- Artist: OutKast
- Album: Stankonia
- Genre: Hip-Hop
Okay, so today we're visiting Stankonia, which is some sort of funk and sex-fueled Atlantean place....I think.....I'm not sure, it's not really actually that important here. What is important is the futuristic, and sometimes just weird beats on this album and the truly exceptional rhyming (from the duo of Andre` 3000 and Big Boi, two of the best in their region at the artform).
The album starts off with an intro, which is TOTALLY NOT laden with entendres, no-siree, only to entirely switch gears (maybe) with "Gasoline Dreams", a funky, hooky number, and while Andre sings the chorus, Big Boi dominates here. This is followed by another interlude.
"So Fresh, So Clean" follows, with much the same formula as the previous track, but in an entirely different mood. And it doesn't really work, the drum pattern/synthesizer combo is interesting, but other than that, there's not much here to absorb. It's kind of dull, 'sexy' songs are something Outkast does a lot, but unfortunately, not always well, of course here he's calling himself fresh too. So maybe there is some other stuff going on here.
This in turn, is followed up with "Ms. Jackson" easily one of the best songs on this album, its hook is its main selling point, but it's bit deeper than that. It's basically a lengthy explanation to the titular Ms. Jackson about the relationship between her daughter and the song's speaker (though again, it's not that simple, just listen to it, I don't feel like spending that much space on one song) it also contains that "forever ever, ever ever, ever ever" line. Oh, and the piano and drum backbeat is amazing, especially when you consider how simple it really is. The next track, "Snappin' and Trappin'" is really not anything special, again, it's a pretty typical rap song. Still good just not anything to write home about. Another interlude comes after this.
"Spaghetti Junction" is notable for its vintage sounds, and exceptional lyrics. A cutting section near the end solidifies it as one of the better tracks on Stankonia, yet another interlude follows. "I'll Call Before I Come" has some of the strangest sounds on the album. Its backtrack is punctuated by a weird synthesized popping noise, try not to think too hard about what it's an audio entendre for, this is surrounded by almost whispy drums and old school synthesizers. The lyrics here really aren't all that interesting and serve mostly to qualify this as an actual song. Honestly, I think it'd have been better as an instrumental with some added effects and such, but that's probably just me. Also it's about not orgasming first during sex. Just sayin'.
The crowning jewel of the album follows. "B.O.B." (Bombs Over Baghdad) is one of the most amazing hip-hop songs of the decade it came from, and easily makes up for the album's shortcomings. The synth from the last track reappears here in a more uptempo role, and the drums pound with a definite purpose. The chorus, with its group of ladies singing back up, is good, but the verses are truly amazing, simply for their speed, of course, their content is noteworthy too. Sadly this song was pulled from a lot of radio playlists after 9/11 due to the nature of the chorus. Whether or not it's actually an anti-war song can be debated. But the far-fetched conspiracy theories that have arisen from it are quite interesting reads. Also, there is a cut section near the end, again, amazing.
In the next track, "Xplosion", Andre dons a voice effect that may be some distant, and far more listanable, ancestor of auto-tune, this is by no means a bad thing. He's actually more on-point here than a lot of the album Though, I have to imagine, after "BOB" and "Ms. Jackson"'s success, the anti-commercial segment in one of the verses here must've seemed weird. Another interlude follows. Sadly, the tellingly titled "We Love These Hoes" (I'm not even going to try to spell it the way they did) is more sex bragging, and here, the beat isn't even that great to make the track more bearable. There's also the fact that the rhyming here is just bad one of the verses is some unholy union between Dirty Rap and Vast Aire's absolute worst days. I'm inclined to think the whole thing is ironic, and there's some indication they're talking about literal whores. But I don't really know if Outkast are being serious or not at any given time. They're like that.
"Humble Mumble" starts out extremely strange, but the addition of some ratatatting drum tracks and quick, and skilled rhyming make it a standout here, the first part is supposed to evoke the jungle, which it does. AND THEN IT COMPLETELY CHANGES about halfway through without any prior warning or subsequent acknowledgment, only for the next iteration of the chorus to merge the two backbeats seamlessly. This is Outkast's producers at their best, and the samba-infused production is endlessly entertaining. Then there's the female singer —Erykah Badu—who appears as the third verse, because, hey, why not? YET ANOTHER INTERLUDE FOLLOWS.
The song "?" afterwards is....odd. The hyperfast rapping appears again, but, it simply doesn't work as well here. It still does work, just...over something that sounds like a cross between 8-bit video game music, House, and dark electronica, it's just weird. "Red Velvet" is much better, with frequent slices of the record accompanying the slick synth line and simple drum beat. All MC's involved handle their parts competently, though the brief portion with the screwed voice is annoying. "Cruisin' in the ATL" follows. Guess what that is, no go ahead, just take a random guess. Did you say "an interlude"? WELL GUESS WHAT, YOU'RE RIGHT.
Anyway, while "Gangsta Shit"'s extremely generic title might indicate otherwise, it's actually a nice piece of the work for the most part. With a trio of guest rappers (Slimm Calhoun, C-Bone, and T-Mo) appearing to add their own spices to the electric funk stew that this song is. The rhyming method, if you will, here is actually very typical, especially of mainstream Southern Rap, but it actually works here. The production being topnotch, with a futuristic synthesizer and percussion leading, certainly doesn't hurt. The drums of "Toilet Tisha" are extremely heavy, and they are easily the most notable part of the song, and really, the only notable part of the song. The rest is....not excellent. Trying to be serious (at least....I think, like I said, Outkast is hard to read for me when this kind of issue presents itself. :/) while playing a sexyman synth groove just doesn't work. The result is mostly narm, intentionally or otherwise, it's still just not good.
"Slum Beautiful" is a song about a woman, and completely incapable of holding my attention. Seriously, I just can't listen to this. It's not even that it's bad. My mind just starts wandering. Really, most of the album is like that, except for the few tracks that make you actually pay attention. Regardless, "Slum Beautiful" isn't one of those, and while it would probably make a decent slow dance. It's not "sit and listen" material. In some other context, it might be a lot better.
Unsurprisingly, Outkast squeeze in another interlude before the end of the album, the title track. And unfortunately, it has most of the same problems as the last track, except moreso. I really don't know why Outkast made this song, but it's just plain not good.
All in all, the album is good, but extremely unfocused. It's the musical equivalent of a Twinkie. Sure, it's tasty, but it's not very fulfilling to ingest, especially not more than once or twice. This album did have serious highlights, but Andre 3000 (half of the Earthtone III duo who produced the album) is a widely varying individual as far as production goes, and a more narrow album might've been better. And ye gods, the interludes, why are there seven? There are 24 tracks on this album. 7 out of those 24 are interludes, that's over a quarter of the album! Bottom line; Good, but not great, and certainly not a masterpiece.
The weird thing is that I loved this album the first time I heard it a few years ago, I guess perspectives change. Perhaps the more underground artists have spoiled me. I don't know, either way, I'm disappointed.
6.5/10
To get a feel for this album, listen to: "B.O.B.", "Ms. Jackson" and "Humble Mumble".
