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OutKast: Big Boi and Dre Present…OutKast
LaFace/Arista, 2001
Rating: 4.2
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Posted: December
27, 2001
By
Laurence Station
Next to critically acclaimed art-rock titan Radiohead, no performer or group
of the last decade has made music as consistently brilliant as OutKast. That's
quite a statement, considering the Atlanta duo didn't break onto the scene until
1993 (coincidentally, the same year Radiohead's debut Pablo Honey
appeared). But the facts back it up: Ever since, Big Boi and Andre 3000 have
relentlessly upped the ante in the world of hip-hop, reinventing the deep funk
of mid-70's Parliament/Funkadelic with liberal doses of Zeppelin and Hendrix-inspired electric guitar and throwing in the fresh beats of Dirty South
collaborators Organized Noize for good measure.
Like Radiohead, whose breakthrough hit "Creep" wasn't exactly a revolutionary
statement, OutKast evolved quickly. The duo's debut single, "Player's Ball,"
featured a relatively pedestrian hook that celebrated nothing more than looking
good in your Cadillac, smoking Mary Jane and hanging out with the Dungeon Family
(a talented coalition of like-minded Atlanta-based rap artists).
But with its second release, 1996's ATLiens, OutKast made a quantum
leap in terms of inventive beats ("Two Dope Boyz (In a Cadillac)") and smarter
raps, as evidenced by "Elevators (Me & You)," where the same homies Dre and Big
Boi hung out with during their Player's Ball days are looking to ride the
coattails of two local boys made good: "Facial expression lookin' silly/And he
kept askin' me, what kind of car you drive, I know you paid/I know y'all got
buku of hoes from all them songs that y'all done made/And I replied that I had
been goin' through the same things that he had."
The masterstrokes would come on 1998's Aquemini and 2000's Stankonia.
ATLiens pointed the way, bearing a cosmically tinged theme
with OutKast as interplanetary explorers in a spaced-out mode that would have
made Sun Ra and George Clinton proud. Aquemini (focusing on the decidedly
different, yet unified strengths of Dre's and Big Boi's rap styles) and Stankonia (using Atlanta as a microcosm to explore urban problems ranging
from drug abuse to the near-pandemic explosion of unwed mothers) were held
together by an organic tissue of sound and, critically, brief, mostly comedic,
interludes that added levity, but also greater depth to the songs.
Big Boi and Dre Present...OutKast doesn't fit into the mode of these
albums, indicative by the fact that the band's first release, 1994's Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, is most heavily represented, with five
tracks. This is a singles collection, and therefore the only consistent theme
running through this release is the high quality cuts that fill the generous
73-minute-plus playing time. Fans spoiled by the organic flow of Aquemini
and Stankonia might find the record jarring upon first listen, perhaps
slightly disappointing. Sure the individual tracks are great, but where is the
greater ambition, the expansive, carefully sculpted creations one has come to
expect? For that answer, fans will have to wait for the next proper OutKast
effort.
Big Boi and Dre Present... doesn't pretend to be anything more than
what it is: an excellent introduction to those looking for a sampler of the
group's most popular efforts.
Three new tracks are interwoven with the hits, two of which serve as nice
bookends: The bright, horn-laden "Funkin' Around" acts as a creative
introduction to the record, while the jazzy, smart, "Movin' Cool (The After
Party)" closes out the collection, and, hopefully, points the way toward the
upcoming OutKast album. The singalong "The Whole World," while radio
friendly, is the lone unnecessary
track here. Bottom line: Save for a few omissions ("ATLiens," "Gasoline
Dreams"), this is a great overview of one of today's most vital hip-hop groups.
One that, with this brief respite, adds fuel to the fire for those anticipating the
talented duo's next official
release.


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