By Teren Kowatsch
When people think of Outkast — the infamous duo of Big Boi and Andre 3000 – typically songs “Hey Ya,” “So Fresh, So Clean” or “Ms. Jackson” are the cuts that come to people’s mind – all three coming off their post-millennium albums, yet the crown jewel of these two southern wordsmiths comes in the form of their 1996 release: ATLiens.
At the time this album was released it caught the climax of southern rap in its absolute form, and as with most OutKast records, the first thing that catches the ears of the listeners are the top-tier beats that lay the foundation for the duo’s expertise. The beats range from featuring orchestras to turntable-scratches, and personally, there is not a single beat that fails to set the tone for each individual track on the album.
The duo produced a third of the album and laid the groundwork for the production styles they would further expand upon on their 1998 album, Aquemeni. Whether it be the one-third of the album produced by OutKast or the two-thirds of the album produced by Organized Noize, the two dope Cadillac boys take all these beats and absolutely murder them on this studio effort. Although the duo would later have records that earned Grammys and charted higher sales, ATLiens showcases the career peaks of rapping proficiency between Big Boi and Andre 3000.
In each track both members of the acclaimed southern duo challenged the 90s hip-hop scene with expertly written, versatile flows and story-telling mechanisms. If this album’s title track is in any way indicative of the record’s quality, then there isn’t a weak spot on the album.
However, if there was one weakness on the album it is the out of touch, borderline homophobic and almost entitled lyrics Andre 3000 raps on “Jazzy Belle,” although Andre has after the fact mentioned, apologized and even changed his whole viewpoint regarding that song. So even though that may be the one song on the album that is an unideal depiction of the times the album released in, the rest of this album to me is timeless.
Overall, the album — aside from the one track I already mentioned — is perfect. It is the peak of pure rapping amongst the OutKast duo, it is one of the few albums I consider perfect and it is one of the greatest albums of all time.
Other favorites: Atrocity Exhibition – Danny Brown, Food & Liquor – Lupe Fiasco, Documentary – The Game,Liquid Swords – GZA, The Black Album – Jay-Z, Illmatic – Nas, The Low End Theory – A Tribe Called Quest, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)– Wu-Tang Clan
Dog God
Love the album generally, but the homphobia surfaces again in the song 13 Floor/ Growing old with the line from Big Rube "Tainted as the mind who's blinded to the point Where Sodomites get all the rights"