This story has been updated to include Ovrkast’s tweet from September 23.
Outkast, the Grammy-winning, Rock Hall-inducted duo of André 3000 and Big Boi, are suing Ovrkast for trademark infringement, unfair competition, and breach of contract. In a lawsuit filed in Georgia on September 16, High Schoolers LLC—the holding company that handles Outkast’s name and trademark—accused the Oakland rapper-producer born Silas Wilson of “improper, willful, unauthorized, and illegal use of the nearly identical name.”
“I thought it was love? (yes this is real),” Ovrkast captioned a post on Instagram reacting to the news, tagging both André and Big Boi. In a tweet, he added, “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.” Pitchfork has reached out to Outkast’s representatives for comment.
In a complaint viewed by Pitchfork, attorneys for André and Big Boi accused Ovrkast of reneging on a prior agreement to permanently discontinue using his current alias and switch to the agreed-upon name of Overkxst. The original, the suit added, was likely to “cause confusion…or deceive the public into the false belief” that it had anything to do with Outkast.
The complaint further pointed to a 2025 interview with Rolling Stone as evidence that Ovrkast consistently faced accusations that he copied the name. “The worst thing I get is like, ‘The n—-a think he Outkast,’” he said. “It’s like, ‘No, bro. I wasn’t even thinking about Outkast.’ Mad n—-as do that shit. They read Ovrkast [as] Outkast.”
In 2024, Outkast sued the far more egregiously named EDM duo ATLiens for, well, you know. The suit was settled earlier this year.