In that same XXL interview, Dre prophesied that they would become the greatest rap group of all-time post- Stankonia, without even hesitating or worrying about being wrong. Lyrically, they delivered a push on Stankonia, with Big Boi still coming out criminally underrated and 3000 assailed as a genius. But Dre will forever have the spastic stream-of-consciousness, that alien warble that sounds like it was cooked up in George Clinton’s basement. Dre hailed him then as the anchor of OutKast, the pimp who introduced us to his “Boom Boom Room” via MTV Cribs. But I’ll write one verse that’ll crush your whole album.” Big Boi came for blood on Stankonia, delivering more outright verses than his counterpart (Dre doesn’t appear on “Snappin N’ Trappin” or “We Luv Deez Hoez”) and spinning a yarn almost every time out.
“Big Boi freestyles, I don’t,” Dre admited. In a 2000 interview for XXL, Dre compared who he was as a rhymer to Big Boi. Both are important for particular reasons Dynasty for laying the groundwork for what would become The Blueprint and Stankonia for steering a solid two years of Southern rap before crunk came and kicked down the buildings. The other is OutKast’s answer in small parts to Parliament Funkadelic’s Maggot Brain and in smaller parts to Sly and the Family Stone’s There’s a Riot Going On. One was a straight up East Coast rap record that is remembered for its intro and a few tracks near the back end. Both sold over 500,000 copies with The Dynasty besting Stankonia by 40,000 copies. Both albums clocked in at the top of the Billboard 200. To put it in perspective, Stankonia was released on the same day as Jay Z’s The Dynasty: Roc La Familia. That distinction belongs to Stankonia, their fourth album. Neither of them, however, is the most important OutKast record. I saw boys throw hands, some representing the hazy love song of “Jazzy Belle” against other boys who wielded verbal boulders in the name of “Liberation.” The best of those albums may have been Aquemini because it summed up both the darkness that consumed Andre 3000 and Big Boi on ATLiens and the sly, playful light they toyed with on Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik. I’ve been an OutKast fan a long time, and I have seen those bus stop arguments over what OutKast album between ATLiens and Aquemini represents their best work. Their crown logo is tattooed on my left shoulder, and I made my pilgrimage to see them finally in concert in May 2014 on a beach in Gulf Shores, Ala.
I was 8 years old when I first heard the slow drum pattern of “Elevators,” the 1996 lead single from OutKast’s sophomore album, ATLiens. This essay was originally published on October 31, 2015.
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