Legendary southern rap group OutKast is suing another recording act in federal court over a name.
Antwan “Big Boi” Patton and André “André 3000” Benjamin make up the Atlanta-based duo, widely regarded as one of hip-hop’s greatest acts since the 1990s.
Rapper-producer Silas Wilson emerged on the music scene much later, adopting a similar stage name after discovering the Instagram handle “Overkast” was already taken.
He shortened it and altered the spelling to create his own version: Ovrkast.
The Oakland-bred entertainer began his career in the rap collective Lo-Fiction before breaking out as a soloist.
“Not Outkast though,” Ovrkast explained during an interview two years ago. He acknowledged the similar spelling and the confusion it could cause even then.
On Sept. 16, Outkast’s holding company, High Schoolers LLC, filed a lawsuit against Wilson, 28, in Georgia. The plaintiffs accuse Ovrkast of trademark infringement, unfair competition, and breach of contract.
The court filings claim the name Ovrkast could “cause confusion… or deceive the public into the false belief” that he was directly connected to OutKast.
According to reports, the two sides reached a prior agreement where Wilson consented to changing his stage moniker from Ovrkast to OVERKXST by July 15.
High Schoolers’ legal team argued that Wilson received a breach notice on August 5, compelling him to comply with the previous arrangements by an August 11 deadline.
The suit quoted Wilson’s own words from a July 2025 interview with Rolling Stone as evidence that Ovrkast and OutKast were too similar and can easily puzzle consumers.
“The worst thing I get is like, ‘The N-word think he OutKast.’ It’s like, ‘No, bro. I wasn’t even thinking about OutKast.’ Mad N-word do that s***,” Wilson stated.
He continued, “They read Ovrkast [as] OutKast. They’re like, oh my God, I thought they said OutKast. And it’s like, it don’t, so…”
As news of the lawsuit spread across the internet, Wilson shared his response to being in a legal fight with the “Ms. Jackson” hitmakers.
“Ouch @Outkast,” the beatmaker tweeted on Sept. 22. Wilson also addressed the situation on Instagram by writing, “I thought it was love? @andre3000 @bigboi (yes, this is real).”
Wilson also got on camera to vent his frustrations. Complex uploaded the “Try Again” mixtape creator’s Instagram Story video where he discussed the lawsuit.
“The funniest part about this whole s*** is N-word as being like, ‘Is this real?’” Wilson said while walking outside. “Like N-word can’t even fathom that this could be a real thing. And that’s poetic justice.”
On Wednesday morning, Wilson tweeted, “Theres a lot that I’ve been dealing with emotionally/mentally this past year behind closed doors regarding this whole situation. So before you criticize please remember that I am the newer and younger artist trying to figure my way.”
Ovrkast fans flooded his social media comment sections with their own reactions to him being sued by OutKast’s legal team.
For instance, award-winning record producer Louis “Kaytranada” Celestin commented on Wilson’s Instagram post. Reacting to news of the lawsuit, the Haitian-Canadian beatmaker simply wrote, “Say what now?”
Music journalist Rob Markman posted on IG, “No way. Ain’t no way.” He also tweeted, “I love OutKast, my favorite rap group of all time, but this ain’t it, man. Never once confused Ovrkast for OutKast.”
One person on Twitter replied, “Ovrkast himself said that fans confuse them, and also that he would change his name. He just never did.”
A second X user sided with OutKast by adding, “It’s jacking them. Bad take.” However, the Dungeon Family members caught heat when someone predicted, “They’ll lose. What a stupid lawsuit.”
The debate over the suit also played out under the Ovrkast tweet. Case in point, one reply read, “You clearly played on the OutKast name. Bozo.”
“They’re so lame for that,” declared another commenter who condemned OutKast’s trademark company’s legal action against Wilson.
Similarly, an Ovrkast supporter expressed, “Yeah them old N-word buggin, wtf, lmao.” Meanwhile, one account backed OutKast by telling Wilson, “You did this for clout.”
In February, OutKast settled a trademark infringement lawsuit against an electronic dance music duo performing under the name ATLiens.
OutKast released their groundbreaking sophomore album “ATLiens” in 1996. High Schoolers LLC contested in federal court that the EDM group’s name caused consumer confusion.
“The duo comprising defendant performs with masks on, thereby concealing their identities such that consumers will mistakenly believe that the members of Defendant are one and the same with — or at least somehow connected to — plaintiff,” read the initial suit against ATLiens.
In addition to “ATLiens,” OutKast’s studio discography includes 1994’s “Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik,” 1998’s “Aquemini,” 2000’s “Stankonia,” and 2003’s “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.”
Big Boi, 51, and André 3000, 51, have won six Grammy Awards as a duo. “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below” became only the second hip-hop project to win the Grammy for Album of the Year.
Plus, OutKast scored three No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100: “Ms. Jackson” in 2001, followed by “Hey Ya!” in 2003 and “The Way You Move” in 2004. The iconic rap duo was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2025.
