Armed with an a.k.a.

Going back to their days as high-school classmates in Atlanta, Antwan Patton and André Benjamin have been dreaming up alter egos. “We knighted ourselves Knights in Rhyming Armor, because we’re dead serious about this lyricism,” Big Boi says with a laugh. “It’s just Dre and I being silly as hell around the studio.” But with more personalities than Sybil, Big Boi’s litany of characters can be hard to keep up with. We ask the MC to break it down.

1. Billy Ocean
“A microphone fiend. He love that microphone. That’s for when you break a good slow jam and you can just crank it up.”

2. Hot Tub Tony
“Somewhat of a playboy. Likes to wear alligator shoes all the time.”

3. Sir Lucious Left Foot
“When you come, you gotta come hard. And Left Foot puts the best foot forward. He’s just a grown-man version of Big Boi. The whole mentality is straight grown-up style, you know what I mean?”

4. Francis the Savannah Chitlin’ Pimp
“That’s straight Savannah, Georgia, you know what I’m sayin’? That’s where I grew up at. He’s real country, a down-home bluesy-type guy. The guy only eats seafood. Like shrimp and grits.”

5. Daddy Fat Sax
“He’s a Cadillac rider. Flip-flops and socks all day. I don’t think he even wears shoes at all. Sweatpants all the time. He’s real laid-back.”

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