OutKast's First Single, "Player's Ball," Was Released 32 Years Ago

It was 32 years ago on this very day, November 19th, that OutKast released their first single, "Player's Ball." Now, we do need to address the fact that originally a version of, "Player's Ball," was on the, "A LaFace Family Christmas," a compilation album of Christmas tunes. However, it was so good of a song that some tweaks were made to scrub the outright mentions of Christmas, and then it was today, 32 years ago, we got the version of, "Player's Ball," that most folks know. You can listen to it now with nary a clue that it was originally a bit more of a Christmas rap. It was the first single OutKast put out, and the start of a long and wonderful legacy. 

Anyone who has read my blog for some time knows that OutKast is my favorite band/music act/etc. of all time (I mean, I did a series of Flashback Friday posts examining every LP they made), and "Player's Ball," is a lovely way to get to know the earlier era of OutKast. I wonder if anyone who bought and listened to this then-new record/Cassette/CD could have imagined back on this day in 1993 how amazing a future OutKast would have? Could even Big Boi or Dre (as he was known back in the day, before he was Andre 3000) have suspected what amazing things they'd go on to do? Yes, 32 years ago today, "Player's Ball," arrived in record stores, and it is no overstatement (in my opinion, at least) to say from that point on that rap--Hell, music in general--would never be the same. To paraphrase what Andre said when OutKast won best new artist at the Source Awards a bit later on, the South made it clear it had something to say.

Flashback Friday: Thinking About When OutKast Took Over the Grammy Awards

I've made it abundantly clear on this blog that my favorite musical group of all time is OutKast. Big Boi and Andre 3000 are each musical genuises in their own right and as OutKast they created masterpieces. I was listening to some of their 2003 album, "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below," and remembered how it swept the 2004 Grammys, winning best rap album and being one of the few rap LPs to win best album of the year, period ("Hey Ya," also won best urban/aternative performance). Even if the Grammys are rigged, seeing OutKast get recognition is always a good thing. I went searching on the internet for the live performance of, "Hey Ya," that brought the house down back then, and actually found a clip! Be forewarned the performance does appropriate a lot of Native American culture, but it was 18 years ago so a lot of things haven't aged perfectly these days. That aside, the performance rocks:

I swear, I continue to wish we get just one more OutKast album before the World ends in a fiery ball of war, fiery ball from global warming, or something else terrible that seems inevitable with the state of our planet these days. One can dream (which I actually have done).

Flashback Friday: OutKast Edition Volume 7: Idlewild

Intro

How do you follow something like, "Speakerboxx/The Love Below," after it utterly demolishes the sales charts, award shows, and finds its songs filling the airwaves? If you're OutKast you put out your final album, a companion of sorts to a film. Just like the film, it is enjoyable but flawed. It is, Idlewild."

Idlewild

"Idlewild," is not exactly a movie soundtrack or a standalone album. As I said, it serves as a companion to the decent flick, "Idlewild," which features the acting talents of Big Boi and Andre (they both do a solid job) as well as other skilled thespians like Terrence Howard, Cicely Tyson, Ving Rhames, and more. The album has some interludes with scenes from the film and the film itself has some songs from, "Idlewild," and other OutKast albums so the LP or flick are both fun if you're an OutKast fan. The album itself is still one of the best things to come out when it was released in 2006 because even a so-so OutKast album is better than 99% of other stuff.

The opening song after the intro, "The Mighty O," features Andre talking more about being tired of rap (a running theme by this point), Big Boi skillfully dropping bars too, and is a great start. A bit like, "Speakerboxx/The Love Below," a good deal of time has the duo doing songs separate from one another--again, it was clear OutKast was fracturing at this point. For example, another early-album song, "Idlewild Blue (Don'tchu Worry 'Bout Me)," is all Andre, doing some bluesy singing and it's great fun, just more of a solo work than an OutKast track, per se. Some tracks later is the stellar, "Morris Brown," with Big Boi, Scar, and Sleepy Brown as well as some fantastic horns blaring aloud. Andre returns after that with, '"Chronomentrophobia," discussing a fear of how time keeps passing and it has him looking back on life. 

We get, "Hollywood Divorce," mid-album and it is a real treat. We get both of OutKast, Lil' Wayne, and Snoop Dogg discussing how success is like a toxic relationship as Hollywood and the entertainment industry uses you up and then tosses you aside. It's probably my favorite track on the LP. Unfortunately, after that nothing much really grabs me for the remaining 13 tracks of songs and skits (this is a 25 track album, it is stuffed). "Makes no Sense at All," is okay, as is, "In Your Dreams," but the rest of the album just fails to really grab me, and then it ends on a weird super-slow song that is the worst on the whole album, "A Bad Note." Then that was kind of it for OutKast in terms of full albums. Big Boi has done some great solo LPs, Andre has acted in a variety of films and programs, and they sometimes have teamed up for a great track--"International Players Anthem (I Choose You)," is lovely. After, "Idlewild," OutKast was basically done, however.

Conclusion

OutKast made seven albums (six if you don't count the kinda-sorta compilation LP). Some were utter masterpieces, some weren't that but still damn good. OutKast is my favorite music group of all time and as Ron Funches said--to some controversy--even better than the Beatles. I hope you all have enjoyed this segment as much as I did revisiting some great music.

Flashback Friday: OutKast Edition Volume 6: Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

Intro

Andre was mostly tired of rapping. Big Boi wasn't. They were working together on some songs but both had a bunch of stuff they had done by themselves. Instead of making two solo albums, however, it was decided to release a double album. That resulted in OutKast's biggest album ever and the best OutKast album that kind of isn't an OutKast album at the same time.

Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

September 23rd, 2003 marked the release of this beast of an album. 39 tracks if you count the interludes/skits. It was an astounding enterprise that almost everyone loved. It is one of the very small numbers of rap albums to win, "Album of the Year," from the Grammys, not that the Grammys really matter as we've all discussed. Big Boi's, "Side," of the LP, "Speakerboxx," is more southern hip-hop goodness we are accustomed to with a great blend of party-rap and conscious-rap. Andre 3000 gives us something quite different with, "The Love Below," though. A surreal blend of poppy rock, jazz, funk, a dollop of rapping, and tons of sonic experimentation, "The Love Below," is jam-packed with amazing tracks as well as ones that aren't always astounding, but always interesting.

On, "Speakerboxxx," the album starts (after a little intro) with the wildly fast, "Ghetto Music," and only rarely slows down on that track to let you catch your breath. After that is my favorite song on the whole album, "Unhappy." It reflects on the difficulties of life Big Boi faced growing up but how his family always persevered through it. "Bowtie," happens and is snazzy, then Big Boi's first big single from the LP, "The Way You Move," is just a pure delight with Sleepy Brown's crooning contribution sealing the deal. Next, we get a solid mix of songs I won't detail as they are enjoyable but don't stand out in my mind a ton. That is, until, "Flip Flop Rock," with Jay-Z and Killer Mike just bringing the house down with Big Boi as they are accompanied by some fantastic piano riffs, beats, and guitar strumming. The late-album song, "Reset," is a delight too, and then after a few more tracks, the album wraps. Well, Big Boi's half concludes, in some ways we are just getting started as now it is time for, "The Love Below."

"The Love Below," opens with a lush orchestral score and Andre singing softly and beautifully. It lets you know you're in for something quite different than other OutKast albums. We segue into, "Love Hater," which is just a jazzy and energetic treat and after the, "God," interlude we have one of the small numbers of tracks Andre does rap on, "Happy Valentine's Day," a song about a modern-day cupid who is a little disaffected by love. It is a stellar track.  After the raunchy, "Spread," and another little skit we get to an absolutely stacked lineup mid-album. The endearing, "Prototype," about falling in love, "She Lives in My Lap," which discusses falling out of love, "Hey Ya!" and its discussion of messy relationships and, "Roses," with its angry thoughts on a just-ended relationship. 

All of those songs are absolute bangers and, "Hey Ya!" dominated the radio for quite some time. After that mid-album assortment of masterpieces, the rest of the LP is solid. It takes till the end of the album for more amazing stuff to appear, however. We have a short little song, "Take Off Your Cool," sung with a just-starting-to-get-hugely-popular Norah Jones, the surreal and experimental, "Vibrate." The album closes with a long monologue-rap on, "A Life in the Day of Benjamin André (Incomplete)," where Andre 3000 starts to tell the story of how OutKast started. It is immensely listenable and gets up to around the release of the 2nd album, "ATLiens," or so. I still hope we get more of this story in the future as Andre even labels it, "Incomplete," in the tracklist.

Conclusion

"Speakerboxx/The Love Below," is an amazing double LP. Is it, "Truly," an OutKast album? I would say yes but feel free to have your own opinion. It sold tons of copies, won a bunch of awards, and could've been the perfect final album from OutKast. It wasn't though. We got one more release in the form of, "Idlewild," a flawed but beautiful work. I'll discuss, "Idlewild," in my final post of this segment next week.

Flashback Friday OutKast Edition Volume 5: Big Boi and Dre Present...OutKast

Intro

It was the year after OutKast's fourth studio record, "Stankonia." Late 2001 was a scary damn time as September 11th had changed the World (more on this later). OutKast gave us an LP that wasn't exactly a greatest hits album or new material. They had subtly tweaked some of their older tracks and gave us three new songs that were each interesting for a variety of reasons. It was the first-ever OutKast album I bought because I figured it would be a solid introduction to the group when it came out that year and I wanted to start checking them out. It was titled, "Big Boi and Dre Present...OutKast." Whatever you categorize it as, it was a stellar time.

Big Boi and Dre Present...OutKast

The album opens with Andre 3000 posing as, "Uncle Jesse." An elderly man who wants to share the legend of a group called, "OutKast." They made amazing music and supposedly if you listen, "Real still," you can still hear them out in the forest at night yelling, "Hootie hoo." Then when he tells all of us to be quiet, a loud fart sound effect happens. It is the sole skit on the LP and as a fan of fart jokes I have to admit I find it funny. From there we segue into a new track, "Funkin' Around," which offers one of the first hints how the next album--"Speakerboxxx/The Love Below," would be quite different as Andre says how he's been yelling, "Hip-Hop is dead,"to the puzzlement of others who ask him to prove what he means. Around, "Stankonia," it was apparent Andre was growing bored with rap, and he makes it clear here on, "Big Boi and Andre Present...OutKast," before making good on his threats to do something quite different next LP. Ominous tidings aside, "Funkin' Around is good fun." 

After that, we get a sampling of some big hits and arrive at the LP's big new single that absolutely tore up the charts and helped make Killer Mike quite well-known (he'd been around but this is when he blew up). Yes, "The Whole World." A song about everything from post-9/11 racial anxiety, to general societal stress, romantic complications, and it all sounds very melancholy but the dark lyrics are accompanied by a killer sing-along chorus and some of the most energetic horns you'll ever hear.

OutKast and Killer Mike

The rest of the album is full of other popular tracks including some questionable inclusions. How, "Cumblin' Erb," made it onto this album but, "Hootie Hoo," (also from the first LP) did not will always puzzle me. Also, as if to drive home the point of how, "ATLiens," was supremely weird, only one track from it, "Elevators," manages to be on this pseudo-compilation. The close of this LP provides a song that offers a solid hint of just what kind of direction Andre 3000 would at least be moving in.  "Movin' Cool (The After Party)," is a smooth jazzy track that sounds like practice for, "The Love Below," with its mixture of Andre (and guest artist Joi) singing. Big Boi throws in rap verse, but this song is Andre starting to make it clear what direction he's moving in.

Conclusion

"Big Boi and Andre Present...OutKast," is many things at once without being a single concept. It is a bit of a greatest hits LP even though it came out before what many consider OutKast's best album with their best hits. It is a compilation that includes new tracks. It is a great way for new fans of OutKast to get a feel for the group while longtime fans can find interesting aspects within it worth mining when studying the group (I just did, after all). Whatever you want to say it, "Is," we can all agree it is a great piece of work.

Flashback Friday OutKast Edition Volume 4: Stankonia

 Intro

OutKast entered the year 2000 with a new LP. It featured Andre now going by Andre 3000, he and Big Boi actively being involved in every step of the tracks being created, and it was named, "Stankonia," after the name of the studio OutKast had purchased together to make this latest album. It was--as Wikipedia tells it with some reliable sources, "A word created by André 3000 as a portmanteau of the words 'stank', a slang synonym for, 'funky,' and, 'Plutonia,' the title of a poster in his bedroom depicting a futuristic city. He explained, 'Stankonia is this place I imagined where you can open yourself up and be free to express anything.'"

Stankonia

"Stankonia," has some of my favorite OutKast tunes ever. It is also my least favorite album by OutKast overall. This leads to some complex feelings about the album and I won't be doing my usual track-by-track examination so much going in-depth with the highlights and lowlights. It is an album with a lot to unpack after all. Without, "Stankonia," we probably would not have gotten the masterpiece, "Speakerboxx/The Love Below." I say that as this features the first hints of Andre moving away from rapping and instead doing more singing or sonic experimentation. It has more instances than in the past of he and Big Boi both doing some tracks solo. Plus, while the earlier OutKast albums don't, "Feel," exactly like they come from a specific time period, "Stankonia," undoubtedly sounds like a 2000-era LP in one big aspect of how it is overloaded with skits.

Skits on albums seemed to be extremely huge in the late 90s and hit an apex of sorts in the 2000s. Rock albums, rap albums, they were there a lot. They've evolved/mostly faded away in terms of being comedy-focused and OutKast even had them somewhat on their earlier albums, but they were more sporadic and less comedic--they often just were used to introduce or segue into songs. The skits on, "Stankonia," range from some potty humor, to jokes about sex, drugs, nothing awful but little to amaze your ears. There are some tracks that utterly astound listeners, however.

I said, "Stankonia," has some of my favorite tracks ever made by OutKast, and when I say some of those songs you understand why. "So Fresh, So Clean," "B.O.B." AKA, "Bombs over Baghdad," and of course, "Ms. Jackson." These tracks are just masterpieces. "So Fresh, So Clean," is a little raunchy without outright being filthy and has the best little beat. "B.O.B." is a kind of rap-meets-rock combo that was about the futility of war and became all too topical when America invaded Iraq a second time some years later. Then, "Ms. Jackson," what else can be said about that track that others besides me haven't said better? It's vulnerable and a bit angry. It was a very real song as Andre came up with it as a ballad to the mother of Erykah Badu. He had a child with Badu and wanted the mother to know he felt he was doing his best as a father (for those curious, Badu's mother loved the song). I won't spend this whole post just talking about that one song, but know that I could.

Those are some amazing songs, but I said that, "Stankonia," was my least favorite OutKast album, and the lack of much that outright astounds me the rest of the LP is why. Other stuff is perfectly good, but with OutKast you normally expect everything to be more than good, generally. We've got the political, "Gasoline Dreams," the trippy, "Humble Mumble," an early appearance by Killer Mike on, "Snappin' & Trappin," but some tracks really drag. "We Luv Deez Hoez," sound more like a rejected, "2 Live Crew," track than something OutKast would have made. "Gangsta Shit," is dull, "Spaghetti Junction," lacks oomph too. I just find myself alternating between amazement at my favorite tracks and being horrifically underwhelmed with many other songs. The fantastic songs are some of the group's best, however, as I keep saying.

Conclusion

It's an odd experience, listening to Stankonia more than 20 years after its release and finding my first impression of when I heard it (a bit after it came out) is basically the same. There is cream that rises to the top and a lot of tracks I consider to be okay, but a bit skippable. Following, "Stankonia," was something that wasn't quite a, "Greatest Hits," album or a brand-new LP, it was, "Big Boi and Dre Present...OutKast." I'll cover it next week.

Flashback Friday OutKast Edition Volume 3: Aquemini

 

Intro

OutKast had taken us on a space adventure in 1996. Afterward, Andre's style started to change and become what some online have described as, "Bohemian," and eccentric. Big Boi and he started using more live instrumentation and experimentation with their tracks with Andre doing most of the production aspects and Big Boi handling the hooks. The result was an introspective and deep LP titled, "Aquemini." The title was a combination of how Big Boi was an Aquarius and Andre was a Gemini, two unique personalities that still made magic.

Aquemini

September 29th, 1998. That was the day, "Aquemini," officially released. It went platinum just two months after release and was double platinum before a whole year had passed. It's a fantastic album but whereas with, "ATLiens," you have straight fire at first before things get choppy, "Aquemini," has some incredible hits and an assortment of notable misses. It is still an incredible album and depending on my mood ties with, "ATLiens," and, "Speakerboxx/The Love Below," as OutKast's best LP, it just is interesting how when it works, it's incredible, and when it doesn't work, it is still interesting.

The LP begins with, "Hold On, Be Strong," a soft little hook of a song that states what the title says. Then we segue into the stellar, "Return of the 'G'," which beings with Andre addressing all the rumors about how he isn't on drugs or gay, he's just starting to dress in wild styles, quit actually doing any drugs (around the time of the first album he was a prolific smoker of Cannabis and I once read Big Boi remarking how Andred was the one who taught him to roll and smoke a blunt), and it just a regular guy who admits to being bit eccentric. Big Boi shares his concerns about life as well and hoping he can just kick back and, "Watch my little girl blow bubbles," on a hot day relaxing--but assures us he's ready to do whatever it takes to protect his loved ones. Then the Southern boogie of, "Rosa Parks," arrives and has a killer harmonica solo.

The fourth track features the first guest artist, Raekwon the Chef of Wu-Tang Clan fame. It is titled, "Skew It on the Bar-B," and moves at a shockingly fast pace, showing off how even if Andre and Big Boi were known for their steady Southern drawls when rapping, they could speedily spit verses if called for as well. This leads us into the titular track, "Aquemini," which has a beautiful melancholy melody and is a real treat for the ears. After that is the future-predicting, "Synthesizer," with none other than the Funk-master himself, George Clinton. The song describes a future ruled by the internet, plastic surgery, and everyone being fake. For a song from 1998, it is eerily predictive of the times we live in now. "Slump," has Big Boi with fellow Souhern rappers Backbone and Cool Breeze discussing life on the streets, selling dope, and generally trying to survive--it's a bit of a throwback to the first album,  "Southernplayalisticadillacmusik," with the following track, "West Savannah," being introduced by Big Boi as being a track cut from that debut LP for those who want a bit more of that vibe. It's an interesting little interlude of sorts from the more heavy topics and tones of, "Aquemini."

"Da Art of Storytellin' (Pt. 1)," arrives with its tale of a good friend of Andre's who died of a drug overdose--it is very solemn. After it is  "Da Art of Storytellin' (Pt. 2)," which despite the similar name is thematically quite different. It is loud, abrasive, and sounds apocalyptic--something Andre remarked in interviews was intended. "Mamacita," happens and has some solid lyrics but the actual sound of it isn't for me. I am totally here for the next song though, "SpottieOttieDopaliscious." Yes, its another mouthful of a title, but it is so damn good of a song. It has some amazing horns, a great beat, and tells the story of a beautiful night of romance at a nightclub shattered by some men getting in a massive fight over their pride. "Y'all Scared," has Goodie Mob guesting and is just a slog to get through. I feel like I'm seeing a trend with these posts where when Goodie Mob is on an OutKast song it either is amazing or awful, there is no in-between. 

"Nathaniel," is a short acapella rap that was in fact recorded from a Georgia prison and serves as the introduction of sorts to, "Liberation." "Liberation," is a phenomenal eight-minute-long masterpiece of rapping, singing, spoken word, musical inventiveness, and just deserves a listen by anyone who has good taste. It is my favorite song on the album, I'd say. We shift into the closing track, "Chonkyfire," which has some heavy synths and guitars along with a fascinating moment where the whole sound shifts into a piano and back again. The song concludes with Andre's speech from the Source awards when OutKast won best new artist (for, "Southernplayalisticadillacmusik,")  and insisted how the South had something to say. Thanks to OutKast drawing attention to the South and helping other artists launch their career as they kept releasing amazing albums, that was clearly true.

I would be remiss to not mention that while there aren't dedicated tracks for certain skits, they do happen at the end of a number of tracks. They sometimes feature a record store where Outkast (playing regular customers) make remarks about how odd a band OutKast is in a humorously self-aware manner. Some skits lead into tracks (like a failed weed transaction before, "Slump,") and none or terrible or especially amazing, they just work fine.

Conclusion

"Aquemini," was smashing success and featured OutKast hitting their stride in many people's opinion--although as I've said, "ATLiens," is a masterpiece in its own right even if it is extremely weird. "Aquemini," was incredible, and represented a further evolution of OutKast. Things were about to get even wilder however once 2000 hit and brought us, "Stankonia." It'll be discussed next week.

Flashback Friday OutKast Edition Volume 2: ATLiens

 

Intro

Many music artists have been referred to as having a, "Sophmore slump." That means the follow-up album to a big debut ends up being less impressive than the first LP. Well, OutKast didn't release a mediocre follow-up at all, instead of something weak they gave us something fascinatingly weird. While, "Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik," was a mixture of bragging, beats, and some aspects of conscious rap, "ATLiens," took Big Boi and Dre (again, he wasn't yet Andre 3000) and took them being young adults living in Atlanta to cosmos traveling space aliens, or, "ATLiens." The result was amazing.

ATLiens

"ATLiens," was released on August 27, 1996. It came with a fun mini-comic, which is the first thing you notice looking at the cover-it's like a comic-book cover! Big Boi and Dre recorded it at an assortment of studios from 95'-early 96' and went form giving us a Southern funky rap LP to something with outer-space effects, hints of gospel, drugged-out rock, and some amazing raps that showed how the duo was growing lyrically. "ATLiens," also marked the first time Big Boi and Dre took over some aspects of production for the songs, not just rapping, but making the songs themselves (a trend that would continue as they become more and more involved in their track's productions). The metaphor of feeling like an alien in America spoke to critics who read it as talking about how being Black in America can feel a lot like you don't belong, aren't truly accepted, and often greeted with suspicion or disdain...just like a space alien. "ATLiens," wasn't just beloved critically, it was a commercial hit that sold a ton of copies and is still considered by many critics and regular people alike to be among the best hip-hop albums of all time.

"ATLiens," has for years been my favorite OutKast album. Sometimes when I listen to other later LPs I find myself questioning that decision a little, but even if it were to tie with next week's album (Aquemini) or their indelible, "Speakerboxx/Love Below," that isn't a slam against, "ATLiens," it just is an illustration of how with this LP OutKast started firing on all cylinders and didn't let up for years. It all kicks off with the solemn singing on, "You May Die (Intro)," which hints how living that gangster life can lead to an early death, basically having OutKast say from the start, "We're moving away even further from partying and playa-focused shenanigans, it's time to dig into the tough stuff." Then we move into, "Two Dope  Boyz (In a Cadillac)," and it shows even if we're getting more serious lyrically, we can still bump some serious beats. The whole first half of, "ATLiens," is amazing, not misstepping for quite a bit, and this first full track serves as the first big testament to OutKast getting even more skilled lyrically and exploring soundscapes further with its thumping bass, space-sounding effects, and the general blend of having some fun but talking about real shit too. The title track then arrives with, "ATLiens," and moves at such a brisk and impressive pace you want to hit repeat once it raps.

Then we hit, "Wheelz of Steel," which has the best bassline I have ever heard in a rap song in my opinion, just strumming along passionately. Then as the song ends we get some stellar turntable scratching and the whole thing is just lovely. After that, we get even more amazing music via, "Jazzy Belle," which has a quiet sincerity in the beats and melody mixed with Big Boi and Andre worrying about what the future holds for our youth in this current culture focused on immediate gratification--even more relevant now. That leads into the big hit single (and the only track from, "ATLiens," to actually be on the, "Greatest Hits," release), "Elevators (Me & You). It's a song that slowly unwinds its deep complexity and is infinitely listenable. "Ova Da Wudz," is solid and features Witchdoctor on an intense chorus, and then things kind of come to a screeching halt with, "Babylon." The chorus has a nice singing to it, but it can't quite sync up with the beats and the whole thing is just messy; I don't care for it. 

We pick back up a bit with, "Wailin," and its minimalist sound, then kind of lose the momentum again with the middling, "Mainstream," that should be so much better than is with some members of Goodie Mob on the track. "Decatur Psalm," picks stuff up a bit more with another segment of Goodie Mob involved, then there's the purely okay, "Millenium." Then there's the kind of dull and droning, "E.T. (Extraterrestrial)." At this point we've had a killer first seven tracks, then things have gotten wobbly, but it all comes to a great close with the stellar, "13th Floor/Growing Old," which is just a beautiful song between thoughtful raps and a gorgeously sung chorus. Last is a nice little remix of, "Elevators," or the, "ONP 86 Mix," and then the album is done after the bonus-feeling track (though it's listed on the liner notes so it isn't really a hidden or bonus track per se). It's quite a journey of an LP and a wild evolution from the first album to this one.

Conclusion

"ATLiens," showed that OutKast was here to stay and not a flash in the pan. With two amazing albums under their belt, the big question was what could possibly come next? Next week we'll discuss the answer, "Aquemini."

Flashback Friday OutKast Edition Volume 1: Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik

 Intro

My favorite musical group of all time is OutKast. I was thinking some time ago it would be fun to spend one Friday each week in a row looking at all seven of their albums. I may put up posts up on those Fridays too, of course, but for seven weeks you can expect me to discuss an OutKast album and what my thoughts are on it. As this is the first week we are going to discuss the first album, "Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik." 

Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik

Yes, Outkast's debut is all one word and it's a mouthful. As the song with the same title on the LP says it slowly, however, you can too. Southern-playa-listic-cadillac-muzik. It grabs your attention just like how Outkast grabbed everyone's attention before their first LP even dropped with the single, "Player's Ball." That single came out during the holiday season of 1993 and was so catchy they decided to tweak some of the lyrics that directly referenced Christmas so that the track could work year-round. If you listen closely you can kind of notice some aspects that still sound Christmas-y, but it's less obvious. The actual album, "Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik," was released April 26th of 1994 and was a hit. 

It earned OutKast Best New Rap Group at the 1995 Source awards. Dre (he wasn't yet Andre 3000 until after the third album came out and was going moreso by Dre) gave his short speech that actually is played as a clip on the third LP, "Aquemini," where he states, "...the South got something to say, that's all I got to say." A brief but firm statement in the 90s that it wasn't all East Coast and West Coast. People loved Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik with its mixture of more mainstream-sounding raps about pimps and cars mixed with some of the conscious and introspective rhymes OutKast would become even more known for later on. How does it stand up today, almost 30 years later? It still fucking bumps.

Sometimes you listen to an artist's first album and you almost feel embarrassed. It is clear they were figuring things out and there were growing pains. That isn't the case with, "Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik." Rare misstep of a track aside, it is a damn solid EP. The first actual song after the, "Peaches," monologue, "Myintrotoletuknow," shows off dizzying skill from the opening gate, and then we get into the certified banger, "Ain't No Thang," which features boastful raps about beating up anyone who dares challenge Big Boid and Andre, but it is joyfully self-aware, with Andre cracking-up at one point in the song before the chorus. Then we get an interlude, "Welcome to Atlanta," where a pilot landing a plane gives us an overview of Georgia, full of uncomfortable pauses after observations about how the capital still flies the Confederate battle flag. Next is the titular track, funky and slow as it tells us about that Cadillac muzik. Then the first clunker happens.

I just do not really dig, "Call of da Wild." It's clunky, the melody and beat never sync up well, and guest rappers on the track, Goodie Mob, are wasted and used to much better effect later on the LP. Thankfully, right after it is the joyful, "Player's Ball," which always gets me moving and grooving. "Claimin' True," follows it and is a solid track, then a brief interlude humorous titled, "Club Donkey Ass." 

That segues into, "Funky Ride," which is a 70's-funk style tune that I like but feel goes on a little too long. They could easily shave a minute off of it and it'd be stellar still. Another interlude ("Flim Flam,") and we get to the bomb track with Goodie Mob, 'Git Up, Git Out." A masterful piece of political and social introspection, all the rappers involved observe how no matter how hard we try to succeed in society, some people seem to have the deck stacked against them in horrific ways. 

Yet another interlude ("True Dat,") is followed by the forlorn, "Crumlin' Erb,") which is a good track but drags a little. As we near the end of the album, "Hootie Hoo," emerges and just impresses the senses with its imposingly creeping bass and the repetition of the phrase, "Hootie hoo." Then we get the too-long and kinda dull, "D.E.E.P." the only other song on the album I just don't really like. Finally, we close with the, "Player's Ball (Reprise)," which is a remix of sorts to the first, "Player's Ball," with a bit more piano and singing. It's nice.

Conclusion

"Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik," is an amazing album and if it had been put out by a lesser artist might very well be considered their best LP of all time. OutKast though? They were just getting started. Join me next week as we make a big shift in themes and go from planet Earth to outer space with, "ATLiens."