What's good folks?! This twentieth anniversary salute goes to arguably the greatest hip-hop duo of all-time, definitely the most commercially successful. These two Atlanta natives transcended hip-hop and made themselves pop phenomenons throughout their careers. Selling over twenty million units combined. these two redefined how cool hip-hop can really be. On their fourth album, they capitalized off the momentum of one of the most artistically brilliant hip-hop albums to ever exist in Aquemini, and came back with an album filled with funk, synth, soul, and plenty of hip-hop for dat ass. This album also experimented with other sounds such as techno, psychedelic, and a bit of salsa to further expand their reach. This effort also won them a Grammy for Best Hip-Hop Album and Best Rap Performance For a Duo Or Group. This album still continues to age with grace and you still experience artistic and lyrical mastery from these tow guys. Ladies and gentlemen, we salute Andre 300 and Big Boi, Outkast, and their stellar album, Stankonia.
According to Dre, "Stankonia" is a (fictional) place where "you can open yourself up and be free to express anything". You can best believe when it comes to expression, these two do it as good or better than anyone else around, especially musically. Since their classic debut, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, they've established themselves of wanting to be different, thus their name. On Stankonia, they continue to separate themselves from the pack starting with their blistering lead single "B.O.B." The psych-techno,heavy drum cut is as left brain as you could possibly get from them, and it works with the masterful artistic and lyrical abilities of Dre and Big Boi. Complete with electric guitars, rapid-pounding drums, and deep basslines, this cut is high energy and contains enough juice to pack the floors of the club and still produce tons of sweat. The second single wasn't as fast-paced, but was nonetheless momentous with "Ms. Jackson", an apology of sorts to what's assumed to be the mothers of their baby mamas, especially the much known mother of Dre's son Seven, Erykah Badu. However, this obviously isn't where the greatness ends. It just starts from here.
The next single was prototypical Outkast, "So Fresh, So Clean". With Big Boi giving himself a lyrical kiss to his own reflection in the mirror, Dre spits about an infatuation with a woman, thus exemplifying their ever-conflicting, yet complimentary styles and visions. Beyond this was more highly infectious cuts such as "Call Before I Come", "Spaghetti Junction", "Gasoline Dreams", and the excellent "Slum Beautiful". With every cut, we see the southern charm, yet intriguing complexity between the two emcees, even more than we saw on previous releases of the aforementioned Aquemini and the stunning ATLiens. Dre and Big Boi perfect their duality with the common thread of bringing entertainment through unbelievable music and at times substantial lyrics and concepts. From reaching out to suicidal pregnant teens on "Toilet Tisha" to speaking of materialism and flash on "Red Velvet", these two continue to let the music speak for them by continuously pushing the envelope. With other cuts such as "Snappin' & Trappin'", "Xplosive", and the knocking "Gangsta Shit", it's legit hard to pick out a true favorite, as each track is unique and has a life of its own, with Big Boi and Dre like mad scientists crafted an album that, although this album has unique tastes per track, everything here flows as roughly smooth as only Outkast can do it.
Outkast's string of widely successful and monumental albums would continue with the amazing Speakerboxx/The Love Below commercial and critical monster and the soundtrack to their own excellent movie, Idlewild. Unfiortunately, Idlewild would be their last album together to this very day. Big Boi has found solo success with his simply unbelievable debut solo, Sir Lucious Leftfoot, and his follow-ups of Vicious Lies & Dangerous Rumors, and the intergalactic funk of Boomiverse. However, Andre Benjamin and Antwan Patton created an album as succulent as a fresh pot of ribs with the skin falling off the bone. With Stankonia, this is what down home dirty south sounds like with some Funkadelic mixed in on occasion. This was quite the enormous album and still deserves the acclaim it's gotten over the years. We salute Outkast and Stankonia. With that, we lift our glasses. Until next time folks!
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