Speakerboxxx/The Love Below [Edited] - Outkast (CD 2003)

Outkast... What can I say? One of my favorite commercial groups and with good reason. These days it's hard to find any hope in commercial hip hop. Artists like Nelly and Chingy have really made it hard for fans of good music to stick with their favorite genre. But then came, Speakerboxx/The Love Below, one of the better albums I've heard in a while. Big Boi represented his down south style to the fullest while still not getting too into the crap that's plauging that genre (talking about rims, etc) and Andre 3000 just tore down the house with The Love below. Here's a song by song rating:

01 - Intro
02 - GhettoMusick (B )
03 - Unhappy (A)
04 - Bowtie (Feat. Sleepy Brown & Jazze Pha) (A)
05 - The Way You Move (Feat. Sleepy Brown) (B)
06 - The Rooster (C)
07 - Bust (Feat. Killer Mike) (C)
08 - War (B-)
09 - Church (C)
10 - Bamboo (Interlude)
11 - Tomb Of The Boom (Feat. Konkrete, Big Gipp & Ludacris) (C-)
12 - E-Mac (Interlude)
13 - Knowing (B-)
14 - Flip Flop Rock (Feat. Killer Mike & Jay-Z) (A)
15 - Interlude
16 - Reset (Feat. Khujo Goodie & Cee-Lo) (A-)
17 - D-Boi (Interlude)
18 - Last Call (Feat. Slimm Calhoun, Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz & Mello) (B-)
19 - Bowtie (Postlude)
Overall: B

01 - The Love Below (Intro)
02 - Love Hater (B-)
03 - God (Interlude)
04 - Happy Valentine's Day (B)
05 - Spread (A )
06 - Where Are My Panties?
07 - Prototype (B )
08 - She Lives In My Lap (A)
09 - Hey Ya! (A)
10 - Roses (C )
11 - Good Day, Good Sir
12 - Behold A Lady (B)
13 - Pink & Blue (B )
14 - Love In War (B-)
15 - She's Alive (B )
16 - Dracula's Wedding (Feat. Kelis) (A-)
17 - My Favorite Things (A-)
18 - Take Off Your Cool (Feat. Norah Jones) (A)
19 - Vibrate (B)
20 - A Life In The Day Of Benjamin Andre (A)
Overall: A

Stand out tracks are hard to list because there's so many, but before listening to Andre's album, you're going to have to have an open mind because these tracks are truly out there. If you're a fan of all genres like me, you're going to think Andre's album is outstanding. Fans of Prince will also feel right at home when listening to the Love Below. Andre has managed to make an album that transcends just about everything. Big Boi's album has something for the commercial hip hop lover as well as some insane tracks. "Ghettomusick" is chaotic, yet inviting. "Bowtie" has a catchy rhythm that will stay in your mind for a while and "Flip Flip Rock" has some awesome lyrics including appearances from Jay-z and Killer Mike. Andre's "She lives in my lap", "Spread", "A life in the day of Benjamin Andre", and "Take off your cool" are worth the price of the CD alone, but beware of the Norah Jones track, it's not like anything you expect, but it can give you goosebumps if you truly listen to the music. Speakerboxxx/The Love Below is one of the best "rap" albums in a while, and anyone, even people who aren't fans of hip hop should check it out.