Atlanta’s Big Boi, with sons, uplifts family and fatherhood on new podcast
Celebrity podcasts have become ubiquitous as of late, with stars as varied as Michelle Obama, Conan O’Brien and Dua Lipa taking on hosting duties. In a few instances, celebrities become more known as podcast hosts than the talent that made them famous (hello, Joe Budden).
Listeners can’t get enough of them, either. In 2025, 54% of U.S. adults said they’ve listened to a podcast in the past 12 months, according to Pew Research. Earlier this year, the Golden Globes made best podcast an official category at January’s ceremony (with the award going to “Good Hang With Amy Poehler”).
For Big Boi, one half of Atlanta’s legendary rap duo Outkast, diving into podcasting required heavy convincing, especially for someone who rarely gives interviews. Ten years of convincing, to be exact. That’s how long his manager suggested the idea to him.
“It’s got to be about something,” Big Boi, speaking exclusively to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, said about his hesitancy to host a podcast. “It got to mean something.”
Then came last year’s Outkast celebration at Cascade Skating Rink, commemorating the 25th anniversary of their fourth album, “Stankonia.” At the event, Big Boi’s youngest son, Cross, interviewed his dad. Their effortless, lighthearted banter laid the foundation for “Big Boi’s Bloodlines & Basslines,” a new iHeart Media podcast hosted by Big Boi and sons Cross and Bamboo.
The first episode debuted Wednesday.
“It was like a light bulb went off,” Big Boi said of the initial interview with his son. “Bamboo was living in Arizona at the time (he now lives with Cross in Buckhead), and it was, like, maybe we turn this into something about fatherhood. I can get with that. Just (wanting) to be a positive influence to fathers and sons out there.”
“Big Boi’s Bloodlines & Basslines” will be 10-minute episodes released three times each week, typically on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Each episode of the audio-only podcast will feature the three hosts having casual conversations about their family dynamic.
“We’re not talking about pop culture; we’re talking about real-life experiences here. … This s--- is so potent, we can’t give so much,” Big Boi said about the show’s unorthodox structure. “Y’all gonna fall out, you feel me?”
In conversation, it’s hard to decipher the hosts’ respective personalities, which makes sense, considering they’re Aquarians. Their words are succinct, their demeanor unflappable, their jokes endless. Or, as Big Boi puts it, they’re “one of the trillest bloodlines in the universe.”
Bamboo, whose real name is Antwan André Patton II, is the second-oldest of Big Boi’s three kids (his oldest, daughter Jordan, is a psychologist in Alabama who’ll appear in a few episodes). He said the podcast lets them share insight on being celebrity children whose personal journeys aren’t always in the limelight.
The 26-year-old has a 5-year-old son, who adorably reads the show’s credits at the end of each episode. Both Bamboo and Cross invest in real estate.
“We’re grateful to be able to talk about life with our father,” Bamboo said. “Not a lot of people get to do that. We’re just being us.”
Cross, a former Division-I athlete, played football for Bethune-Cookman University, the University of Oregon and the University of Nevada. He said the podcast is a space to learn more about their superstar dad.
“We’re still learning new stuff about each other every day,” the 25-year-old said. “Every time we do these episodes, it’s just a real treat to hear about what he’s been through in the past.”
One of those interesting tidbits is shared in the first episode (which at 23 minutes is a longer one, given it’s the premiere). Big Boi revealed that, when he was a child, his mom dated the oldest son of Atlanta Braves legend Hank Aaron.
He lived in Aaron’s pool house for some of the relationship, but Aaron kicked them out because he and his siblings were running up the phone bill (“We didn’t know any better,” Big Boi shared. “We still got love for him. Shout out to Hank, one of the greatest baseball players ever”).
Since last year, Big Boi, Cross and Bamboo have recorded over 50 episodes for the show — sometimes at Stankonia Studios, sometimes in the basement of Big Boi’s home in metro Atlanta. They record every Tuesday.
“This is like the closest thing to a regular job I had ever,” the 51-year-old said.
Speaking of his main job, Big Boi, unprovoked, shared that he’s planning to release an album soon, revealing that he sent his sons some of the new music. Shortly after, though, Big Boi, suddenly realized he’d dished exclusive information to a journalist on-camera, looked down and laughed — stopping himself from offering any more details. (“We’re gonna drop one single at a time. See this s--- too potent. I’m not giving you no more”).
With his podcast, Big Boi hopes to inspire other fathers to see that it’s “cool to be a dad,” adding that he was a very hands-on parent as he juggled immense fame. He had his daughter, Jordan, when he was 19, right when Outkast began to revolutionize Southern hip-hop.
“We talk about everything, even the supernatural,” Big Boi said. “It just ain’t on the Earth now. We’re in several different dimensions.”