Review #49: Aquemini, Outkast
#49: Aquemini, Outkast
Shortly before setting out on my road trips, I realized something about Outkast’s hit song “Hey Ya!”: The lyrics are actually quite sad. Andre 3000 sings about breaking up with someone he’s in love with: “Why oh why oh why [etc]/ Are we so in denial when we know we’re not happy here?” He even mocks his listeners for jamming: “Y’all don’t wanna hear me, you just wanna dance.”
Then I realized that the song had the best music video ever. My long-suffering boyfriend has since seen the video approximately 100 times.
Some context for the uninitiated:
1. Outkast is made up of Big Boi and Andre 3000, who will appear on every rap album on this list that matters.
2. “Aquemini” is a combination of the two’s astrological signs, which should give you some idea of what this album is going to sound like.
3. They are from a suburb outside Atlanta, Georgia, a fact which is extremely apparent in all their raps and makes them a little more fun than the glut of NY rappers that dominated 90s rap. As Big Boi notes in “West Savannah,” You might call us country, but we’s only Southern.
4. “Hey Ya!” is not actually on this album, but don’t worry — it’s on #290, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. I only mention it because it was the only context I had for Outkast prior to listening to Aquemini, and I assume it’s a song many people are familiar with.
FAVORITE SONGS:
“Return of the ‘G’” — Oh hell yeah, I love songs about being badass. Also I love the skits at the end of these songs. This one mentions Bob Marley, and one of them sings “Is This Love”!
“Rosa Parks” — I danced the most to this one.
“Skew It on the Bar-B (feat. Raekwon)” — It’s Raekwon from the Wu-Tang Clan! I’m here for all these Australia jokes.
“Aquemini” — This song is hilarious, it should be in an Austin Powers movie. It’s all about the unmatched astrological power of Big Boi and Andre 3000, which is both very sweet and hysterical. I also love the Frankenstein skit at the end.
“Slump” — The oohs are a jam in themselves.
“West Savannah” — An origin story!
“Da Art of Storytellin’ (Pt. 1)” — It’s like that now. A little sexist but it’s so catchy.
“Da Art of Storytellin’ (Pt. 2)” — Oh I like this one too, much different, much darker. I love a good rap piano.
“Mamacita” — I’m OBSESSED with this song. The female rapper is apparently Masada, who doesn’t seem to have much more music out; she’s a badass in this, though.
“SpottieOttieDopaliscious” — Songs with such stupid names have no right to be this cool.
“Nathaniel” — Oh fun, a phone booth rap song!
“Liberation” — This has Cee-Lo Green AND Erykah Badu, who both have extremely wild voices.
“Chonkyfire” — Not only is this song a bop, but it includes the word “indubitably” several times.
LEAST FAVORITE SONGS:
“Hold On, Be Strong” — Oh cool, a one-minute-long forgettable synth-inspired intro song.
“Synthesizer (feat. George Clinton)” — Boring.
IS RS FULL OF IT?
I feel like I don’t know enough about Outkast, and my favorite Outkast song isn’t even on this album. So I’ll just say they belong here and call it a day.
