By Rael Salley


“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”

 

 

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