My all-time favorite ATLien, Antwan “Big Boi” Patton was honored this weekend by the Collective Renaissance Guild of the National Black Arts Festival (NBAF).  The event, dubbed “The Art of Change,” was a star-studded celebration of Big Boi’s collaboration with the Atlanta Ballet in “Big” and he was awarded the 2008 Renaissance Award for “Artistic Innovation”.   In a symbolic gesture of passing the baton from one generation to the next, Dr. Cornel West presented Big Boi the award after a crowd raising speech in the atrium of Mercedes Benz of Buckhead.

The event was hosted by Rashan Ali and Kenny Burns, while DJ Trauma kept the house rocking.  Several celebs were also there to celebrate with Big Boi. Check out a few exclusive flix courtesy of NecoleBitchie as well as StraightFromTheA.com exclusive video footage of Dr. West’s speech and Big Boi’s acceptance of the honor below:

Big Boi

Rashan Ali

DJ Trauma & Kenny Burns

Dr. Cornel West presents Big Boi with the 2008 NBAF Renaissance Award

Big Boi’s Acceptance Speech

Kenny Burns Video

The Crowd

Necole Ari Parker & Boris Kodjoe

Bryan-Michael Cox

ATLien of StraightFromTheA.com & Big Boi

Check out even more flix at NecoleBitchie’s Photo Gallery.