Speakerboxxx/The Love Below was both hailed and criticized by the general public: hailed because the music was good (at least, when it actually worked), but criticized because it isn't really an Outkast album. This led me to believe two things: (1) Andre's egomania had finally reached new heights, and (2) critics would be all over themselves sucking at the cock of Andre 3000. However, one strange fact stood out for me while I was reading through the liner notes: Andre helped Big Boi write and produce Speakerboxxx, but Antwan's assistance was largely ignored for The Love Below. What I expected was two albums that didn't sound even remotely related, which is what I received. LaFace Records marketed this project, rightfully so, as two solo albums packaged together: Speakerboxxx by Big Boi, and The Love Below by Andre 3000. (Shit, I may want to go listen to Aquemini after this write-up just so I can remember how good they once were.) Stankonia, Outkast's fourth effort and their most successful to this point, only drew the lines between Big Boi and Andre 3000 with a thicker Sharpie, although Andre was more willing to play ball, spitting verses as if Antwan put a gun to his boy's head, but still managing to craft memorable bits (such as 'Gangsta Shit').īy the time album number five, the double-disc Speakerboxxx/The Love Below was announced, Andre 3000 had, apparently, moved on musically. Their contrasting points of view meshed beautifully, though, resulting in what I find to be the duo's finest hour.
This division on the front lines of hip first reared its ugly head on Aquemini, Outkast's third album and the first to directly reference the differences between the two men. Antwan 'Big Boi' Patton was content with elevating his Southern pimp flow to the next level, while his partner, the increasingly erratic Andre 'Andre 3000' Benjamin, decided that he didn't really want to rap anymore, choosing instead to record music in virtually every other genre (except for country and Scandinavian death metal) in an effort to become an 'artist'. In the three years between the chart success of Stankonia and the release date of their newest project, the members of Outkast underwent an identity crisis of sorts.
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