“What’s in a name? that which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet” — William Shakespeare, sometime between 1591 and 1595
“Shawn Carter to ‘Jay-Z’? / Damn, you on Jaz’ dick” — Nas, sometime between Summer Jam and December 4, 2001
When Andre Benjamin and Antwan Patton met, they were rivals. The cafeteria of Tri-Cities High School in East Point was the arena for innumerable battles between the two. But if you’re 16 years old and realize you’re a generationally gifted rapper, you might subsequently realize that the guy who keeps hemming you up between the chicken nuggets and mashed potatoes is one, too, and your time would be better spent collaborating. So they formed a group. They called themselves 2 Shades Deep, which stuck only long enough for someone to point out that there was already a group kicking around called 4 Shades Deep. Andre and Antwan settled on another name: Outkast.
