OutKast is taking a dispute over its iconic name to federal court.
High Schoolers LLC, the company that controls trademark rights associated with André 3000 and Big Boi, has sued Oakland rapper and producer Silas Wilson, who performs as Ovrkast, for trademark infringement. The complaint, filed Sept. 16 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, centers on the similarities between the names “Ovrkast” and “OutKast” and an alleged agreement that was supposed to settle the dispute before it reached court, reports Rolling Stone
.According to the lawsuit, OutKast’s representatives contacted Wilson in June 2025 and negotiated a deal under which he would stop using the Ovrkast name and transition to “Overkxst.” The agreement reportedly required him to make the change across his music, social media, website, merchandise, and promotional materials before the deadline, which was extended to July 15, 2026. However, High Schoolers LLC alleges Wilson did not complete the change and continued releasing and promoting music under Ovrkast. As a result, the company sent a breach notice in August.
The lawsuit points to a 2025 Rolling Stone interview in which Wilson acknowledged that listeners sometimes mistake his stage name for the iconic rap duo formed in 1993.
“The worst thing I get is like, ‘The n—a think he Outkast,’” said Wilson, who is noted for producing Drake’s “Make Them Pay” on his new album Iceman along with co-producing “Red Button” and “The Shoe Fits” from Drake’s For All the Dogs album. “It’s like, ‘No, bro. I wasn’t even thinking about Outkast.’”
Wilson added that, “They read Ovrkast [as] Outkast,” describing the confusion he encountered.
After news of the lawsuit surfaced, Wilson responded on X with a brief message directed at the six-time Grammy Award-winning group: “Ouch @Outkast.”
High Schoolers LLC is seeking a permanent injunction preventing Wilson from using Ovrkast or confusingly similar names. The company is also seeking damages, profits, legal fees, and destruction of merchandise carrying the disputed mark.
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