quest, stating that group member Q-Tip is "kind of like the father of all of us, like me, Kanye, Pharrell".

[39] With the release of Outkast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below album, Billboard stated that Benjamin had proved himself to be "an eccentric emo crooner and one of hip-hop's elite at the same time".

[1] Henry Adaso of About.com noted that in Benjamin's solo career, he had developed "a reputation for stealing the show with nearly every guest appearance".

[1][3][4][2] Benjamin began producing music on Outkast's ATLiens album, and later co-founded the production team Earthtone III, which also consisted of Big Boi and Mr.

[34] Benjamin has made appearances in Families, The Shield (he plays Robert Huggins, a character that originated in an episode titled "On Tilt" from Season 3 in 2004), Be Cool, Revolver, Semi Pro, and Four Brothers.

As of November 2006, Benjamin voiced Sunny Bridges, a prize-winning musician who gives up touring to teach at his alma mater, in Class of 3000, an animated series on Cartoon Network which he also produced.

[47] In 2004, alongside Alicia Silverstone, Benjamin was voted by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) as the "World's Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity".