Outkast vs. Ovrkast: Hip-hop duo sues rapper for 'nearly identical' name
Big Boi and André 3000, of Outkast, appear on the set of a video shoot in Los Angeles on April 28, 2002. (Kevin Winter/ImageDirect/Getty Images)Social SharingOutkast members Big Boi and André 3000 are suing Ovrkast, an Oakland,-based rapper and music producer, for trademark infringement, unfair competition and breach of contract over similarity in the two acts' names.
The lawsuit, filed in Georgia on Sept. 16 by High Schoolers LLC, which manages Outkast's trademarks, alleges that Ovrkast, real name Silas Wilson, intentionally used the "nearly identical" name outside of an agreement between the two parties that he stop.
Referencing southern hip-hop mainstay Outkast's fame, influence and "famous, extremely valuable" brand, the 31-page complaint said that an attempt to "amicably resolve" the issue failed. The allegations have not been proven in court.
In their complaint, Atlanta-based Outkast pointed to a 2025 Rolling Stone interview in which Wilson spoke about people actively confusing the names Ovrkast and Outkast as evidence that the similarity deceives fans.
"The worst thing I get is, like, [people saying] 'The n---a think he Outkast.' It's like, 'No, bro, I wasn't even thinking about Outkast,'" he said in that interview.
"They read Ovrkast [as] Outkast. They’re like, 'Oh my God, I thought they said Outkast.' And it’s like, it don't, so…."
Wilson, who has worked with artists like Earl Sweatshirt and Drake, posted a response to the complaint on Instagram on Tuesday.
"I thought it was love?" he wrote in a post that tagged both Big Boi (Antwan André Patton) and André 3000 (André Lauren Benjamin). He followed that up with Instagram Story posts about the lawsuit that included a broken heart emoji and the song Why Can't We Be Friends by War, as well as a video where he characterized the lawsuit as fundamentally unbelievable.
According to the lawsuit, Big Boi and André 3000 claim they sent Ovrkast a cease and desist letter in June 2025. Subsequently, the suit states, the parties signed a settlement agreement and negotiated a plan: Ovrkast would cease use of the name and transition to the name Overkxst.
After requesting an extension, the suit states they agreed to a July 15, 2026, deadline for that transition.
Following that agreement, the suit claims Wilson "repeatedly and unnecessarily delayed the execution of the settlement agreement for months," before requesting he be allowed to use different names — and then shutting down communication entirely.
It further alleges that Wilson is in breach of the settlement agreement and continues to use the Ovrkast name he had consented to remove.
"[The] defendant's actions demonstrate that he knowingly, wilfully, intentionally and maliciously adopted and uses the Ovrkast mark and demonstrate an intentional, wilful and malicious intent to trade on the goodwill associated with plaintiff and the Outkast mark," the lawsuit reads.
Outkast is asking for a court to bar Wilson from using the Ovrkast name, for Wilson to pay their legal fees and to hand over all profits gained by the "unlawful activities alleged herein."
Additionally, they request that Wilson "deliver for destruction" all merchandise with the Ovrkast brand.
CBC News reached out to Wilson for comment on the lawsuit, but did not immediately hear back.
Jackson Weaver is a reporter and film critic for CBC's entertainment news team in Toronto. You can reach him at jackson.weaver@cbc.ca.
