CLASSICS: OutKast-Aquemini ALBUM REVIEW

Over the last two years of listening to hip-hop, I can honestly say that some of my all time favorite albums, ten out of ten, five stars out of five, are hip-hop albums at this point and are seriously rivaling heavy metal's place in that list in terms of numbers. Wu-Tang Clan's deliciously aggressive Enter the Wu-Tang, Viktor Vaughn's underground gem Vaudeville Villain, and The Fugees call to arms The Score are only a few of my new favorites in a genre that I'm becoming increasingly fanatical about, and my newest (and almost my greatest) find in the genre is OutKast's masterpiece Aquemini.


To me, OutKast fits into the group of bands that have one grossly popular, critically acclaimed and celebrated album while people rarely give their other albums the time of day. Wu-Tang fits into this category as well, but the thing about the Clan is that their one celebrated album really is their best without a shadow of a doubt. This isn't quite the case with OutKast. For them, their one album is one that I'm sure you all own, have listened to, or at least know about; Stankonia. The praises regularly thrown in this album's direction are many, and that mystifies me because the album that preceded it, which I'm reviewing right now, is so much better. Don't get me wrong, I liked Stankonia, I just didn't REALLY like it, and I didn't like it nearly as much as the critics at Rolling Stone, just to name one publication. It was an acceptable album, but it left me wanting more than what it gave me. Preceding Aquemini, you have the group's debut album which has a barely pronounceable title which I've honestly never listened to, and following that you have ATLiens, an album that clearly showed the group's ambition (they started producing their own music) but they didn't really pull through like they would've liked to, but the intent was apparent. With Aquemini, they finally made it. It is a fully realized and masterfully executed statement of how hip-hop can outgrow its boarders and turn into something entirely greater than what anyone would expect from a hip-hop album.

I would characterize this album as a potent mixture of lyricism, flow, and musical composition. It's a perfect storm of hip-hop delight, and I'd even say that rappers/producers Andre 3000 and Big Boi outdid themselves creating this storm. Stopping at boom-bap beats, piano samples and sick battle rhymes would've been sufficient for most rappers in the '90s, and that would even result an a good album, but not for OutKast. The ambition they only hinted at with ATLiens seemingly smashes through a stone barrier that was impeding OutKast from making the music that was floating around in their brains, and the result is an album that that'll make you shake your head while wondering why no one has ever done anything this damn good before.

Every aspect of this album is worthy of glorification, so why not start at the cornerstone of hip hop, the rapping? Big Boi  in particular is tremendous here; his flow is simply untouchable. His cadence is like a machine gun rattling off words like rounds at high speed in a similar fashion as fellow rapper Eminem, but Big Boi came first, and some would argue that he does it better. Andre 3000 is no slouch either, and when it comes to delivering any of the catchy hooks on this thing, he excels at it, adding hype and excitement to songs that already have you bobbing your head with a grin on your face. It also doesn't hurt that these guys can tell a damn good story, too. The lyricism here is expert level, and the group avoids the brags and battle rhymes of groups like the Wu-Tang Clan for compelling narratives with a surprising amount of variety. It's wholly refreshing; just listen to "Da Art of Storytellin'" parts one and two, the title track, and the epic "Liberation" to get the scope of how many angles OutKast attacks at when it comes to writing lyrics. They are at the top of the lyricism-and-flow game, but what about making beats to back them up?

The star of this show has got to be the quality of production on behalf of Organized Noize and the group members themselves. While OuKast's first attempts at production on ATLiens left me underwhelmed, all the self-produced tracks here shine with originality and sophistication. The single thing I love about this album the most is OutKast and Organized Noize's utilization of live musicians. There is little to no sampling on this album, making it a rarity in the hip-hop world. Everything was composed by the producers and played by live musicians for the most part; real bass, real guitar, real keyboards and pianos, and two or three songs even feature real drummers as opposed to drum machines. Little instrumental touches here and there keep the album fresh, like the harmonica solo on "Rosa Parks" or the piano on "Liberation" and horn section on the spoken word track "SpottieOttieDopalicious." This shows that not only are Big Boi and Andre great rappers and lyricists, but can also compose and arrange some great instrumentals to make a frame around their skills. And let's not forget the guest appearances on this thing. Raekwon from the Wu-Tang Clan drops a verse on "Skew It on the Bar-B" which honestly makes we wish that more Clan members should've been on this album, and none other than George Clinton from P-funk spits a little rap on "Synthesizer". Erykah Badu continues her mission to sing on every rap album ever on "Liberation" which also features the awesome Cee-Lo Green who lends his unique voice to the song. There's a large amount of features on this album, but they work in the album's favor, which can't be said about a certain other rapper (*COUGH*Lil Wayne*COUGH*)

In all, if you're longing for hip-hop that's so original with its blurring of genre lines and refreshing in its sonic variety, then look no further than Aquemini. What makes this album stand out in my CD collection is how engrossing it is and how gratifying it is to listen to. If you're on the fence when it comes to hip-hop, or if you think all rap sucks because the only rap you've ever heard is Soulja Boy and Rick Ross, then I'll bet that this will be the album that changes your mind.