Music doesn’t have to sound like it does on the radio. Music can sound alive. No album in 2003 proves this more than Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. This is the kind of record that warrants outrageous hyperbole and sappy melodrama. It positions OutKast as the most creative group in all of pop music.
If you’re a fan of classic funk, drum n’ bass, Motown, vampire romances, soothing piano jazz, Prince, bad British accents, The Sound of Music and hip-hop production of the highest quality, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below is for you. Each disc of the project represents the distinct artistic vision of one OutKast member – Speakerboxxx is Big Boi’s offering, and The Love Below is Dre’s. Thankfully, the artists only split songwriting and production duties. Their vocal talents are equally distributed throughout.
In case his flamboyant attire isn’t enough to show that Dre is the “eccentric” member of the group, The Love Below makes it plain. Commencing with a lounge piano intro, the album segues into “Love Hater,” a song that finds Dre crooning like Nat King Cole. After the initial shock and a healthy chuckle, the lyrics provide a second wave of surprise: “Everybody needs a glass of water today to chase the hate away/You know you’ve got company coming over, so you scrub extra hard/And everybody needs somebody to love before it’s too late.” Eloquent statements like these about the state of the world appear on both discs, showing that OutKast’s lyrics have grown along with its music.
The Love Below is astounding in its scope, alternately absurd, serene, intense and boisterous. It shifts between genres with unbelievable ease, including the Funkadelic Hallmark card “Happy Valentine’s Day,” the ridiculously catchy “Hey Ya,” the poignant, feminist falsetto of “She’s Alive,” and the most surreal recording I’ve heard in a while: a frenetic, drum n’ bass cover of John Coltrane’s jazz interpretation of “My Favorite Things.” This is by far the most fearless, exuberant disc of the year.
What Big Boi’s Speakerboxxx lacks in shock value is made up for with exceptional craftsmanship. A hip-hop/R&B record through and through, this contains more of the beats, hooks and rhymes that made the duo into rap superstars. The Isaac Hayes guitar and Kool & The Gang horns of “The Rooster” beautifully bridge the gap between hardcore rap and solid gold soul; “War” criticizes the 2000 presidential election over a throwback break; “Bowtie” is likely the funkiest track of OutKast’s career. Speakerboxxx is the innovative hip-hop smorgasbord listeners have come to expect, and it’s the perfect counterweight to Dre’s zany brilliance.
When taken as one complete work, the effect of this album is staggering. Few records have been able to capture such a panoramic scope of musical influences. It covers leagues of emotional territory, bursting with humor, hopefulness, introspection, bravado and politics. If records are supposed to be mini-adventures, then this one’s like a trip to Jupiter – mysterious, awe-inspiring and one-of-a-kind.
Appears in the October 2, 2003, issue of Artvoice.