Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty (2010)

“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”  In hip hop, words are often flipped, skewed and spun to mean different things.  And so it applies to this quote.  In terms of hip hop groups, the parts are often greater than the sum.  Lauren Hill is more than The Fugees, Cee-Lo is more than Goodie Mob and Scarface is more than Geto Boys.  But does it apply to Big Boi and OutKast with Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty?  Yes.

To say it was a rocky road for Big Boi to get the album out is a huge understatement.  Label problems that would give AZ nightmares ensued, and he was forced to approach Def Jam for distribution.  Fast forward to July 2010 and the album finally sees the light of day, taking over 3 years and a label jump to get there.  So what did we get?

Production is a mish mash of live instruments, vocal manipulators, a good amount of quality singing and interesting samples.  Running under all of that are strong bass lines, frenzied drum patterns and pure energy.  Big Boi gets help from some big names alongside the ever present Organized Noize crew, with Salaam Remi, Scott Storch and Lil Jon amongst others, on the boards.  This album never lets up, there’s no chance to pause, no gap in the line to take a breath, just 14 tracks that come at you over and over, forcing you to keep up or get run over.

Big Boi’s prowess on the mic is absolute and even with a large roster of guest rappers, he is never out-rapped.  He brings the laughs all over the album and manages to relay his funny antics without coming off far-fetched or corny.  You never feel the need to say “Boy, stop!” because he’s genuinely an entertaining MC.  That’s his main strength, incredibly likeable and always spirited.

A couple of issues.  The album is so upbeat, so animated, that you have no arc from intro to end.  It plateaus from start to finish, there’s no build up, no cool down and no ebb and flow in between.  You may find yourself saying ‘more of the same’ about the tracks, thanks to the near identical tempo of nearly every song.  This album only has one speed and it’s 6th gear fast, shifting down only once or twice before taking off again.

Another problem, which has no real bearing on Big Boi, is the exclusion of the songs “Lookin’ for Ya” and “Royal Flush” from the official release.  With guest verses from Andre 3000 and Raekwon, they not only fit right in with the other tracks but would have served to enhance the album tenfold.  The reason they were left off is a business one but that’s really not worth talking about, since both songs were leaked by Big Boi himself and are easily available online.  I suggest you add them to your digital copy of this album manually, in a sort of middle finger gesture to the spiteful record label.

Highs:  General Patton, Shutterbugg, Daddy Fat Sax, Shine Blockas, some of the most hilarious skits on any album and the general sense of fun and joy the album gives.

Lows:  The singing on Follow Us can be irritating.  Yelawolf’s verse on You Ain’t No DJ.  More of Big Boi or the gut-busting end skit and Yelawolf completely scrapped would’ve been great.

89/100

OuKast - ATLiens (1996)

This is the first of LuxDel's reviews that she wrote for the old blog, her personal favorite album, Outkast's classic 1996 effort, ATLiens.

Album intros are all at once meant to convey texture, direction and hint at what is to come.  It’s the first hit and it must be taken quickly.  With ATLiens, OutKast’s second offering, the first step is more of a face first fall into a warm abyss. You almost don’t want to escape. Neither Andre 3000 nor Big Boi make an appearance, and it’s left up to a hypnotic rendition of a well known children’s prayer in a cryptic language and a melancholic ballad about (maybe) dying, to usher in listeners to this 14 song lesson in Atlantan space invaders.

After the ’77 Seville vibe of “Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik”, ATLiens at once manages to turn a sharp corner without falling over.  Production from Organized Noize and Earthtone Ideas ricochets from the riff driven “Wailin’” to the reverb heavy “E.T. (Extraterrestrial)” then returns to a synth fiends’s paradise on “Wheelz of Steel.”  Bass heads are serviced by the insistent beat of “Elevators (Me & You)”  and the title track’s menacing mix of live bass strings and sampled drums.

Running throughout the entire album is OutKast’s ability to craft a beautiful melody.  This is their second strongest asset and is never more evident than on “Jazzy Belle”, a blunt analysis of the opposite sex that contradicts the softness of the beat.  “Decatur Psalm” and “Ova Da Wudz” have disappointing construction, but the MC skills of the duo and Dungeon Family guests make the songs enjoyable, even without a dynamic beat to hold the verses.

It’s puzzling how often Big Boi is dismissed as ‘the ugly twin’ while he’s standing next to Andre.  Big Boi is an upper echelon MC.  He holds up the end of “Mainstream” beautifully, his storytelling on “Babylon” is engaging and he rips the title track into pieces, easily outshining Andre.  Mr. Benjamin delivers, putting his all into each verse.  He’s in blackout mode on “Elevators (Me & You)”, at his most scathing on “Mainstream” and totally candid in the anti-braggadocio “Millennium.”

The last true track of the album, “13th Floor/Growing Old”, is a soft landing.  Both Big Boi and Andre reflect and speculate, and the tender piano laced beat is deceptive considering the content of their lyrics are hard hitting truths that are still fully relevant over 15 years after conception.

Topped off with some trippy artwork, it’s an album that’s received critical acclaim ad nauseam.  It constantly battles with “Aquemini” for the title of OutKast’s best and is undoubtedly a bona fide classic, coming from a year that saw the hip hop genre gain at least a dozen other classics.  It’s thoroughly southern and holds down the ‘timeless’ label easily. If you’re looking for something that knocks the speakers and sparks the thoughts, cop this.

Highs:  Elevators, 13th Floor/Growing Old, production on Wheelz of Steel and Two Dope Boyz.  Andre’s verses on Millennium and Mainstream.  Big Boi’s verses on ATLiens, Ova Da Wudz and E.T.

Lows:  Average production on Decatur Psalm and Ova Da Wudz.  The bizarre and annoying vocal sample on Wailin’.  Organized Noize’s take on Elevators with their ONP 86 mix is an unnecessary addition to the album.

94/100