Kiese Laymon’s 2021 novel Long Division, set in post–Civil Rights Mis sissippi, narrativizes the experiences of Black southern youth navigating the US South’s social, political, and cultural landscapes. Laymon uses words from OutKast’s “Aquemini” as the epigraph to the novel: “Twice upon a time, there was a boy who died and lived happily ever after, but that’s another chapter.” Laymon’s use of OutKast situates the novel’s setting, characters, and discursive voice in the hip-hop South. The author leverages OutKast’s reputation as a change agent and disruptive force in hip-hop to construct and develop the novel’s main characters, students City and LaVander. OutKast’s disruption of the 1995 Source Awards after winning Best New Rap Group grounds Laymon’s reimagining of the group in Long Division.