T-Pain, Big Boi, Kelis, and Lil Jon on the Art of Side Quests
Written by SOURCE on February 22, 2023
As some musicians find time for second careers, perhaps the most talked-about hobby of any rapper belongs to Big Boi’s title of pet dad. The Dungeon Family mainstay has loved animals for as long as he can remember, or at least since his grandfather would let him and his brothers look after his German Shepherd puppies, he tells us.
These days, however, Big Boi is the owner of four owls (Hootie, Simon, Whodini, and Tula; “That’s enough for right now,” he says), 40 to 50 French Bulldogs, a pet tiger Bodhi who stays at a zoo, and some fish friends as well. His massive collection of pets uses his just-as-massive 40 acres of land in Atlanta. So while his love for creatures has been ever-present, Big Boi knows it might catch others off guard, and he’s seen it first hand. “People get a chance to get a glimpse into your personal side, and of course they’re gonna be confused,” he explains over Zoom.
“You can go back as far as the early OutKast albums. We had the pitbulls, then we had the frenchies and stuff like that,” he says. “It’s just a cool thing to have quality animals, and you can create something so beautiful that can be an extension of somebody’s family and their home and bring joy to their kids. This ain’t just some backyard boogie, this that real deal”
It’s been four years—maybe longer—since Sir Lucious welcomed his first owl Simon. At the time, the owlet’s trainer Roy Lau figured the rapper could use an “introductory friend.” He eventually added three more to his crew.
“I’ve had them since they were owlets. They were small, fuzzy,” Big Boi says. “They just had their down feathers, so they were little bitty ones. At first it was kind of intimidating. But once you pet them and they get to know you, they’ll just take a liking to you.”
The Atlanta legend sees his birds at least twice a month, and even has a home for them in his backyard behind a dog kennel. They spend most of their time with their handler, but when Big Boi introduces the owls to new friends in the studio, the reaction tends to be the same. “‘Holy shit,’ they back up. They get scared a little bit until they see that the bird’s not even thinking about them.”
Some of his favorite memories with the birds date back to their firsts, almost the way a father would recall his kid’s first steps. Big Boi’s voice lights up when he talks about the first time Hootie landed on his glove.
And now three-plus decades into his storied career, he’s hoping to use what he’s learned in pet ownership to spread some joy to his community. In three to five years, Big Boi tells us, he wants to own a pet shop.
“That’s my dream thing to do. If I were to take some time off and go ahead and live life, I want a pet shop, man, so I can just spread that joy with these animals. I want it to be like the dopest spot, where you can get everything you want,” he says. “Eventually, I’ll want my own zoo. My own rescue center, where I can do exotics as well. I can have a farm. I want a pet store where we sell finger monkeys and all kinds of silly exotic fish and the whole nine yards. Kinda like Pee Wee Herman.”
