"Hey Ya!" was written, produced and recorded almost entirely by André 3000. He played acoustic guitar, keyboards, programmed the drums and did all the vocals (the only thing he didn't record was the bass, played by Aaron Mills). The track, featured on the album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (2003), became one of the biggest hits of his career.
The video was directly inspired by the Beatles' historic performance on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. The success was so great that "Hey Ya!" spent 9 weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and won the Grammy for Best Urban/Alternative Performance.
Aswan quarry. Official explanation: workers pounded the granite with dolerite balls.
Fine. Gravity was clearly optional back then, because some of these smooth scoops run UNDER the overhanging rock.
Engineers, please show me how you swing a hammer stone upwards. Slow motion is fine.