If we’re thinking about the most iconic songs of the early 2000s, “Hey Ya!” has to mandatorily be included in the list, no questions asked. To me, it is a reminder of childhood car rides to the beach in summer, with the radio blasting the fun, energetic vibes of what certainly is OutKast’s most widely recognizable song. That being said, it’s also one of those songs like Foster the People’s “Pumped up Kicks,” in which people tend to focus on the rhythm and musicality instead of the underlying darker message contained in the lyrics.
The song was written, produced, and performed by one of the two main band members André 3000. But how long ago was this?
When was ‘Hey Ya!’ released?
The lead single was written a few years before it grew into a huge commercial success. André 3000 wrote it after the turn of the century in 2000, first composing it on the acoustic guitar. However, it wasn’t until nearly two years later that he actually began recording it, a process which took many days, even more takes, and the help of additional musicians such as Kevin Kendricks and Pete Novak.
The song was released two decades ago, in August 2003, and it quickly became an international hit, acclaimed by both critics and the public. In an essay on the song, Okayplayer’s Ryan Gaur likened its lyrics about love to André 3000’s own relationship with music, and how there was a shift after “Hey Ya!” He wrote “The innocence of creating art out of passion, developing into creating art for a label, leading to creating art for a hungry fanbase of millions distorts one’s relationship to the thing they initially fell in love with.” “Hey Ya!” was the peak of OutKast’s recognition, and no song that came before or afterward has been met with the same kind of worldwide success.
André himself commented on the song, explaining how it reflects the state of relationships at the time – and probably still to this day. The musician told VH1 in November 2003: “A lot of people stay together for tradition. […] I think it’s more important to be happy than to meet up to somebody else’s expectations or the world’s expectations of what a relationship should be. So this is a celebration of how men and women relate to each other in the 2000s. But you wouldn’t know that if you just danced all night. You really have to sit down and listen to it.”
No matter how much time passes, whether you’re sitting down and listening attentively, dancing all night and “shaking it like a Polaroid picture,” or on a car ride to the beach, “Hey Ya!” is one of those legendary songs that never gets old.
