“Aaron Mills is one bad mutha to have in the studio,” says André Benjamin, aka André 3000, the mastermind behind hip-hop iconoclasts OutKast. He ought to know – Mills' are all over OutKast's Grammy-winning rap album, . A Chicago-based electric and upright bassist who has been performing, recording, thumping, and slapping with Cameo on and off since 1979, Mills provided the backbone for two biggest hits, and .
And in an unusual move for the programmed, looped world of hip-hop, he laid down his pulsating lines all the way through each track. “Some younger musicians always expect me to loop it,” Mills told . “When I say that playing it live is a piece of cake, they're almost shocked.
I'll say, ‘Let me play it for you, and I can expand on it if you want me to. But if you want the same thing all the way through, I can give it to you like that.’” An experienced professional, Aaron Mills' personal history and musical concepts are remarkable – all of which became clear when we spoke with him.
“My parents were both musicians. My daddy, Elvin Mills, played saxophone with Lionel Hampton, and my mother, Ruth Mills, played in the church. I started playing when I was about 11 years old in Ashville, North Carolina.
I actually played guitar first, but my family band needed a bass player. “I started playing professionally when I was about 19. I was just a kid, but I could read music, so when guys like Sam & Dave or Percy Sledge would come through town, I got to bac.