Concluding a look at notable albums of 1996…
Regular readers know I struggle to enjoy most rap music. I’m not proud of that fact, knowing the musical, cultural, and societal relevance of the genre, but my ears like what they like.
One of the few exceptions is OutKast, the Atlanta-based duo who rank among the most acclaimed and successful hip-hop acts in history. I have enjoyed everything I’ve heard from them, including the two albums I know quite well — 2000’s Stankonia and 2004’s Album of the Year-winning Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.
The latter was the second hip-hop album to win the Grammys’ top prize (following The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill in 1998), a sign that OutKast’s crossover appeal isn’t just a me thing.
So it was an easy decision to listen to OutKast’s sophomore album, ATLiens, for my final entry on the albums of 1996.
While rap was dominated by the East and West Coast factions in the 90s, Andre 3000 and Big Boi helped popularize the hip-hop sound of the South. Their music is more laid back and sultry. They also refrained from sampling, building their unique soundscapes in multiple Atlanta studios.
Lyrically, they avoided writing about excess and focused instead on spiritual matters. They also leaned into the extraterrestrial theme of the album’s title, describing alien encounters and peppering the production with other-worldly sounds.
The result is another dizzyingly creative album, a great companion to (if not the equal of) the two I already know.
It’s a shame these guys split up in 2007. They’ve gone on to do interesting things as solo artists, but their unique chemistry made OutKast something truly special.
Ugh
As I sit in my b-boy stance
With flip-flops and socks, and sweatpants
I’m finna enhance your brains, check it out
[Verse 1: Big Boi & André 3000]
Once upon a time not long ago
When the playa from the Point didn’t have no flow
A nigga hit me for my tennis shoes, walking to the store
Caught a player slipping
But now I lay it to the floor just like carpet
‘Cause I got the heat in my baby momma name now
Never bragging just to stay knot
Even when I was a younger lad, I learned my lesson
Never talk to strangers in the trap and answer questions
The Pope and his folks got us under a scope
But for unknown reasons ’cause we don’t sell dope
That you distribute
We don’t contribute to your clandestine activity
My soliloquy may be hard for some to swallow
But so is cod liver oil
You went behind my back like Bluto when he cut up Olive Oyl
Two things I hate—liars and thieves; they make my blood boil
Boa constricted, on my soul that they coil
[Chorus: André 3000]
Touched by the wheelz of steel
Now, show me how you feel
Touched by the wheelz of steel
Now, show me how you feel
[Verse 2: Big Boi & André 3000]
It took your momma nine months to make it
But it only took a nigga thirty minutes to take it
Cut that kronk clean up, I did, but I did so not safely
Don’t want no AIDS, *clapping* no claps, or no rabies
Yeah, we take no shit, like, ummm, stopped up commodes
Gotta collect call, they done locked up my folks
Low blow, hit me in the left ventricle
We won’t be able to ride out till two thousand four
But not for long ’cause we got a better sack to serve
Tryna take you other people ‘fore your rims at the curb
‘Fore you swerve and bust ya forehead, go ‘head, go ‘head
More head for me, while you ride to the beat
Uhh, drop, like tears, like For Fears, you know
Shout, shout, let it all out, just for my peers
And peoples who feel it’s time to unwind
Like December 31st, on nineteen-ninety-nine
[Chorus: André 3000]
Touched by the wheelz of steel
Now, show me how you feel
Touched by the wheelz of steel
Now, show me how you feel
[Bridge: André 3000]
Okay, like this, yes, yes
One time for my boys doing King shit
Two times, too legit and it don’t quit
Three times for my folks in the drop top
Four times, OutKast and it don’t stop
One time for my girls doing Queen thangs
Dead fresh to the T, eating chicken wings
Three times for my girls in the beauty shop
Four times, OutKast and it don’t stop
[Instrumental Break]
[Chorus: André 3000]
Touched by the wheelz of steel
Now, show me how you feel
Touched by the wheelz of steel…
Meet Me In Montauk 