The Hottest MCs in the Game list didn't exist back in 2003, but if it had, it's fairly certain that both Andre 3000 and Big Boi — the two tricky-tongued MCs who make up Atlanta's finest hip-hop tag team Outkast — would have battled for the top spot. The duo have not only dropped consistently great singles and albums (including the bona fide classics Aquemini and Stankonia) but have also pushed the boundaries of what hip-hop music can look, feel and sound like. Their records began as country boy salvos and rides in Cadillacs through old plantations, but when the millennium turned and Stankonia hit, they began to pull rap music apart and augment it with borrowed sounds from the worlds of dub, metal, drum and bass, psychedelic rock and good old-fashioned sugar pop. Their crown jewel was a double album that saw each member get a disc to himself that showed off each individual's greatest strengths. It was called Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, and it was originally released on this day back in 2003.

Andre 3000's disc got most of the attention, as it was by far the weirder and more genre-bending of the two (just look at the beat-heavy remix of "My Favorite Things," which follows the disco-goth of "Dracula's Wedding" and precedes the acoustic slow jam "Take Off Your Cool" — as weird a trifecta as you'll find on any hip-hop album). The Love Below also contained the hit "Hey Ya!" which became ubiquitous shortly after its release. In the end, Speakerboxxx ended up slightly underrated, as it relies more on Big Boi's sharp sense of metaphor and his adroit delivery than any sort of jazz odyssey. Nevertheless, "The Way You Move" is a great little Southern bounce number that should always be mentioned in the conversation about the best singles of the decade.

In his pre-MTV News days in the Bay Area, Sway created a major hip-hop radio show -- and that's where the MTV powers-that-be discovered him and brought him on board. So when Sway reunited with Big Boi this week to talk about his upcoming solo album, BB took a moment to give a shout-out to the show that he says helped break Outkast in America. The always-together Mr. Calloway was actually a little thrown by the props:

When Big Boi credited my partner King Tech and me for being the first to support Outkast in the entire country, it was a humbling moment that caught me off-guard. It reminded me how the country hadn't fully accepted Southern hip-hop at the time, as good as Outkast clearly were even back then.

One Love, Big Boi and Andre 3000!

Check MTVNews.com for more Big Boi and Outkast news over the coming week.

· OutKast's road manager - and former WCW pro wrestler - Chase Tatum, was found dead in his Atlanta home on Sunday, apparently from a drug overdose. Tatum's father told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that his son was dependent on painkillers. Our condolences go out to his family and the OutKast crew.

· More artists have been added to the Beale Street Music Festival, happening May 2-4 in one of our favorite cities in the country, Memphis. Lou Reed, My Chemical Romance, Fergie, Sheryl Crow, the Black Crowes, Aretha Franklin and hometown hottie, Cat Power, will join previously announced artists, The Roots, Santana, Matisyahu, Michael McDonald, Ben Folds, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Tegan and Sara, and Jerry Lee Lewis.

· Um, since we're all Fall Out Boy, all the time these days...the group's Pete Wentz will reportedly be releasing a CD/DVD entitled Making Mischief on April 9. It'll feature interviews and photos of Wentz and his clothing line, Clandestine Industries (and ostensibly no photos of his private parts). The companion CD will have music from groups like Four Year Strong, the Hush Sound, and unreleased tracks from the Cab and Tyga.

· Here in the office we are loving the new Big Boi song, "Royal Flush," featuring Raekwon and Andre 3000, which hit the net late last night. It's the first track to leak from Big Boi's solo album, Sir Luscious Left Foot, and while we are big, big fans of Big Boi (super-slept-on as a lyricist), once again his Outkast brother-in-arms, Andre 3000, kinda outshines him. We can't legally post the link here but if you're a savvy internet user, you'll find it.

· When the new album by funny, bespectacled Elvis Costello is released on April 22, it will be on vinyl only. Titled Momofuku, in reference to the popular NYC restaurant of the same name, all vinyl copies will include a voucher for a digital download version of the album. Poor CD feels all left out.

· A few days ago, there was lots of chatter about The Raconteurs' new album, Consolers of the Lonely being released on March 25, just a couple of weeks after Jack White turned in the final masters. Today, iTunes, mistakenly put the album up for download, and reports are that a handful of lucky folks downloaded the tunes. They have since shut down the accidental sale, but no doubt someone's already ripped it to a CD and put it out in the ether. Hi, Jack!