For over a decade, OutKast has been experimenting with the very definitions of rap. They started out as just another rap duo from the Dirty South, although they began with a bang with Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, still considered one of the best albums from that genre and arguably one of the greatest debut albums in rap history. But instead of playing it safe, they immediately let everyone know they weren’t just another Southern rap group when they released ATLiens, an abrupt shift in direction that left many of their fans scratching their heads. Aquemini still found them in an experimental stage (who can forget the first time they heard the harmonica breakdown in “Rosa Parks”), but a focus was beginning to emerge, one that finally gelled with Stankonia, an album ladened with classic tracks (“B.O.B.”, “Ms. Jackson”, “So Fresh, So Clean”) that put OutKast back on top of the rap world. But once again, OutKast proved that the safe path was not for them as they released Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, a double album that was really two solo albums in one. Speakerboxxx was the more traditional rap album, although Big Boi proved with his disc that he could never be confined to the traditional. The Love Below, Andre 3000’s contribution, was an amalgam of classic soul, rock, and Hip-Hop that garnered the most critical acclaim, sparked by the infectious single “Hey Ya”. Now, their oft-delayed film project Idlewild has finally hit theaters, along with the accompanying sorta-but-not-really-a soundtrack. Is this another commercial and artistic home run for OutKast, or do they finally slide down the slippery slope most bands do at one time or another?
No matter what anyone says, OutKast still knows how to make great songs. “Morris Brown”, with its marching band cadence, may be the catchiest song to hit the airwaves in a few years. “Mighty ‘O'”, the album’s opening track, almost sounds like a throwback to Southernplayalistic…, from the beat and rhyme scheme to the call and response chorus. And “Hollywood Divorce” is a modern day sequel to PE’s “Burn Hollywood Burn”, with a guest appearance by Snoop Dogg and Lil’ Wayne (by far the strongest thing he’s ever laid on wax).
They spend a lot of time denying any type of division or breakup, but Andre and Big Boi hardly intersect on this album. And rather than divide the album into two distinct thematic elements, a la Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, this albums meanders, wandering all over the map as it jumps from Big Boi song to Andre song and back, robbing the album of any real coherence. It also doesn’t help that the balance of strong tracks is tilted heavily in Big Boi’s direction, as Andre’s tracks sound almost like outtakes from The Love Below. Still, even though this may qualify as OutKast’s weakest album, even an OutKast misfire is better than 99% of the crap masquerading as rap these days.
Rating (out of 5): 
