Big Boi and Dre Present...Outkast [PA]

Performer: OutKast
Artist: Killer Mike
Engineer: John Frye; Naoki "Bahama" Hayami
Producer: Organized Noize
Distributor: BMG (distributor)

Notes: Outkast: Big Boi, Dre. Additional personnel includes: Killer Mike. "The Whole World" (w/ Killer Mike) won the 2003 Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group. Personnel: Patrick "Sleepy" Brown, Andr� 3000, Big Boi (vocals, background vocals); Myrna Crenshaw, Joi Gilliam, Killer Mike (vocals); Jason Freeman , Jerry Freeman, Darian Emory (horns); Kevin Kendricks, Matt Still (keyboards). Audio Mixers: John Frye; Naoki "Bahama" Hayami. Recording information: Bazooka Studio; Darp Studios, Atlanta, GA; Stankonia Recording Studio, Atlanta, GA. Photographer: Joseph Cultice. While on the surface, Outkast's initial single, 1994's "Player's Ball," may have seemed like just another hip-hop-word-of-the-moment single, closer attention revealed the mushed-up, twister slang of the lyrics and the oddly droll angle on Yuletide packed into a pop-rap single of gangstas at play. Thereafter, Big Boi and Dre produced three solid, but under-appreciated albums in the '90s, remaining on the periphery of stardom with the occasional hit, and stirring a bit of controversy with "Rosa Parks." While enough of a buzz had built by 2000, no one could have predicted the intensely beautiful chaos and disorder permeating STANKONIA. From the smooth rasp of "So Fresh, So Clean" to the dark, rising anger encased in a hook too good not to be the #1 single it was "Ms. Jackson," to the fury of drums, tongue-twisters and revival refrains on the brilliantly incomprehensible "B.O.B." BIG BOI & DRE PRESENT includes all aforementioned hits and will likely add a few to the Outkast legend as the duo somehow manages to expand its horizons further. Of particular note, "The Whole World" starts off in a vaudeville world replete with tympani before a singsong chorus gives way to hip-hop style, an alluring and starkly original work, as is most of Outkast's catalogue of which this compilation with three new tracks gives a perfect sampling.

Q (2/02, p.125) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...This whiffs of genius more than once..." Mixmag (2/02, p.60) - 5 out of 5 - "...Their greatest hits...They're undoubtedly the most innovative hip hop act of the last decade. With 3 new tracks...this will ensure OutKast live for ever..."

Atlanta-based hip-hop duo Outkast succeeded in bringing an unorthodox rhyme style and quirky, P-Funk-influenced sound and presentation into the rap mainstream. Successful since their 1994 debut, Outkast have gotten progressively more idiosyncratic. Their sophomore release, ATLIENS, took musical and lyrical risks which were reflected in Outkast's video output, such as the Mars-meets-Egyptology production for the album's hit "Elevators." STANKONIA, released in 2000, cemented the duo's reputation as influential hip-hop innovators, while its ambitious follow-up, 2003's SPEAKERBOXXX/THE LOVE BELOW, made Outkast masterminds Andre 3000 and Big Boi international superstars.

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