“I like the way you move/I
like the way you move/I love the way you move,” says
Big Boi, one-half of one of the most innovative hip-hop teams
producing music today. The other half of the multi-platinum
selling duo is Andre (Dre) Benjamin, also known as Andre
3000. Together they are OutKast,
the duo from Atlanta, Georgia, and they have recently released
a new effort, their sixth album. A double CD produced separately
by each member of the team, The Love Below/Speakerboxx reveals
two sides of a coin. The albums differ stylistically and thematically;
yet still retain the now recognizable OutKast “voice.”
Andre’s ode to love is keynoted by a track titled “Happy
Valentine’s Day.” Cupid Valentino, the modern
day Cupid, cries: “ya won’t believe in me but
you would fancy leprechauns or ground hogs/No thank you Easter
bunny!/There’s all this talk about Santa Claus, but
love will rule supreme//.” It might be a strain to describe
the mood of the album as romantic, but the personal voice
allows the listener to view a man conflicted trying to understand
love. Dre asks: “Where do all the good girls go? What
club they hang out at?” This kind of theoretical complexity
and sensitivity contrasts a trend in hip-hop glorifying pimps
and hos --- love is rarely mentioned. Yet not all of The Love
Below is romantic or feministic. On one hand Dre refers to
God as female, but follows up by propositioning some female
to “spread for me (I can’t, I can’t wait
to get you home).” The album ranges in material ---
some of which could be rated PG, while other parts could be
rated X. Inconsistencies of propriety are submerged in seamless
production and musical experimentation. The Love Below is
an amalgam of rock, funk, soul, jazz; parts smack
of Prince, Rick James, Jimi Hendrix — even Nat King
Cole. In Speakerboxx, Big Boi is no less complex. In front
of a heavy bass beat, socio-political issues are addressed.
In the track titled “War,” Big Boi complains:
“Politicians, modern day magicians, physicians of death...I’ll
rap about the presidential election and the scandal that followed/And
we all watched the nation as it swallowed and chalked it up/Basically,
America, you got f***ed ---- the media shucked and jived and
now we stuck!!!”
“War” is followed by a track called “Church,”
which suggests a religious outlook for dispensing socio-political
ills. The music in the track references gospel music, but
despite the motif, it unmistakably remains pop music.
The buzz surrounding the new LP centers on its form as a double
album, each part produced separately by Dre and Big Boi. The
suggestion is that the group will soon be separating to produce
solo albums. In interviews of OutKast in the music magazines
YRB, Musik and XXL, the central topic concerns the perceived
tension between the team. OutKast maintains that they simply
wanted to display their personal musical styles. Unfortunately,
all of this talk about the group splitting comes off as a
marketing ploy; a trick that deflects focus from the actual
musicality of this album. In an interview with XXL, Big Boi
explains: “[T]hat’s what people like to hear.
People can think shit into existence...We just doin’
what we do. We the same cats just growin’ into men making
some jams as long as we can make it.” Lyrics on the
album affirm the idea that Big Boi and Dre will continue to
produce music together, regardless of any upcoming solo efforts.
Fresh content is present on both CDs, but what ties it all
together is OutKast’s quality musical production. Beyond
challenging topical issues, both members of OutKast collide
rock, soul, jazz, funk, techno, even disco, in a manner that
defies categorization. It is hip-hop, for sure; the lyrics
and beats on Speakerboxx will not let us forget. There is
no rapping on The Love Below, nevertheless, the CD speaks
the language of hip-hop; taking raw materials and reworking
them into something new and different. Big Boi explains: “Excelling
in harmonious melody, boy we got the recipe/Like Ragu, it’s
in there, giving you some of the best of me, Player...”
I happen to have been an OutKast fan for most of their ten-year
career, but this double album is worth a listen by anyone
who will appreciate an effort that continues pushing artistic
boundaries, while still at the pinnacle of their career.
Photograph courtesy of Arista Records
Elliott Smith 1969-2003
“What I used to be
will pass away
And then you’ll see
That all I want now is happiness
For you and me
All I want now is happiness
For you and me”