Joshua T Grimm

Sample Music Review Article: It could be argued that hip-hop’s continually shifting topic focus has fallen pretty squarely on the “fame-attainment” obsession, as artists like Nicki Minaj, Kanye West, and Cardi B have self-documented their own rises to the ‘Olympuses’ of their own careers. Whatever you might think of their respective discographies, there is no denying the grating, grinding, grabbing quality of their music. The aggression of their lyricism - their ‘in-your-face’ quality - not only seizes your attention, it also can sycophantically beg for it. What was possibly the best part of Outkast’s 2003 dual-album ​Speakerboxxx​/​The Love Below was its constant insecurity peeping out from between the curtains. ​Speakerboxxx ​in particular is a work that bounces from one late night thought to the next. “Bust” has an opening which seems to be a waking moment from a literal nightmare, ended with a strangely boyish assertiveness that “I’m still all coast, my coast is South!” “War” is a direct frightened train of thought in light of the ​very​ recent invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. “Church” pulls no punches as it ponders through some of the highest existential questions. ​Speakerboxxx​ is, in other words, the bottled feeling of waking up in the middle of the night with a raging hangover next to someone you don’t know. It makes the next songs like “Tomb of the Boom” seem strangely hollow in their self-assertion and confidence. Big Boi’s constant introspection and existential angst expose his threats and bravado as just that - mere bravado. ​Speakerboxxx​ is such a privileged look into the duality of the individual, the exterior versus the interior. And then, holy hell, we get the crooning club intro of Andre 3000’s contribution to the dual album - “The Love Below.” It drips Sinatra and the Rat Pack with its boozy, hazy melody which cannot contrast more heavily with Big Boi’s frantic late night fretting. Even so, Dre’s style is also an exploration into insecurity and posturing which can be felt in both its lyricism and musical style, where Big Boi’s philosophical worries are framed in steady rhythm and taunting backup vocals. There is nowhere more obvious a place where this self-conscious attempt to fit into a mainstream context is displayed than in Outkast’s music video for “Hey Ya,” one of their most successful and memorable tracks. This song’s influence continues to be felt in multiple music genres, and currently sits in the ​Rolling Stone​’s top 100. The entire song is fraught with doubts about the longevity of relationships and the role of intimacy in them. The music video is a timeless piece of art in itself. Modeled on the Beatles 1964 appearance on the Ed Sullivan show, Andre plays all the roles in the band, including the jockey-costume backup singers (who seem to hearken back to the Supremes). A hundred women are screaming like it’s Beatle-mania in the audience. All of Andre’s different personalities cannot stop smiling, and don’t change expressions. Big Boi’s appearance at the beginning seems to be the only moment where there could be some sense of grounding. “I ain’t flew all the way overseas in the middle seat, for us to get over here, and fuck up.” The song is the furthest cry from ​Speakerboxxx​, and yet it fully encapsulates the other side of performance art fame. Andre “Ice Cold” 3000 is basking in the adulation and praise of 100 women, one of which actually attacks him onstage, while Big Boi reminds him that a “GreyHound don’t float on water.” It is this strange duality in the album which seems most appropriate to preface what would eventually be the separate ways that the members of Outkast would take. And yet this dual album is too self-conscious to simply be the separate creative visions of Big Boi and Dre. In a way, both albums try to deal with the pressure of fame without grappling with it, or at it. It has been stated elsewhere how much we need Outkast to return, or some kind of a resurrection of their kind of creativity. In an age where egotistic hip-hop and rap albums garner the most popular attention and crowd our Youtube suggestion lists, something reminiscent of Outkast’s careful grounding mixed with its pure fun is badly needed.