Stankonia [PA] - Outkast (CD 2000)

Lets face it.... Dirty South is nothing but crap. We continuously get wrist watches, crist poppin, money grubbing music with little or no musical value and little or no lyricism at all. Dont even mention creativity and subject matter, cause there isnt a shred of that. The only truly respectable artists that hail from the south are Ludacris (at times), Scarface, Myself (even though i dont represent it), and Atlanta's Dungeon Family. Among the Dungeon Family lie a plethora of talent who prefer to stray away from that useless form of hip-hop and give us a unique sound and talent to our own. The most famous members of the Dungeon Family are the duo of Outkast: Big Boi and Andre 3000. Following their three incredible albums, they released a best seller in 2000 with Stankonia.


Track List & Rating

1. Intro (NOT RATED)
2. Gasoline Dreams f/ Khujo Goodie (*****)
3. I m Cool (Interlude) (NOT RATED)
4. So Fresh, So Clean (******)
5. Ms. Jackson (******)
6. Snappin and Trapping f. Killer Mike & J-Sweet. (***)
7. D.F.. (Interlude) (NOT RATED)
8. Spaghetti Junction (***)
9. Kim & Cookie. (Interlude) (NOT RATED)
10. I ll Call Before I Come f/ Gangsta Boo & Eco (***)
11. B.O.B. (Bombs over Baghdad) (******)
12. Xplosion f/ B-Real (*****)
13. Good Hair. (Interlude) (NOT RATED)
14. We Luv Deez Hoez f/ Backbone & Big Gipp (****)
15. Humble Mumble f/ Erykah Badu (*****)
16. Drinkin Again (Interlude) (NOT RATED)
17. ?. (Interlude) (NOT RATED)
18. Red Velvet (****)
19. Crusin In the ATL (Interlude) (NOT RATED)
20. Gangsta Sh*t f/ Slimm Calhoun, C-Bone & T-Mo (***)
21. Toilet Tisha (****)
22. Slum Beautiful f/ Cee-Lo (****)
23. Pre-Nump (Interlude) (NOT RATED)
24. Stankonia (Stanklove) f/ Big Rube & Sleepy Brown (***)



Stankonia kicks off with the first real banger of the album "Gasoline Dreams". Already from the start, the instrumental gets your head bobbing, featuring some extremely hard bass and electric guitars, as well as background flutes, giving it a very loud, noize-sort of sound. Andre and Big Boi rap political lyrics about the problems with the United States and all sorts of problems that people face nowadays, Public Enemy style. The interesting thing is that i find is strange that they choose this as the opening song, instead of just a party banger, which is what is usually chosen. I guess Outkast was set to get their message out as quickly as possible. Even though most people know Outkast for their feel-good music, they have plenty of stuff on their mind and are two classy, intelligent lyrical masterminds. So never put them down as being real hip-hop, because they define that word. Khujo Goodie appears here with a small verse to close the track out.

The first real party banger is the excellent, feel-good, light-hearted, "So Fresh So Clean". Besides this being an absolute banger, it is also the third single from Stankonia. The funky rhythims of this track immediately put a smile on my face as this track borders the commercialism / underground line very well, and manages to be a classic. The catchy, fun, irresistable tune is one of the albums true highlights and a PERFECT choice for a single. The funky, bass-driven track brings us to the days of G-Funk, as Big Boi and Outkast rap some very well-written, fun verses backed with an unforgettable hook. This should not be skipped no matter what...

Outkast flex their creative, storytelling muscles with "Ms. Jackson", which finds Big Boi and Andre 3000 reminiscing on past relationships with females, and their mothers, basically talking to the mother-in-law and daughter at once, which didn't help the relationship whatsoever cause she treated them like sh*t. Once again, in 2000, i distinctly remember being a sophomore in high school and having EVERY SINGLE PERSON in the school sing the hook. The track takes a serious tone, but the beat and chorus keep that warm, feel-good texture that makes Outkast so catchy to listen to. But taking a closer listen to the lyrics, we get an introspective tale with great poetry, amazing emotion (specially on the hook), and intellect which make this a classic. The piano rift is beautiful, making this yet another classic, and a great choice for second single.

"Snappin & Trappin" is a very unique song. The instrumental of the beat is ridiculously annoying to be honest, and the flow seems choppy, not matching with the beat whatsoever, specially for Killer Mike. This is supposed to be a braggadiocio song of sorts, and though the lyrics are well written at times, the flow doesnt match whatsoever with the beat, and the beat sucks, as well as the chorus, so the points of the song drops horrible. "Call Before I Come" is another average love song style of track which is easily skippable, but deserves a couple of listens. I usually skip through these two and go ahead "B.O.B." and "Spaghetti Junction". The second of the two is pretty much a braggadiocio track where we get a very southern feeling of braggadiocio, with some tight lyrics about living the good life, but its nothing too creative, and is worth skipping ahead a couple of times. I usually dont listen to this and head right into "B.O.B.", which is a sheer classic and the first single. This is a sheer display of Outkast's skills as lyricists and emcees, as Big Boi and Andre rap over an extremely fast instrumental some extremely fast FREESTYLE lyrics, matching the beat extremely perfect, without stuttering or skipping, which amazes me. Earthtone 3 produces this track, giving us one of the most head-bobbing beats ever from this duo, featuring synthesized drums, bass, and a very singable background vocalist group, who gives us the extremely catchy chorus. Even after they rap, its still incredible to listen to the beat and the scratchfest after it, not to mention the choir solo, which is awesome. I play this song on the freeway going at about 90... (dont try it at home). Amazing delivery, flow, beat and lyrics make this a PURE classic.

Cypress Hill's B-Real joins Outkast on "Xplosive". The banging organ music and hard drums fuel this track, giving it sort of a horror feel. Big Boi and Andre 3000 deliver extremely solid performances, giving us a sort of mixture of sheer venomous battle lyrics, and clever braggadiocio, funkified. B-Real comes on the mic with his usual angry voice, taking disses at several industry executives, including those who executives who force emcees to sell-out, XXL Magazine, and critics. B-Real's powerful angry voice and well-written lyrics make this track another standout from Stankonia.

"We Luv Deez Hoes" is another funky and funny Outkast track where they sort of mock "hoes" in a word. This is similar to a Ludacris track that i know of, where Outkast sort of make fun of the fact that all hoes are the same. This is relatively commercial subject matter, but its executed with enough humor that it serves as a good listen on Stankonia. The beat is pretty funky and fits well with what they were trying to accomplish here. "Humble Mumble" features Erykah Badu, which is Andre's former boo, giving them help on the chorus. Outkast give us an amazing performance as both members drop tight verses, perfectly matching the beat with a triple-cadence flow, over the highly synthesized funky beats, which change throughout the song, and then combine for the last verse, giving us something fresh and innovative.

After listening to the two preceeding skits, we get to "Red Velvet". This is Outkast's sort of diss towards materialistic rappers who rap about their "bling, bling" mentality. Its quite a catchy tune and a good listen due to the fact that even rappers from the south can stray away from that, and sound incredible good and intelligent, and diss those who aren't. "Gangsta Sh*t" is next up on this album. Featuring a unique scratch medley, Outkast are joined by Slimm Calhoun, C-Bone and T-Mo for this track. They give us a triple-cadence flow, but the subject matter is forgettable on here, and skippable after a few listens. "Toilet Tisha" is Outkast, once again, at their finest. Outkast slow the tone for this track, giving us a very weirdly produced track with chimes, slow drum beats, and R&B styled production. Outkast sing for the majority of the track (yes they can do it), as they deal with several social conscious issues, including suicide and depression. Very introspective, well-written, and emotional, and another near-classic.

"Slum Beautiful" and "Stankonia (Stanklove)" round out the album nicely. The first of the two features Goodie Mob Alumni Cee-Lo, as his high pitched southern voice fits perfectly with the high-pitched voice of Andre 3000, and the bass of Big Boi. This is a nice, "stanky" twist on a love song, and it is done perfectly by these three emcees. Another love song is followed as the last track of the album. Big Boi chooses not to participate as Andre is joined by Sleepy Brown and Big Lube to give us a stanky track of love, once again. I particularly think it was a bad idea to end the album with another love song, but i guess it works well here, even though the track is only slightly above average.

Stankonia is a good, yet bumpy album. While definetely worth listening to all the way through on the first listen, after this, the skits will indeed get very tiring. This album is loaded with great tracks, great lyrics, great music, and great messages, and among all of the filler, there is some relevantly incredible lyrics and subject matter, crafting us a few classics. The production is a rather unique mixture of G-Funk, Soul, Classic Funk, R&B, and classic Hip-Hop elements, all blended together to give us a creative new sound in which some will love, and some wont. Its creative, lyrical, and fun to listen to. However, keep your hands on the skip button so you dont get irritated.


3.75 Stars... Rounded Up to 4 Stars