Outkast took a Bay Area rapper to federal court over a name, and the story is messier than it looks
André 3000 and Big Boi filed a 31-page trademark suit against Oakland producer Ovrkast, but he says he never signed the deal they're suing him over. Plus: Tinashe's long-awaited 'Popstar' is finally out.
In brief
Outkast took a Bay Area rapper to federal court over a name, and the story is messier than it looks
On paper, this looks like hip-hop legends swatting a newcomer. In practice, it's a broken backroom deal, a 28-year-old Oakland producer who says he never actually signed anything, and a federal judge in Atlanta who now gets to sort it out.
Rolling Stone obtained the 31-page complaint, filed September 16 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Outkast has filed a lawsuit accusing the California rapper and producer Ovrkast of unlawfully using a "nearly identical" name after acknowledging it caused consumer confusion and after allegedly agreeing to adopt a new moniker. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Eleanor L. Ross.
Hip-hop duo Outkast and High Schoolers LLC sued Bay Area rapper Ovrkast, born Silas Wilson, in federal court over his stage name, filing suit September 16 in Georgia. The charges: trademark infringement, unfair competition, and breach of contract.
How it got here
This did not start with a surprise lawsuit. According to court documents, André 3000 (André Benjamin) and Big Boi (Antwan Patton) first sent Ovrkast a cease-and-desist in June 2025, after which he allegedly agreed to change his stage name to Overkxst by July 15, 2026. As part of the agreement, he was to stop using the name Ovrkast on social media, streaming platforms, merchandise, and in all other commercial capacities.
That deadline came and went. The lawsuit claims the deadline for the name change was postponed to July 15, 2026, but that Wilson decided to "renege" on the negotiated agreement and suggest alternate names that had previously been rejected by the plaintiffs. The lawsuit alleges that Wilson repeatedly delayed executing the final paperwork, attempted to propose unapproved replacement names, and ultimately continued releasing music and merchandise under the original title.
There's a wrinkle, though. Ovrkast now says he never signed the agreement the lawsuit claims required him to rebrand. The court will have to consider whether the negotiations created an enforceable settlement even without Wilson's signature, alongside the separate trademark allegations over continued use of Ovrkast. That distinction matters enormously. Breach of contract requires a contract. Whether one exists here is exactly what the litigation will turn on.
Outkast's trademark company, High Schoolers, says the duo has been among hip-hop's most recognizable acts since forming in 1993, winning six Grammy Awards and selling well more than 25 million records. The suit calls Wilson's continued use of the name deliberate. In the complaint, attorneys for the legendary hip-hop duo accused the lesser-known California artist of "knowingly, willfully, intentionally, and maliciously" trying to link himself to Outkast.
The suit's own evidence cuts both ways. One piece of evidence cited in the lawsuit is a 2025 Rolling Stone interview in which Ovrkast laments that people often confuse him for Outkast. That confession supports Outkast's consumer-confusion argument. But Ovrkast's attorneys could also read it as proof their client was not trying to free-ride on the name, he was complaining about the confusion, not celebrating it.
Wilson, 28, has built a growing profile as a rapper and producer, including work connected to Earl Sweatshirt and production credits on music by Drake. He is not some anonymous bedroom act. When the lawsuit went public, Ovrkast shared a screenshot of AllHipHop's story about the lawsuit with the caption "I thought it was love?"
Outkast is now asking a federal judge to permanently bar Wilson from using the name, order the destruction of all branded inventory, and award monetary damages. Outkast's November 2025 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame made their name one of the most valuable trademarks in the culture. This is not the first time they have moved to protect it. Outkast previously sued Atlanta electronic-music act ATLiens over its use of a name the duo coined for their acclaimed 1996 album. That case settled in February 2026 after the parties informed a federal court they had reached a general settlement framework.
Also dropping today: Tinashe's 'Popstar' is here
Separate from the legal drama, today is a genuinely significant day for R&B. Popstar is the eighth studio album by Tinashe, released through Nice Life Recording Company, Atlantic Records, and her own imprint Tinashe Music on September 25, 2026.
Tinashe's eighth album, Popstar, arrives as a 16-track finale to the trilogy that began with BB/Ang3l and Quantum Baby, and her first major-label release since 2018. The feature-free project spans pop, R&B, dance, hip-hop, and electronic sounds, with Zack Sekoff emerging as a key producer across singles including "Too Easy," "Melatonin," and "Pillow Fight."
The album's scope surprised even people who have followed her for years. Longer than her last two releases combined, Popstar pulls from R&B and trap, jazz and new age; there are TikTok samples and spectral, reverberating interludes. One track, "Sunglasses," produced by Arca, combines sparse electronics with a shuffling beat and Tinashe's hazy falsetto.
Tinashe told Stereogum what she wanted the title to mean. "When I think of the word 'popstar,' I don't think of it as something that's exclusionary of other genres," she said. The record runs 39 minutes across those 16 tracks. She will bring Popstar to Chicago, Brooklyn, and Los Angeles on her three-date Three Nights With a Popstar Tour in October and November.
Two years ago, Tinashe went from being a critics' favorite to a genuine presence on the charts. "Nasty" gave her her first solo Hot 100 entry, and a year later the Disco Lines remix of "No Broke Boys" went even further, climbing into the top 40. The question now is whether a major-label push behind a full-length album sustains that momentum or complicates it. First-week numbers will tell a lot.
Also out tonight, per HotNewHipHop: Leon Bridges drops Happiness Anytime and Tee Grizzley releases They Forgot. A busy enough Friday even before the courthouse drama.
Back in Atlanta, Silas Wilson has not yet formally answered the Outkast complaint in court. His next move, whether to fight, negotiate, or simply rebrand, will shape how music-industry trademark disputes are handled for independent artists for years.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
