Return of the ATLiens
#TalkNerdyToMeLover's Ponder This
I read this tweet a few weeks ago and my first reaction to it was: "Oh yes!" I was really excited to see and hear the comeback of our favorite ATLiens that were like no other hip hop combo able to combine rap, funk, electro, and country sounds to harmonious, yet totally crazy musical masterpieces.
But after I while I got some serious concerns if I really want to hear a comeback. To understand how I got to this sudden change of mind we have to take a look back, way back. We start our little journey in the year 1993. In this year Outkast released their first single "Player's ball".
The video is so different from the Outkast clips we're used to today. It looks and sounds a lot like the typical west coast videos of that time. They're sitting around, smoking, drinking, playing pool and drivingaround in a red cadillac. The only thing that reminds you that this video was shot in Atlanta and not in Compton are the Atlanta jerseys and caps André and Big Boi are wearing. (FYI: the director of this video was a 22 year old guy named Sean Combs which you might also know as Puff Daddy, P Diddy, P Poppa Diddy Pop,…) He also gave them the chance to perform as the opening act for a Notorious BIG concert. The song "Player's ball" made it onto the 37th spot of the billboard charts and got Outkast their first gold record. Their debut album "Southernplayalisticadillicmuzik" was released on April 26th, 1994 and rewarded with a platinum plague. The sound of the album was close to the common west coast gangster rap of that era but was in sum a solid debut album and already gave a good forecast on their future work.
With that success they had the opportunity and freedom to develop their own style and identity. While Big Boi basically remained unaffected and started raising pitbulls, Dré dated Erykah Baduand developed his very own and unique clothing style. He started to wear colorful cloths, big afros and turbans. At the same time he stopped drinking and smoking and began to paint. These strange but powerful connecting was the foundation of their second album "ATLiens" (1996), which had much more soul, jazz, and blues influences than their debut album. It landed on the second billboard spot and got them double platinum.
But the album that first showed the full potency of their personal and musical contradictions was their third album "Aquemini" (1998). They threw electronic beats, country sounds, banjos, and even mouth organs in their musical pot, stirred it and created gems like "Rosa Parks". They crossed every musical and style border that was left for them; rapping double-time over banjo melodies while wearing football pads and rainbow pants. The Outkast we know today was finally born.
In the year 2000 the space ship Outkast left planet hip hop and entered the pop orbit with their album "Stankonia". This extravagant creation was packed with hits: "Ms Jackson", "B.O.B." or "Humble Mumble" just to name a few. The Rolling Stone said "Stankonia is Outkast's masterpiece. Brainy, socially aware, flexible funk akin to Sly and the Family Stone's 1971 opus, 'There's a riot going on'." Everybody was in agreement that Outkast was on top of the game and nobody knew how and if they ever gonna top that. Who knew that the bing bang was yet to come.
In September 2003 one of the most spectacular stopgaps in Rap history was released: "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below". They both wanted to make a solo album but weren't allowed to based on contractual liabilities. What they finally did was creating two solo albums and combining them to one album. The result were over 5.5m sold records in the US and a Grammy for the "Hip Hop record of the year" (first and last one since Lauryn Hill's The Mis-Education of…).
But what was their biggest success also seamed to mark the end of Outkast. This was no longer one band but two individuals that had drifted apart. They are still friends but the tracks on which both of them appeared seamed to be an attempt to meet the fan's demand and not the result of free will.
So what can we expect form their comeback? Honestly, I don't know. I just can tell you what I hope. I hope that they're making a new album because they want to push each other to new levels again and not to make a lot of money with it. To me Outkast was dead. Although there never was an official split, I just had the feeling that they didn't want to work together anymore. But maybe I'm wrong and it's exactly like the once told us:
"Even the sun goes down heroes eventually die
nothing is for sure nothing is for certain nothing lasts forever.
But until they close the curtain
it's him & I Aquemini"
Follow Torsten on Twitter: @iTozy