by BRAD SHELTON
They could possibly be the most dynamic group of all time. Hip-Hop? Yes, but I was referring to music in general. Their notoriety is similiar to that of Led Zeppelin, The Supremes, and The Beatles. Outkast just might be the most critically acclaimed group of all time, and for a good reason.
With four classic CD’s behind them, Outkast has risen to another level, far exceeding expectations of fans and critics alike. This time, it is the release of a double disc solo effort by each artist. The music has evolved and, at the same time, remained trademark Outkast sound.
The Love Below
The Love Below is everything that we imagined Andre could do and more. His blend of 70′s funk and Prince-ish R&B creates a new type of music, for which a genre cannot yet be established. Hip-Hop was the newest form of music, but Andre has paved a way for a much more unique style, rich in culture and creativity.
The album’s first two songs consist of a lounge-type concept, Andre sings the entire songs rather than rapping. In actuality, Andre’s raps are few and far between, but that only shows his artistic flow even more. On “Spread,” we get the best of both worlds with Andre. The majority of the song is sung with a medium-paced tempo, then Dre comes in rapdecade at the Independence campus before she took the position in the Longview PACE office.
Palmer plans to stay at Longview until she retires, when she said she’ll live with her husband of 29 years and remaining stress-free by doing what she enjoys most, gardening and sewing.
Palmer reminds students, “Enroll early,” Make plans and be prepared when you enroll.ping on the first verse at a faster pace, allowing the song to be much more dynamic. In “Prototype,” Andre brings back the times of Prince’s Purple Rain days, with a dash of Outkast funkness. “Hey Ya,” the commercial hit, is probably the best track on the entire disc, as it shows the musician in Andre who brings so many different types of music genres into one song.
Andre accomplishes what many music artists today have been struggling to do for a long time: create a song that, regardless of your musical preferences, you can’t help but love the song. The Love Below includes 20 tracks, which is a pretty high amount for a hip-hop record, and in this case, you have another whole disc of fine tunes waiting.
Speakerboxx
Andre is definitely the adventurous member of Outkast and expecting his creativity to go far beyond Big Boi would be a mistake. Speakerboxx is everything from the old Outkast to the new. Its style is like Hip-Hop meeting a rave party, where conscience rap blends with beats that make your head nod and you can feel the urgency that Big Boi sends your way.
The first track, “Ghetto Music,” personifies this style, as an organ laced beat is mixed with a faster bass line and the chorus is brought to a halt with a Patty Labelle sample. It’s an unusual song that represents everything that Outkast is about. “The Place To Be,” featuring Killer Mike and Jay-Z, reunites the three and delivers one of the better songs on SpeakerBoxx. Killer Mike brings a needed aggressiveness to the song, while, unfortunately, we only get Jay-Z on the chorus. “The Way You Move,” is another song fans expect out of Outkast and Big Boi uses his time wisely on the song by quickly explaining his relationship with Andre: Ready for action/nip it in the bud/ we never relaxin/ Outkast is everlastin/not clashin not at all/ but my ni**a went to do a little actin/ now that’s for anyone askin. Summing it up well enough for us to know that a solo project from the both does not mean an end to the group.
The Love Below/Speakerboxx is the kind of album that rarely gets produced. While their other albums have been critically acclaimed and defined as classics, this one is in a class all by itself. It is as good as their past efforts and in a way, better. The Love Below/Speakerboxx will be a blueprint for other artists to expand their talents and take risks. Outkast did and their final outcome was a pure masterpiece.
October 10, 2003
Entertainment