Things got strange fast in Outkast’s world. The beat – based on the Five Stairsteps’ 1967 hit Danger She’s a Stranger – fits the brooding mood perfectly. Two Dope Boyz (In a Cadillac) (1996)Ī track that revels in Outkast’s outsider status within hip-hop – “greetings Earthlings!” – with the cool confidence of people who know they have the talent to back the boast they are not just different, but better.
In which Big Boi and André wittily cordon off a beautiful but cash-obsessed lady: “One of them freaks who gets geeked at the sight of an ATM receipt.” The way it turns the profoundly unpromising phrase “roses really smell like poo” into an unshakeable earworm and a global hit single is – sorry – not to be sniffed at. André’s verse pours scorn on gangsta rap – then resurgent thanks to the cliche-ridden platinum-seller Master P – and offering “time travellin’, rhyme javelin, something mind-unravellin’” as an alternative. Return of the G (1998)Ī bold statement of artistic intent in the face of criticism, Return of the G’s title is a double bluff.
Outkast at the Grammys in 2004, where they won three awards, including album of the year. An explosion of fantastic melodic hooks and deft rapping, featuring an early guest appearance by Janelle Monáe and powered by the marching band mentioned in its chorus, it should have been a huge hit. The soundtrack to an unloved film, Idlewild was released to a decidedly mixed reception, but Morris Brown is an under-appreciated delight. Production is by Organized Noize, with guest appearances from Goodie Mob’s Big Gipp and Cee-Lo Green, the latter entirely consuming the first third of the track. Git Up, Git Out (1994)Ī seven-and-a-half-minute-long, supremely funky and conscious-rhyme-laden introduction to the Dungeon Family, or at least part of said sprawling crew. The ferocious, distorted synths, frantic beats and soul interludes of GhettoMusick proved his partner didn’t have the monopoly on thrilling experimentation.
GhettoMusick (2003)īig Boi’s album in the split Speakerboxx/Love Below double set was overshadowed by André’s – home to Hey Ya! and Roses – but its highlights were vertiginous. A definitive moment in the history of southern hip-hop, their debut album’s title track twisted Dr Dre’s soulful west coast G-funk blueprint into something stunning and geographically distinct. In truth, they had already proved his point.
“The south got something to say,” snapped André 3000 when Outkast were booed at the 1995 Source awards. Musically straightforward compared with what was to come, their debut single – detailing how drug dealers and pimps spend Christmas Day – was a fiery demonstration of their lyrical skills. Certainly, their rapping sounded incredible on arrival. In their early days, Outkast apparently used to rap while running to better refine their breath control. Instead, there are vocals – from Erykah Badu and Cee-Lo Green, among others – and a defiant message: “You have a choice to be who you wants to be.” The title seems to refer to Outkast’s refusal to be constrained by musical boundaries and expectations as much as to the social struggles detailed in its lyrics: Liberation more or less abandons rapping entirely.
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