BIG BOI (US)
Is he the greatest rapper of our time? Well, he definitely belongs to the elite. Antwan “Big Brother” Patton has tended to be overshadowed by his far more flamboyant and outgoing Outkast partner André 3000. However, that doesn’t mean that he is any less interesting from a musical point of view; no, rather the opposite. While André has been experimenting with both image and genre, Big Boi has kept his rap banner flying high and gotten more praise from the hip hop scene than his partner. And also, many Outkast fans prefer Big Boi’s more focused parts of the monumental double album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (2003), which together with the masterpiece Stankonia (2000) definitely will end up on most of the “Best of” lists that are bound to turn up now than the decade is nearing its end. It is the creative tension that has made Outkast one of the foremost groundbreakers of our time – but the battle between two large egos has also made the members slowly drift apart. The duo is not formally dissolved, but they’re not working together anymore.
During the past two years, Big Boi has leaked – or released, depending on how you see it – singles from the coming album Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty. Each and every one of them has taken the blog community and critics by storm, something which has made expectations massive prior to its release. The album will be released on the highly credible Def Jam. Therefore, the Øya Festival administration is pretty damn proud to present Big Boi as a solo act on a Norwegian stage for the first time ever. He presented a rather short pre-taste of his live show during this year’s SXSW festival in Texas, but during that time he gave the audience a bit of genuine tongue twister rap and some ultra catchy hooks. A couple of Outkast all time faves were also included in the set.
MYSPACE

LIDOLIDO (NO)
Peder Losnegård is only a 17 year old Norwegian lad, but he has still – under the moniker LidoLido – made quite an impression and proven to be a very gifted artist. The past few years he has released songs, remixes and mixtapes (the Play Loud Music series) of an overall high quality. This summer he secured his position as Norway’s most promising rapper with the compilation The Good Guy Mixtape, which both can and should be downloaded – for free and legally – from his homepage. This fall he also removed all doubt with the single Go’n’Be Gone – to the backdrop of a star-spangled music video.
Peter has been into music, for example drums and piano, all his life. The combination of impulses from a visiting American and a beat program on his daddy’s computer led him to the genre of hip hop. LidoLido really masters the live format now and has had the pleasure of playing support for international names like Bun B and Dead Prez, as well as our domestic faves Karpe Diem. Next year he’ll be performing at Øya. We bid LidoLido, Norway’s new favorite rapper, welcome!
MYSPACE