André Benjamin

André Lauren Benjamin (born May 27, 1975, in Atlanta Georgia), also known as André 3000, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and actor. He is in the band OutKast and is in movies such as Semi-Pro.

Early Life
Benjamin was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Sharon Benjamin Hodo, a single mother who sold real estate, and Lawrence Walker, a collections agent. Being an only child and growing up in East Point, Decatur and Buckhead, Benjamin saw many different lifestyles (clothing and music) that he combined throughout his career. He attended Sutton Middle School,and Tri-Cities High School where an orchestra teacher named Mrs. Natalie Colbert taught him how to play the violin.

Rapping Career
One of Benjamin's most famous albums was Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, a double album which highlighted the differences in the musical styles of the group's two members. André's half of the album, The Love Below, garnered the most attention from mainstream audiences, with the popular singles "Hey Ya!" and "Roses". The album's fourth single and video (Andre's third), "Prototype", was released shortly after, where as Big Boi's Speakerboxxx has seen the release of the hit "The Way You Move" and most recent single "Ghetto Musick." The Love Below was, unlike Speakerboxxx, an exercise in funk, jazz, and alternative music, featuring mostly sung (instead of rapped) vocals from André

Acting Career
Benjamin has also ventured into acting in recent years, starring in films Be Cool, Four Brothers, and Idlewild and the Guy Richie film Revolver. Andre also did a voice over for the cartoon Charlotte's Web.

In November 2006, Benjamin released his project Class of 3000 on Cartoon Network along with his own production company "Moxie Turtle" on each episode there is a moral and a song produced by Benjamin himself. He starred in the 2008 film Battle in Seattle, a film about the 1999 Seattle World Trade Organization protests.

Role in Semi-Pro
Benjamin starred in the 2008 film, Semi-Pro, playing Clarence Withers.