 The two named the studio "Stankonia", a word created by André 3000 as a combination of the words "stank", a slang synonym for "funky", and "Plutonia", the title of a poster in his bedroom depicting a futuristic city.He explained, "Stankonia is this place I imagined where you can open yourself up and be free to express anything".The recording of "Stankonia" began in spring of 1999 and lasted for about a year.