Outkast Big Boi Andre 3000

Words by Patrick M.

“About Two weeks later she called me with some bullshit/Talking about her period’s late guess what I did? Click…”

Someone from G-Unit or Cash Money showing their gangsterism and disdain for nappy headed hoez? Maybe an old-school G like Ice Cube or Kool G Rap shocking and aweing their way into fame and Tipper Gore’s bad graces?

No. This advocate of involuntary abortions (and murder) was none other than Mr. Cupid Valentino himself – Andre 3000. The line comes from the track “Hootie Hoo,” off of the duo’s ’94 debut Southernplaylisticadillacmusik. The song, with its ominous bass line and tales of southern playerism from Big Boi and Andre, epitomizes the mood of the entire album and the duo’s view of themselves as they came onto the scene. It works brilliantly; if I do ever decide to go on a multi-city/state crime spree, this track will be on my iPod playlist in the getaway vehicle.

This song and album contradicts the standard “line” on Outkast, who are probably the most-written about rap group by popular music critics. But many of these “in-depth” bios are tired clichés – Andre is the eccentric genius that drives the group to be creative, while Big Boi is the thuggish element that provides balance or rides his coattails, depending on who is critiquing. Mixing Dre’s weirdness with Big Boi’s gutta, we get the most important Southern rap artists of all time.

I understand the reasons for these clichés, mostly because the actions of the duo reinforce it. Andre wears weird outfits and talks about wanting to go to Juilliard, tut this portrayal betrays what Outkast was originally about, even if it fits what may be happening with the group today. When we dig deeper into the group’s musical history, the cliché falls apart. To dig D.E.E.P. into the beginning of Outkast’s career shows that their roots aren’t in outer space or the Native Tongues, but the Geto Boys and N.W.A.
The most apt comparison for what they were on this album is a Southern Mobb Deep, trading the clutter and urban paranoia of Queens for a more relaxed vibe of the ATL.

Both Dre and Antwan were youngsters at the time of this release, yet both were almost fully formed as MCs. The lack of national recognition this album garnered has nothing to do with Outkast and everything to do with the South’s absence from the scene in 1994. The songs, both from a production standpoint (the first major release by Organized Noise,) and lyrical ferocity, hold up to anything released that year or released by ‘Kast since.This was not a case of a group finding their footing later on in their career. Outkast were already great.

“Call of the Wild” provides examples of how tight and influential the production and rhymes already were. The beat predates crunk, yet the bass would certainly fit in a Lil Jon track today. The percussion and funky horns that became Organized Noise staples are already in place. Meanwhile, Dre and Big Boi drop the rhymes, shining not with abstract or in-depth lyrical content, but technical and straightforward gangster rhyming. Here is one Big Boi salvo:

“Yeah, I’m steady buckin muthafuckas /Not duckin ‘em like the goose, I’m
heavily strapped, yeah niggaz/Squeezin rhymes like that noose around your
neck/You can’t hang with this, see ain’t no thangs to this/I show no pity so
take off because I’m dangerous.”

It sounds so pretty coming out of Antwan’s mouth, even if it’s meant to be thuggish. That’s the thing about both Dre and Big Boi – they have such natural rap talent in terms of how their voices sound and ability to manipulate rhythms vocally, that it makes sense that they pushed the envelope. Creating this album almost came too easily for them.

Over the years, they pushed the limits and crafted as great a catalogue of rap songs as any other artist. By the time Speakerboxxx/The Love Below came around, they were faced with the irony that something they had helped create (the southern sound) had become so popular it had fallen victim to least common denominator syndrome. Even more disastrously, Andre reacted to this by deciding to broaden into lounge singing. (I like The Love Below alright, but come on….it’s like MJ playing baseball.) I started resigning myself to the fact that like all good things, Outkast had come to an end.

But they ain’t dead yet. Dre has rediscovered his rap game and “International Players Anthem” is one of the hottest tracks of the summer. In fact, from the title it sounds like something that should have been on Southernplaylistic… Maybe Dre and Big Boi popped in the tape and thought to themselves, “Damn that shit was tight.” Will they ever drop another album like this?

We can only dream.

Stray Shots

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Lord Finesse – Unreleased Instrumentals (2006)

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Mary J. Blige – What’s The 411?

Mary J. Blige – The Tour

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Chrisette Michele – I Am

James Ingram: Greatest Hits – The Power Of Great Music

Brandon Hines-Love Music…Falling In, Falling Out (Deluxe 2CD Edition)-2007

Fiend – Won’t Be Denied

Prefuse 73 – Preparation

LL Cool J – All World: Greatest Hits

Beastie Boys – B-Sides & Bullshit Volume 2

Twista – Adrenaline Rush 2007 Sampler

VA – Entourage (OST)

Mic Geronimo – The Natural

The Alchemist – No Days Off (2006)

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Heatmakerz – Crackstrumentals (2 CD) (2006)

J Dilla – A Recipe For Tasty Donuts (Donuts Original Samples) [2006]

Cage_Vs_Mighty_Mi-Infected_By_Devils_Megamix-Ltd.Ed.-2002

Stray Shots

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