THE YEAR IS… 2000!
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The lyrics are a message to the mother of singer Erykah Badu. Andre 3000 (Andre Benjamin), one of the rappers in the group, had a child with Badu out of wedlock named Seven Sirius Benjamin. He wanted Badu’s mother to hear his side of the story, as he felt he was being portrayed as a bad father. He felt Badu kept him away from their child on purpose. Andre 3000 explained in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “I probably would never come out and tell Erykah’s mom, ‘I’m sorry for what went down.’ But music gives you the chance to say what you want to say. And her mom loved it. She’s like, ‘Where’s my publishing check?'”
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Outkast tried all sorts of tricks in the studio, making many odd requests of their engineer John Frye. “Ms. Jackson” is underpinned with an entire track that was played back in reverse, giving it an unusual, distorted feel to mesh with the disquieting lyric. The reverse effect is most prominent on the percussion, especially the congas.
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This won the Grammy for Best Rap Performance by Duo or Group. Outkast also won for Best Rap Album.
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How did the real “Ms. Jackson,” Erykah Badu’s mother, Kolleen Maria Gipson, take being the subject of a hit song? “How did my mama feel? Baby, she bought herself a ‘Ms. Jackson’ license plate,” Badu said. “She had the mug, she had the ink pen, she had the headband, everything. That’s who loved it.”
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Early in their career, Oukast was out to change the perception of Hip-Hop culture. Andre 3000 explained, “When I look at the rap videos, it’s pretty much the same video over and over, a bunch of women in swimsuits and the guys rapping about money or jewels. Me and Big Boi wanted to change that.”
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