Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

Hip hop, funk, 2003. For the lovers of the genre this record is undoubtably one of the best albums of all time. Almost all the tracks are really interesting for both their sound and their lyrics. Maybe the small problem is that it's very demanding to listen the whole LP in one session, but to be honest it's made as a double album, so that's quite fine.

Good album very fun not a masterpiece by any means but good fun

This was released a year after J5’s power in numbers. This album!!!! Should have given Power in Numbers 4 stars, because this album—this album is 5 stars. Lyrics, dance, culture, pushing boundaries… it’s got it all.

Two hours? Nah, not into it. Can't exactly put my finger on why I don't like OutKast but there seems something grubby about them. Probably that "shit don't stank" line on 'Roses'. Grubby. The flow is great when it happens, but the beats feel cheesy and overproduced and the choruses miss more often than hit. I need to listen to their earliest stuff and see if that moves me. But this was a big wad of no for me. And don't get me started on that steamroller beat over 'My Favorite Things'. Maybe it's the drums I dislike most actually. Whatever, not a great experience.

- Fun - Hypy

I wanted to like it more but found it pretty average, outside of a few hit tracks. It was very long since it's a double LP.

Only one good song

Deservedly a classic. Delivers both quantity and quality.

I've done quite a bit of heavy petting to The Love Below. During my gap year, I spent my days exploring my then-girlfriend's internal plumbing. She was rather a fan of the Andre 3000 half of this, and as such she often put it on to accompany our fumblings. She objected when I played the Happy Mondays for the same purpose, and from thence the relationship was doomed. Speakerboxxx/The Love Below originated with Andre 3000 developing a few tracks for a solo project, pursuing a kaleidoscopic vision leagues away from yer traditional southern hip-hop album. When he contacted Big Boi about his masterplan, Big Boi then started pursuing his vision of a southern hip-hop album. The result of all this independence was this product, two albums nestling together in the same CD case. And they're okay. Several songs from both albums will always please, but the cumulative effect is exhausting and exasperating, not ravishing. The first issue is, obviously, length. Speakerboxxx stands at nearly an hour, and The Love Below gluts out at 80 minutes. Both albums are pimpled with tedious skits (10 of the gits!) that don't go anywhere and fail to entertain. Speakerboxxx also suffers that similar hip-hop album curse of dipping in the middle due to elephantiasis. But if Speakerboxxx has elephantiasis, The Love Below has brachiosauriasis. Andre 3000 channels his inner Prince in composing this, and unfortunately includes all of Prince's faults, principally those of self-indulgence and a complete lack of quality control. Sometimes, the music is inspired, and Andre 3000 successfully fulfils that role of the fill-time dreamer (I've always liked Roses' proverb that "real guys go for real, down-to-Mars girls"). But for every Hey Ya! and Roses, there are four songs of directionless synthy funk that sound rather like Steely Dan, and that comparison isn't complimentary. And I must surely speak for the majority when I say that the incorporation of the melody to My Favourite Things in anything remotely reminiscent of hip-hop should warrant at least 18 months hard labour. Why does that keep happening? So, a work intended to be of epic scope and ambition ends up two passable-but-bloated albums with just not enough great songs. Big Boi is a playa in a game that's not that interesting, and Andre 3000's spiritual quest has left him aspiring to be a manic pixie dream boy. Why couldn't she like the Mondays?

some legendary songs but a lot of filler early 00s noise. bit of a slog to get through but I admire the effort. wasn't expecting a jazzy DnB interlude. 2.5/5

An absolutely exhausting double LP. Struggles to fill the time with interesting melodic ideas and bars for even one hour, much less two - some production ideas are interesting, but the absolutely limpid vocal delivery (save for some great guest features like Killer Mike) just makes this an absolute battle to finish.

This album was an interesting listen. I remember when it came out it was compared negatively to Stankonia, which is fair because it's not as good as Stankonia, but this album still contains tons of high quality Outkast material. 4/5

Very interesting double album. Front half slaps, really nice backing beats. Back half is completely off the wall

I love Outkast but I would pick most any album of theirs over this. Which is not to say this is a bad album - but it is atypical for OutKast as effectively two solo albums released as a double. You rarely get Big Boi and Andre 3000 on the same track and certainly not pairing their lyrical flow across verses. And whilst it is great to hear them let loose individually, there is definitely a sense of quantity over quality which could easily have been solved by a selection of the best from each side. There is a LOT of meandering, aimless sketches, repetitive grooves, peculiar subjects and a lack of focus. Dre sings more than raps - nobody wants to miss out on his great flow! And it pains me to say it. Let’s look at the pluses - there’s a reason Roses, The Way You Move and the globe conquering Hey Ya! (still makes you want to get up and move even on the morning commute) were successful singles - they picked the highlights! They could have done the same for the whole album.

This recommendation almost isn't fair... a FULL double album. OutKast are talented and Speakerboxxx/The Love Below is an ambitious and impressive production. There is some interesting music on this album, but as a whole I did not enjoy listening to the album. The lyrics (words and general content) are not for me.

Couple great songs. Otherwise listening to a double album can get long.

So good.

Well, this album complies with many or maybe all of the tricks to get into this list: huge hits, it has an unusual and experimental format, and was issued by a respected artist. It is the true sum of its parts, if it was published as two separated albums I don’t imagine it would have made it, maybe the love bellow… if it was a single effort with the let’s say, 12 best tracks it would not be here either. The first half is a good effort but its a generic 00’s hip hop album. The second half is quite experimental and has some great moments (as does the first half), and it brings some good memories from back in the day. I think it’s a 3/5

Fine. Quirky

This is 2 albums. Both hip hop. Album 1 is Gangsta Rap trash. Album 2 is a little bit better than anticipated, as it contains Jazz and Soul elements, and their probably most known song Hey Ya. Album 1: 0.5/5 Album 2: 1.5/5 Final Score: 1/5

An influential album with iconic songs. 4.2⭐

It was ik

It was fun to actually listen to the album that hey ya and roses came from. Both of the albums manage to perfectly compliment each other despite being wildly different in multiple ways and offer great showcases of big boi and Andre 3000. Speakerboxx is a solid, straightforward hip hop album while the love below is a wildly creative and eclectic album of psychedelic and jazz and a million other influences. Overall, it’s a classic for more than just hey ya and although I wouldn’t relisten to the whole thing very often it’s still got enough memorable songs like the way you move and vibrate to be a 5

Got about halfway through before giving up.

This album is unique and enjoyable hip-hop, but the length of the project is not justified, as there are a lot of half-baked songs that are a bit mind-numbing to listen to.

Intro meh GhettoMusick 1.5/5 Unhappy 3/5 Bowtie 2/5 The Way You Move 2/5 The Rooster 2.5/5 Bust 1.5/5 War 3.5/5 Church 2.5/5 Bamboo (interlude) wtf Tomb of the Boom 2/5 E-Mac (interlude) no Knowing 2.5/5

Speakerboxxx 5/5, surprisingly good album, I'm not a fun of this style of rap, but it was a real pleasure to listen to Big Boi. Nothing outstanding, just a very solid album from top to bottom. On the other hand, I was expecting a lot from Love Below. Hey Ya and Roses are great songs, that are still etched in people's mind 22 years later. Unfortunately, the rest of the album is, in my opinion, very average. I had to skip few songs, as they were a bit monotonous. There is a chance, that you have to be in a very good mood to enjoy it properly, but from my neutral perspective it was just a chore to go through the whole album. Two timeless songs and a looong bunch of noise. 3/5 Altogether, I would gladly enjoy another Speakerboxxx journey in the future, and for sure I was play on repeat two hits from Love Below, but the album as a whole is not even close entering my pantheon of best in history.

This record has been my queue for several years; When it popped up here, I became conscious of my worry about the length. Certainly Hey Ya was enough? I didn't have to sink two hours into the strangely split double album? Thankfully, that unease was incorrect. This holds up well and hurts my opinion of OutKast not a bit. The ordering is a bit unfortunate: Love Below has more interesting music overall but feels less cohesive and important an hour in.

Joyful, funky and abundant, with a gazillion tracks. This gets 5 stars on the strength of Hey Ya! alone 😊

I really didn't enjoy this. Extra star for an all-time banger.

Decent album. Some tracks were fantastic and some not so much.

Didn’t finish - too goddam long. However, I loved the production on it, the flows were great, and it was a ton of fun. Big fan of the killer mike features. There weren’t any major standout songs and I don’t think I’d constantly bump this though.

Baš sam nekidan slušao raniji antaliens, i po mom mišljenju su outkast jedan od najboljih komercijalnih hip hop izvođača ikada. Uz missy sigurno najbolji crossover tog doba a tu me pilite s nekim dreakeovima. Ma hajte najte

Way too long. I definitely preferred speakerboxxx, and would have rated that a 4 on its own. The love below had a couple great songs but was too long with too many interludes

So long! A lot of great stuff but quality control would have been appreciated. It's basically two solo albums from the two members, guess they couldn't work together any longer.

Although long, it was a great soundtrack to work to today. Knew the hits of course, but never listened to the whole album. Generally pretty good - I enjoyed the variety

As much as Outkast are a nostalgia hit for me, this album is too long

This is an eclectic record. 21st century 'White Album' perhaps? Certainly the two artists represented by the two 'CD' track listings felt they could do whatever they wanted no matter how crazy it was or what the other thought, I assume. Some catchy stuff and OK raps I suppose. I'll give it another listen but it runs over two hours already. I haven't got a favourite disc.

who has 2 hours for 40 outkast tracks? like a good football team the sum of the parts is better than the individuals. outkast together was decent. outkast split in half both producing albums and somehow gaffa taping them together is just self indulgent and crap. still hey ya brings takes me back to the heady days of uni.

Oh yeah, this separate double album thing they did. I'm not listening to 2 hours' worth. Andre 3000s was better.

Hats off to Outkast for attempting this length of album. They have always pushed the boundaries of what hip-hop can be and this is no different. Whether the boundary pushing two separate albums as one thing came about because of "artistic differences" who really knows but as with most double albums, if the fat was stripped off this and it was condensed to a single album, there is a really great record here. And as with most successful duos, it is clear from this experiment that they are better together and much more than the sum of their parts. Speakerboxxx is a solid hip-hop album containing a handful of bangers that doesn't quite hit the heights of previous Outkast efforts. Frankly, what it is missing to elevate it is some Andre 3000 gold dust. On The Love Below Andre 3000 drops rapping almost entirely in favour of space aged funk. Prince is a very obvious influence but the album falls well short of that type of greatness. Here again, the missing ingredient seems to be the absent partner. I can't help feeling that Big Boi's hip-hop grounding would have prevented a lot of these tracks disappearing into nothingness. Experimental nothingness, but nothingness nonetheless.

3/5 speakerboxxx is great but not excellent. 5/5 The love below is amazing. many interesting songs outside the normal hip hop style that serve as a breath of fresh air to speakerboxxx. some of the songs are a bit long though; as if they are an incomplete idea.

Wow, that is a heck of a lot of music. Two hours, 39 tracks...okay, took a while. What a variety of sounds and styles. Impressive. I tend to like the tracks from the The Love Below a little better. Overall, though, there is a tremendous amount of range in this double album and a lot of it is quite good.

GhettoMusick is pretty good, I don't really like the slow bits though. Last Call is alright. Hey Ya is fun. WAY too much filler, this would have felt like a much better album if it was like 40-50 minutes instead of 2 hours and 15 minutes.

More mashup than hip hop. And that is a good thing. I could honest see myself hanging with these guys, talking music.

I think that the way you rate an album sometimes has outside influences. For instance last night I hardly got any sleep at all, however this pile of trash would still receive less than one star had I slept for a week. Over 2 hours of garbage. No thanks and never again.

Mezcla de hip-hop, funk, soul... Un megahit. Me ha gustado. Un 4.

El primer disco puag. Pero el segundo bastante bien. Tiene Hey ya!

Massive double album with a few great songs and a lot of filler.

Sprawl. Good sprawl though.

Chaotic, enjoyed the singles more than the album tracks. Not sure when this would be good to listen too - too all over the place for walks/runs, possibly good for background music when doing weights. Definitely too busy for when working.

Wow there's some exemplary hooks, interludes, beats, melodies, rap, and sounds all what we expect from OutKast on this record. There's bangers like The Way You Move on there. HOWEVER, this is just way too long. I don't really think any album needs to be this long and no album has ever really made me change my mind on that before. For this reason, I much prefer Stankonia as an album and I can't even put this in my 4 star box. Such a shame.

So good! Definitely one of my favorites so far, it was varied in topic and style, loads of different moods, excellent lyrics and so fun!

Honestly may have enjoyed this more if it wasn't so GO DAMN LONG. 2hrs 15 min is just too much and a lot of it just passed me by and felt generic. Obviously a couple of recognisable bangers... but not enough to offset the rest of this. Explanation: My colleague told me this one is so long because at the time Andre 3000 and Big Boi weren't getting on and refused to collaborate very much on the album, but were obliged to because of their commitments to their label. So instead they just did one disc each ha! Which is why it is Speakerboxxx/The Low Below. Literally just two albums dumped together

It's goooood stuff. Obviously very long but if you just think of it as two separate albums they are both excellent.

You could take 80 minutes off this and it would still be too fat

One of the few rap/hip-hop records that broke through into my indie-rock consciousness during the 2000s. This is a sprawling record that I owned and admittedly only listened to a couple times. "Hey Ya!" was obviously the hook. Even my dad covered that song in his acoustic trio. Wild times.

This album (these albums?) are loooooong. It took me three days to get through it. But - I love it. OutKast is like their own genre. It's rap, sure - but it's like everything wrapped into one (funk, gospel, crooner, broadway, rock). The production level and sheer number of people involved in this is impressive. Definitely a must-listen.

Holy cow, what a long album. I don't have the energy to write up comments on all ~40 songs, so I'll just sort of give an overview once I'm done listening. Speakerboxxx was fine. I'm not really well versed in rap, nor do I listen to it much, but I thought all the beats were fantastic! I didn't love the vocals for the most part, but there were some moments in some songs that had absolutely fantastic rhymes. Gotta say, did not expect to hear Lil Jon on this. The Love Below was also fine. Honestly, some of the vocals were fun, but overall this record was just not my taste. I can see why it would be on the list, but I don't think I'll be revisiting this any time soon.

Preferred the love below tracks.

I'd heard quite a bit about Speakerboxxx/The Love Below before, from the hip-hop circles I've very tentatively dipped my toes into. A total split down the middle from Outkast's two members, the general cliché about it I've heard seems to be that Big Boi's disc (Speakerboxxx) is solid hip-hop but Andre 3000 blows him out of the water with the more ambitious, transcendent and genre-hopping "The Love Below". Having listened to both in their entirety a few times, I've surprised myself by siding with Big Boi here. His delivery is clear, focused and sharp and he never loses track of the melodic hearts of each of the songs. "GhettoMusick" sports a breathless killer chorus and some whiplash inducing tempo/style changes. "Bowtie"- maybe my favourite Speakerboxxx track- has such incredible, effortless swagger, "The Way You Move" deserves every inch of its classic status, and "The Rooster" ups the ante to some frantic energy. All of them are complimented by sensational live brass which makes the whole set come alive. "Speakerboxxx" isn't without its diversions. After an amazing first half devoid of any filler, "Tomb of the Boom" feels disappointingly unremarkable and brings the momentum right down, while "Flip Flop Rock" and "Reset" are fine but don't quite possess the same fervour as other cuts here. By comparison, "The Love Below" has taken me much longer to get on board with. I was somewhat disappointed that the peerless "Hey Ya!", the one EVERYONE knows, is not at all a fair representation of the rest of the disc. On balance, Andre 3000 aims for something much darker, denser and more sprawling. The hooks are not the end-goal here: there's about twenty minutes more material than Speakerboxxx and a lot of it takes the form of extended instrumentals (hello, drum n bass "My Favourite Things") or eccentric skits ("Good Day, Good Sir" and "Where are my Panties" are fun, but feel inconsequential). It's a shame, because the good songs here really are great. "Prototype" is a sun-soaked dreamy jam and "Happy Valentine's Day" justifies the litany of Prince comparisons thrown at Andre. "Take Off Your Cool", a refreshingly stripped back duet with Norah Jones, is the last hurrah. But in general, it confirms my feel that Outkast could have put out the album of the decade with a little more refinement and cooperation. Still, it's absolutely one of the best hip-hop albums I've heard on the list so far.

I prefer not to speak. If i speak i am in big trouble

je viens de découvrir que j'aime trop André 3000 néanmoins 2h15 d'album c'est inhumain André

Great music, but enough for three albums...

An hour and a half of Outkast is about 2 hours too much Outkast. Much like Kanye, these guys are not geniuses, and people need to stop throwing that word around like it means something.

So long, so very long...but I enjoyed it more than Stankonia. But so long.

What a gorgeous mess of an album this is. I first put it on while working and every once in a while something would catch my ear and I'd think WTF was that? (and not in a good way). Next step listening in the car...louder, less distracted and my WTFs became...Hmmm isn't that interesting? Then a listen on the big rig at home and I'm all in. Does anything boring or unintelligent ever come out of these guys talented minds. Reminds me of a Hip Hop Clash Sandanista. All kinds of influences that are filtered through Andre's fertile imagination. This guy is a music lover and he's brilliant. 4.5 stars

Great album. Seminal title in hip hop

A double album and all of it a delight. 8.5/10 Fave: Roses

Hard album to evaluate. It's broadly speaking very good, but it's massively overlong. Even if you view it as two albums that just got bundled together, each disc of this loses momentum and meanders. Outkast were one of the best hip-hop acts of the 2000s, but this album should have been shaved down and tightened up. Rap double albums rarely, if ever work. Also, if anyone didn't already know, The Love Below is the far superior of the two discs.

I quite enjoyed Ms Jackson when that came out and I was aware of Hey Ya! and Roses from this release. I really thought I might dig it but man it's a hard slog getting through these songs, especailly The Love Below. Faves: GhettoMusick, She's Alive, My Favorite Things

Not for me! Too racially motivated and crass.

Good, but WAAAAAAYYYYYYY too long. Come on, guys. Enough already. 3/5

Not good

Good overall

Used to have a housemate that loved Outkast so I have some familiarity with this album... I think back in the day I preferred "The Love Below" (maybe just for the presence of the hit single?) but these days it seems a bit cringily misogynistic. This play through, definitely enjoyed "Speakerboxxx" more... Fave track - "Tomb of the Boom"

Long but enjoyable

https://youtu.be/WrFJdfYTH9w

Wow this album was a big boi. I enjoyed the first half, great energy, and then the second half went so so hard at times, but also had a fair few bizarre and even boring moments. It might be a bit messy and obviously too long, but I've already forgotten everything but the bops, so Hey Ya might drag this one up to a 4

Hey Ya slaps. Big boi is somehow still overrated despite not really being rated

It's way too long and all over the place and doesn't live up to its predecessors, but also there is so much great stuff within it that it's still an enjoyable project (though it's crazy that Aquemini didn't make it onto the list)

There is so much happening in this album(s) that you kind of walk away in a haze. Did I just get hot boxed? There were so many interludes that maybe this is a montage? Also, who isn't on this album? 'Jova, yep. Rosario Dawson? Yes, and why... cause why not. Huge radio hits? Yep. Random radio plays? Yep. What is this? It's stanky. Also, it's long. Real long.

This was interesting (and long) but I didn't love it. Just not my style. I liked The Love Below better than Speakerboxxx - just a bit more musical and less rap-oriented. 3 stars for the effort.

heeeey yaaaa

Both discs start put strong. With bangers after bangers. Yet it losses steam after a while. In the latter half, it's pretty boring already. So, what happens when two of these get stacked in one H U G E album? It's quite an adventure, ngl. But maybe if they stripped down this 134 minute whopper of a double album, it would've been a solid 5/5 album. Still, it's a great album. I'll come back to most of its songs. But not on the whole album. Sorry Run the Jewels, but I think I have a new favorite hiphop duo now.

Amazing album. I heard all the singles long before I listened to the entire album

this album is clearly one of the masterpieces of hip hop. But, OMG, there is so much of it! Nearly 2.5 hours! Some (much, most) of this is really excellent, but there was opportunity for editing. One star off for exhaustion.

Wanted to like this more. Double albums are a huge turnoff in this project, but pushed through. Speakerboxxx felt like I couldn’t hear the vocals. The Love Below was better but mostly because of the instrumentals.

Enorme, ficou tocando e nem percebi os hits.

If this was just one album split in half, probably a three stars but this is just too much. Some good stuff in here but it’s a lot SORRY

Most artists do not produce this quantity of quality music in their entire careers. To have it all packed into a double album single release is truly incredible. Hey Ya is one of the defining tracks of the 2000s, and it's not even the best track on here. I think my favorite thing may be the My Favorite Things jazz odyssey.

I like it

honestly this was a strange album because it was all over the place but i liked it? i knew a couple songs and i thought it was pretty groovy.

What "is* this album?? I'd never heard anything beyond the single "Hey Ya" so the first part of this was wholly unexpected. Often it sounds like an updated Parliament which *thumbs up* or a modern version of smooth 70s R&B; hints of Curtis Mayfield. It's...weird. mostly amazingly so. Then the second half hits and maybe I expected it to be less weird and something more traditional....nope. Piano flourishes, goofy lyrics almost with a Flight of the Conchords bent. Negative: too lonnnng. Over two hours for anything is a lot to digest. There are just a few definitively lousy songs (e.g. "Tomb of the Boom") which is a bummer - momentum is occasionally lost. I'm never a fan of little interludes or comic bits either. I know they serve as resets but they always take me out of the vibe and do again here. A bit of editing and shaving a few cuts off this would have made it solid gold. As it is tho, grading on the best material there's a lot of strange and great music here. I have to redigest this much more slowly. I was thinking a three star for a while and maybe is on a personal level but man did they make something different and odd and I feel like this could grow even more on me. 7/10 4 stars for massive ambition.

3/5

Some really good stuff on here, and I unironically still like Hey Ya and Roses. However, the full 2 hours is a lot.

If they had separated this into two seperate albums instead of a double album both could very well be on this list. It's just good in every genre it touches. And on the second album even though I knew it was there I was not expecting "Hey Ya!" to come in where it did. All in all a great album and just a fun listen.

Mezcla de rap y funk de canciones con ritmo y estilos. Para escuchar en diferentes ambientes. No es mi estilo, pero se puede escuchar, y es una oportunidad para descubrir otras variantes.

HEY YA I LOVE THIS ALBUM! War has a really good middle section with the fade out and in to a different feeling. The song Church is very good, it has a great flow and drum beat.

I was tempted to give this 5 stars as at an instant. I love this album, especially The Love Below. When listening, I realised I didn't know the middle/ending part of Speakerboxxx that well, because I usually turn it off around Bamboo. I do think Speakerboxxx has an amazing energy at the start, and I also like the last song. The Love Below is great from start to finish, and therefore, I usually put on that CD rather than the Speakerboxxx one. The second CD is great melodically, it's cool, makes you feel like a boss, and finally, it's also pretty funny! I remember my dad buying this album when I was a teenager and making a copy of both CDs (including the album covers) to play in my room with the bass turned to max. Especially Roses has such a great bass. Good memories. Overall I'd give this album a high 4.5 to 5 stars, because the Speakerboxxx album lacks a bit in the middle/end part. 5 stars it is, because overall both CDs combined just are an amazing experience!

What an album! I know a lot of people prefer the Speakerboxxx side, but to me the songs on there always start to sound like too much of the same towards the end. It does contain some great tracks as well, though. The Love Below is fucking weird, that's true, but it's exactly the kind of weird that I vibe with, and the songs are all absolute bops. I will admit to skipping some of the interludes on occasion, but as a concept album it is unrivalled. 5 stars!

Surprisingly I really enjoyed most of this album. It was upbeat and fun.

Way to long for my tastes- got some bangers in there for sure. Second half is WAY better imo.

Gewoon helemaal gedraaid! Omdat het me niet stoorde, maar zeker niet omdat ik het zo'n boeiend plaatje vond. Meh!

Niet helemaal geluisterd, maar vond ik wel interessant klinken.

Als je al die rommel aan interludes en rare korte 'grappig bedoelde' dingetjes eruit zou donderen, dan blijft er een heel aardige, energieke plaat over. Dus ik doe gewoon alsof ik die opvullers allemaal niet gehoord heb, en dan krijgen ze gewoon 3 sterren van me.

'Hey ya' vind ik een topplaat, de rest vind ik tamelijk nietszeggend.

classic

the musical equivalent of corn syrup

As the title and album art implies, this is really two separate albums. Speakerboxxx is by Big Boi and The Love Below is by Andre 3000. The two albums are very different, almost contrasting, and it is difficult to see how they work together. You may put one or the other on depending on your mood, but it is difficult to think of circumstances where you would listen to both back-to-back (unless you are on a voyage to listen to the '1001 albums you must hear before you die' before you die, of course). Based on the write-ups, I had expected to prefer The Love Below, however, my experience was the opposite. Speakerboxx is a catchy, melodic, high energy, and fun hip hop album. I enjoyed this a lot and struggle to think of a hip hop album that I have enjoyed more than this. 3 3.5/5 The Love Below is high energy and a mish-mash of styles which is fun with some cool high points (including Heat Ya!), but the overall effect is quite jarring. 2.5/5. Together this gives an average of 3/5, however, I'm knocking a point off for the two halves not really working together. I'd like to know how this came to be one Outcast album rather than two solo albums or two separate Outcast releases. 2/5

Second Outkast album as prescribed by The List. Rated Stankonia as 4 stars, mainly because it was absolute overkill. This album is almost twice as long as they combined two separate albums into one.. but I always liked it much more. The song material is equally strong as Stankonia (and its predecessors) ..but the album has a much more relaxed sound, which makes it much more listenable.

Several 5* songs - incl Hey Ya, one of the best ever - but too scattered and way too long overall.

Not bad, but not their best

This is Outkast at their most experimental, and nearing the end of their time as a group. Overall this was a fun one for me to revisit.

Having only heard (and not enjoying) Hey Ya, I wasn’t sure if I wasn’t a fan of just that song or OutKast. Now I know I’m not a fan of OutKast.

Très gros album, sûrement le meilleur du groupe. J’aime le concept d’avoir deux albums différents. À l’époque je préférais The Love Below. Je crois que c’est encore le cas, mais les beats de Speakerboxxx sont très bons, mais rien de mémorable. Hey Ya! est la meilleure pièce du disque, voir du groupe.

Speakerboxxx - 3 stars / The Love Below - 5 stars

Great listen especially Andre 3000's part! Almost a 5.

So long

4/10 Best Song - Flip Flop Rock

A lot to listen to

There are actually a few decent tracks on here, but the running time is in no way justified.

Long album and I did not have time today to give it a full listen. Hey Ya is a great song though and while hip hop is not a genre of mine, I bounced around the double album to get a flavor of it. 3

This is an album that was a soundtrack of my youth, the love below is really a work of art

Great album

You don’t always have to understand art to appreciate and even enjoy it: Stanley Kubrick’s '2001: A Space Odyssey,' or Jackson Pollock’s abstract ‘drip’ paintings. Or, 'The Love Below,' the second half of OutKast’s double LP. (More accurately, this is not so much a double album as it is two separate LPs.) Other than the general theme of love/sex, I couldn’t make much sense out of Andre 3000s lyrics. Nor did I understand the inclusion of so many other things besides rap, like the seemingly random snippets of conversations (‘God [Interlude]’ or ‘Where Are My Panties.’) He actually ends the LP with an unfinished rambling stream of consciousness number including the statement, ‘and that’s as far as I got.’ And I’m not even going to ask what a ‘macaroni’ n-word is. On ‘Love Hater,’ he sings that ‘everyone needs someone to love,’ but then in the chorus, ‘Love hater, hater of love.’ So, which is it? And is Andre the love hater, or someone else? Hmmm… Again, while much of Andre’s lyrics were lost on me, I very much enjoyed the general sound he creates in the background- trip hop. Spacey, cool, and very danceable. Yeah, I dug it as much as a 62 year old middle class white guy living in a suburb of Denver can. I was already familiar with the LP’s big hit, ‘Hey Ya,’ and it’s a hit for a reason, one of the best offerings of the bunch. (The video is pretty clever, too.) I’m also a fan of John Coltrane’s free jazz so I really enjoyed the sampling of his astounding tenor sax version of ‘My Favorite Things’ with an equally fantastic piano solo, all set against a superfast synthesized beat. Now, Big Boi’s (the other member of the OutKast duo) side one, 'Speakerboxxx' (triple x rated, get it?), that’s a whole other matter. I did understand much of what Big Boi was rapping about, unfortunately: sex (with no mention of love), violence, substance abuse, prison. Big Boi highlights some of the issues concerning 21st century black Americans, but never offers any helpful solutions. More unfortunately, he sometimes glorifies the sex and violence. On the positive side, though, his side also contained some lovely harmonies (‘The Way You Move’) ala the mighty 1970s R&B band, Earth, Wind, and Fire, and a generous amount of tremendously vicious beats. Every bit as danceable as Andre’s side, albeit with a much darker edge. In addition to the massive amount of lyrical content and sampling throughout, this double LP is also loaded with guest artists (too many to name, but the R&B diva Patti LaBelle is the first to appear) that pop in and out like the little creatures in the whack a mole game. Be sure you have plenty of time to listen to this recording. You might even want to make a sandwich or two to have on hand. Take the dog out first. A catheter might be helpful. I have a friend who is a priest in the Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition who gave me some advice concerning the massive amount of words chanted during the Divine Liturgy. ‘It’s too much to comprehend,’ I complained. ‘Too many words coming too fast for too long a time!’ His advice? ‘Just let all those words wash over you, and listen with your heart rather than your mind. The service is not about comprehension as much as experience, a foretaste, of heavenly glory.’ Maybe that’s good advice for listening to 'Speakerboxxx/The Love Below,' as well, on its own different terms. And that’s as far as I got.

Hip hop is generally not my favorite genre. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would but not enough to buy it.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ While I've heard the hits before, it was cool to listen to this album front to back.

I don't like interludes. Some jams.

It’s overstuffed and definitely bloated, but the sheer creativity and ideas explored really rivals The White Album. While I think I prefer Speakerboxxx, both “albums” have so many rich ideas and interesting sounds.

Not my type of music. Also, 2h is too damn long.

5

Very long and instrumentals were on point. Love how it told a story.

надо вернуться, пока норм

Holy shit a 2 hour double album. well strap in I guess. Unhappy is a mix of busy melody, groove, and a really interesting rape flow structure. The Way You Move is on this album? This is great. Church is a really cool, odd sounding song. Speakerboxx, great rap album. The Love Below is much more expiramental and I don't know where to latch on to it. The guy shouting ICE COLD on Where Are My Panties is my hero. Prototype slaps. Hey Ya kicks so much booooootaayy and then is followed up by Roses. She's Alive is a poignant song. A blistering backbeat on My Favorite Things adds a pretty awesome dimension to the song.

Some 4- and 5-star tracks for sure, but A LOT of filler.

Not bad not bad...

Repeat from other list.

Tem duas partes, a primeira é very energetic com batidas animadas e leva mais para o lado do rap. A segunda é um pouco mais melódica, mas com synths bem marcantes.

The hit songs are great but the rest are just ok. It's a long album to get through when most songs are just ok.

Really enjoyed it solid

Great album. I only knew a couple of songs from before. Very bold, provocative and groovy

Sounds very dated and far far far too long...maybe it's just not my thing...

This one takes me back to high school, I had it on repeat for a minute there. I always preferred The Love Below to Speakerboxxx, and that's still the case, but there were some songs I appreciated this time that I didn't appreciate at the time - Bowtie sticks out in that regard. It is definitely an indulgent double album - did they need to include their version of My Favorite Things? No, but I am glad they did. There's some fat they could have cut, but very few duds. It makes me happy that the hits that took over the world - especially Hey Ya - emerged from this much larger showcase of excellent songs.

This is one of the most creative and unique albums in all of hip hop. A sprawling 2 CD set that essentially functions as two separate solo albums packaged together. I feel like it was a brilliant way to reconcile the age old problem of artists wanting to go in separate directions. I was a huge fan of Stankonia and Aquemini in college and was elated when this was released. I must admit I have listened to the Andre 3000 disc many more times over the years but Big Boi's disc is completely solid as well, and much more akin to their previous output. It's just that The Love Below is such a strange genre bending cocktail that I find it completely irresistible. Reminds me somewhat of Sign o the Times era Prince in many ways but goofier with and more lighthearted (for the most part). I feel like both Big Boi and Andre 3000 were both being completely true to themselves here and I love seeing things from their unique perspectives. For being iconoclasts of a sort, it's amazing how casual and natural it all comes across. I only wish they would make more music together again, but this album would be hard to top.

Of course I've heard "Hey Ya!" and "The Way You Move", you can't avoid that song no matter what you try. Thankfully they are both pretty good. Haven't listened to any other tracks on here before, but overall not too bad. Definitely some cool production/mixing here, the concept album of each person with a side is kind of neat. It's not my preferred style of hip-hop but I can't fault it really.

actually full of bangers

No album needs to be over 2 hours long. There's so much filler as well

honestly I'd never expect that I will rate this album so low, I knew some of the songs and classics like Hey ya or Roses are pure masterpieces, but damn, 40 songs, it killed me. None album should be this long, I mean I know that we got 2 discs here, but it's still too much. Still 3,5 tho, unique vibe and hip hop legacy, Andre is a genius

Ups and downs throughout. Lyrically its a bit hit and miss - the singles are all pretty good, as are the few songs which give the artists room to show vulnerability. When it's about a desired or despised woman though, the lyrics can get pretty lowbrow - and in an uncomfortable way, not a fun way. When its good though, it gets almost wholesome, which is not a word I expected to be applying. Musically its much more consistent, solid beats and catchy tunes almost all the way through, which is saying something for a ~2 hour long double album. Very impressive also how the two halves feel distinct, but cohesive - no doubt a much harder balance to strike than they make it look. This still isn't really my kind of music but I can't deny that its very well put together.

It's alright, but not really my cup of tea.

The hip hop for white critics

40 songs, 2 hours... this album is a commitment.

This album takes me back! I always really liked this album. Many differences and yet a unified whole between the two parts of this album.

Plus j'en apprends sur Jim Morrison, plus je consacre mon temps libre à effectuer de nouvelles recherches sur lui à la bibliothèque de l'université. Après avoir lu entre autre qu'il n'était pas mort en 1971, qu'il était à l'origine de l'accident mortel de Claude François ainsi que de l'explosion nucléaire de Tchernobyl, je viens de tomber sur un document d'archive confidentiel totalement ahurissant. Nous sommes le samedi 11 novembre 1989 à Berlin. La ville est divisée entre Est et Ouest par un mur de plusieurs kilomètres dont les environs sont surveillés par des gardes-frontières. Ce jour-là, le mur est aussi imposant que d'habitude et n'a jamais paru aussi infranchissable. La plupart des scientifiques s'accordent sur le fait qu'il semble assez solide pour résister pendant encore plusieurs siècles. L'un des gardes-frontières remarque toutefois au matin une légère fissure de quelques millimètres de longueur. Il se dit alors qu'il faudrait la reboucher avec du plâtre mais n'a pas les outils adéquats à disposition. Il appelle donc un professionnel du bâtiment. Quelques minutes plus tard, un homme se présente au pied du mur vêtu d'une salopette bleu ciel et d'un crayon à papier derrière l'oreille (vous aurez reconnu Jim Morrison). Le garde l'accompagne à l'endroit de la fissure et lui dit de ne pas hésiter à venir le trouver s'il avait la moindre question. Une fois seul, Jim dépose sa boîte à outil sur le sol, se saisit d'un clou, le tord dans tous les sens, l'enfonce dans la fissure et lui donne quelques coups de marteau. Il se saisit ensuite d'une prise électrique et l'encastre dans le trou qu'il vient de former. Sa mission terminée, il se relève, prend sa boîte à outils et quitte les lieux. À peine une dizaine de minutes plus tard, les gardes entendent un bruit de craquements. Celui-ci s'intensifie jusqu'à ce que, contre toute attente, le mur s'écroule sur toute sa longueur dans un bruit assourdissant. L'Allemagne de l'Est et l'Allemagne de l'Ouest venait d'être réunifiées à la surprise générale, avec pour conséquence l'effondrement de la RDA puis du bloc de l'est.

Depuis quelques jours, le nombre de like sur mes reviews a drastiquement diminué, ce qui me vaut de ne toujours pas accéder au tant convoité classement des 10 meilleurs critiques du site. Je me place donc en grève, en attendant une évolution de la situation.

OutKast's double-album is ambitious project that ultimately suffers from it's length. There are some certified classics on here, though. They are so good that they outshine the other songs on the album. If I had it my way, I'd cut out the filler from both albums and combine them into one.

Shorter list if was who didn't play on this/these albums. Watch "Be Cool", Andre 3000 is great along w other stars. I like that it has good singing.

Such a long and huge double album. I've always been more into Andre 3000, and The Love Below is definitely the better half of this in my opinion. The singles are obviously great, and the deeper cuts on Love Below still got me good, but I'm just not as big a fan of Speakerboxxx. Southern Hip Hop just isn't my jam. This would be a 4.5 for me if you cut it down to one album. Best tracks from both. But it's just a 3.

Mistura dub, funk, eletronic music, soul e rap. Muito bom! Um ótima surpresa ouvi-lo!

I've always had a complicated relationship with hip-hop. Like most middle-class suburban kids, my introduction to hip-hop was in the form of Eminem (I am currently sitting down as I am not the real Slim Shady), and soon after, Outkast. This was would later be followed by the proliferation of the clubby, flashy gangsta rap that put me off hip-hop for a long while. Without delving too much into my on-again-off-again thing (thang?) with the genre, I am just going to come right out and say that Stankonia was Outkast's best work. Unlike Speakerboxx/The Love Below, Stankonia saw the duo at their peak, greater than the sum of their parts. In retrospect, Speakerboxx/The Love Below was a foreshadowing of the pair's eventual break up, primarily due to creative differences. If anything, this double album would be prime evidence of their contrasting ways. Speakerboxx, the half by Big Boi (the guy on the left) started strong, but the vibrant, cacophonous funk, broken by excessive interludes, made this feel tiresome quickly. While it did still feature a fair amount of rap, with appearances by Killer Mike and Ceelo Green amongst others, I could not help but feel that Speakerboxx lacked the urgency and mania that made Outkast so damn catchy. The Love Below, the second hour(?!) by Andre "3000" Benjamin, did little to cut through the bloatedness of the first half. While there were some really cool tracks and unlikely features, and a conceptual narrative to boot, The Love Below felt less like an album and a little more like a soundtrack to a love affair that starts, blooms, flounders and dies. As a standalone work, one could wonder if The Love Below might actually be worth a listen (this writer says "yes"), but after the first hour that was Speakerboxx, ones' aural tummy cannot help but feel numb and force-fed.  Overall, I did enjoy Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, but not without having to drag myself through it at some points, and wondering aloud if the album would have worked better as an hour outing, sans the some of the interludes. I'm sorry Ms Jackson. I am for real.

A few really great songs on here, but most of it doesn't appeal to me.

already enjoying

What an incredible achievement. It's ridiculous that I Like the Way You Move isn't sampled from some soul hit of the 60s/70s, how the hell did they come up with that. Top 5 hooks of all time. Not to mention the bass line, goddamn that would destroy a circa 2009 subwoofer. How can you not love a Ludacris feature - "I'm with some nasty hoes, eating pistachios". Matter of fact the calibre of feature artists across the record demonstrates the status they held and continue to hold on the genre. Jay Z/ Killer Mike, Cee Lo (who is likely the most often featured artist in this whole list, the man was everywhere doing everything), even Lil Jon gets his 15 seconds of OH YAYAS. And all that before we even reach Andre's half of the album. Genius move with the swing jazz intro, signals the shift to his side perfectly. His call and response conversation with lady God interlude is hilarious - "Head don't count right? Aw thanks God." Big Boi might be technically better but Andre 3000 tells a waaayy better story. Where's my panties intro into Prototype is out of this world (Tame Impala's cover of Prototype has to be mentioned here also). He's actually a very sensitive individual talking on some pretty personal topics, but still maintaining an outrageous sense of humour about it all. I love that it wasnt ended with some bring back double track but instead closes on a real unsettling reflection on the mysteries of Erykah Badu.

A 3 probably. No this album is a 4 at least, and I 100% need more time to swallow this behemoth of an 'album'. It is 2 albums, so naturally I'd need one more day. At least, there is so much to unpack. There is too much good shit for one album, and it's too good to not give a 5. But it doesen't quite rival B.O.B. One of the best albums. Awesome collabs, especially "Take Off Your Cool". I did not expect to see Norah Jones here, but it is so good.

Overly long double album with filler and minimal killer

Outkast is great and I enjoy their music. The double album was an interesting choice given that the albums are so different. Both albums are good and have fantastic songs. However, if you listen to both discs back to back it is well over two hours.

Way way to long

Good God. No album should be that long. 'Hey ya!' and 'My favourite things' are pretty great tho.

2/5 naaah

This is a long album! It demands time from the listener with his over 2 hrs/ 40 songs. Luckily, are easy-to-listen songs; actually, I am loving some of them from the very first listen. I only knew the singles, but ignored some of the gems hidden in those two records. This is good work! I see why is here

4/5. A great one, but Long long long

Aj karamba, o ile liczylem na outkastow na liscie, to jednak mialem cicha nadzieje, ze bedzie to stankonia lub cos bardziej klasycznego, a tworca listy postawil na najbardziej sprzedane wydanie grupy, ktore jest przedostatnim albumem w dyskografii duetu, a raczej podwojnym albumem, bo jak / w tytule wskazuje sa to dwa projekty wydane za jednym razem jako podwojny krazek, speakerboxxx od big boya i the love below andre 3000, dwa tak rozne krazki, ze ciezko bedzie jakos ocenic je jako calosc, bo strona big boya, to wszystko z czego poludniowy hip hop jest znany, wiec funkowo jazzowe beaty z mocnymi elementami basiorowymi, teksty w ktorych glownymi motywami sa problemy spoleczne, ale ubrane w taki sposob, zeby jednak przyjemnie sie tego sluchalo, stad big boiowa persona jest tutaj prawdziwym donem reprezentujacym poludniowy rap, rowniez lista featurow speakerboxxxa dosc jasno wskazuje, ze jest to rapowy album, bo pojawia sie chocby jay z, goodie mob, czy killer mike, ta strona ma 56 minut na 19 kawalkach, zarowno tutaj jak i na the love below mnostwo jest skitow intr i outr, wiec nie jest to najbardziej gladki album autoplejowy jaki mozna sobie wymarzyc, ale dopiero druga strona pokazuje jak ciezki jest to material, bo czesc od andre jest tak eksperymentalna, ze w niektorych momentach wrecz wywracajaca czlowieka zarowno kontentem lirycznym jak i muzycznym, bo o wiele wiecej tutaj romancu, tak duzo, ze ciezko stwierdzic zeby druga strona mowila o czyms innym niz tylko amorach i jego roznorakich aspektach, o wokalnych performansach pana 3k ciezko powiedziec cos wiecej poza tym, ze szalenie ambitnie wymierzyl skale w jakiej bedzie tutaj spiewac, jak czytalem to wszystko bylo nagrywane na chacie, wiec pozwolil sobie na tak wysokie darcie ryja, ze w niektorych momentach mozna go posadzic o bycie kastratem, nie ma tutaj zbyt duzo rapowania, bo wiekszosc 78 strony to jednak spiewy, czesto mocno wymiksowane, ze na kilku kanalach rozne wokale jednoczesnie atakuja, a z kazdego jeden glos, ale jest to tez strona ktora obrodzila w teraz najbardziej znane wsrod mainstreamowego sluchaczaa kawalki takie jak roses, czy tak oszukanczo zamaskowany utwor jakim jest hey ya, ktory pod przykrywka upbeatowej melodii i harmonicznych wokali przemyca srogie prawdy, to wlasnie tutaj widac dlaczego andre jest tak cenionym artystom, a nie tylko raperem, bo zeby sprzedac tak przygnebiajacy kawalek ludziom do zabawy trzeba miec prawdziwy talent, fajna analogie mozna sobie rozkminic, jesli przyjac ten album jako finalny postarany material, bo od takiego sprytnego przemycania trescia cala kariera duetu sie rozpoczela i ich players ballem, wiec nawet the love below ma swoje momenty, ale jednak tak dlugi material potrafi znudzic i zameczyc momentami, gesto czuc, ze cos sie juz slyszalo, nie mowie tylko o tak oczywistych influencjach jak coverowanie funkowo my favorite things, ale 78 minut studiowania milosci, wiec zdecydowanie najpopularniejszego tematu muzyki popularnej, to podroz w niezliczone kawalki, ktore wybrzmiewaja podobna nutka, lista featurow rowniez jest o wiele bardziej egzotyczna i z listowanych nazwisk nie kojarze nikogo, dlugi to byl odsluch nie zapomne go na dlugo, ale jesli chodzi o plejkowe picki, to od andre dodam jego magnum opus tego albumu, wiec hey ya, ale przy tym odsluchu na nowo odkrylem speakerboxxxa i tyle swietnych kawalkow tam ukrytych, wiec dodam the way you move i unhappy, bo otwierajacy ghettomusick juz mialem z dawnego odsluchu, pierwsza strona mocne 4/5, ale dla love below o wiele mniej milosci mam, wiec 2/5

album a day

A classic. Too bad they stopped making records.

Some great tunes from the two Andre's here. even the Intro to speakerboxxx is good. They were innovative in 2003 and they sound relevant nearly 20 years later. I like "Ghetto Music" and of course the classic "Hey Ya" don't have this in my collection but well worth it's place here in the list!

2 (well 3ish) Outkast albums in 3 days. If Aquemini is on this list (and you can certainly say that it should be) maybe I'll get it soon as well. Like Stankonia this album has some nostalgia me. There are some solid songs to be heard on both discs (let me pretend it's still 2003 when I was still a teenager, had hair, and hope for the future) The only downside is I never really go to these albums with regularity. I prefer Andre and Big Boi doing their thing together. Big Boi's more conventional album is a nice juxtaposition to Andre's more experimental project but it just doesn't feel quite right to me. This is a 3.5 for me but I'll give it a 4 because I'm sure a lot people gave it a low score without even listening to these albums.

This shit don't stink.

Good but not my bag.

4⭐️ for Speakerboxxx 2⭐️ for The Love Below

Cut out the skits and some of the slower songs, 2 hours is too long, stout album tho

Long but good

Mmm Hey Ya, but wierd mix.

Has great singles, but not a big fan of the intermissions. Not favourite outkast album.

When I was 14 I used to blast this on my Walkman religiously while playing Mario Kart Double Dash at all hours of the night. Anyways, super iconic album and both discs are fantastic. Could be the best double album in hip-hop history. Andre 3000 and Big Boi both deliver with the lyrics, great production, catchy hits and sweet features. An album for the ages that definitely deserved all of the success that it had.

A solid funky party album. Some cool sounds and grooves. Stand out tracks for me are "Bowtie", "Hey Ya!", "Dracula's Wedding" and the jazzy cover of "My Favourite Things". The biggest problem for me is the length of the album. It felt a bit of a chore to listen to it all and I feel it could have been trimmed into a solid 80 or 90 minute double. I'm torn between 3 and 4. If I could make my own compilation it would be a 4, but based on what's presented it's a 3

Too long. Far too much filler, not sure how it got nominated for six Grammys

Long and boxy with some classics mind

Overly long but there's some true gems buried within

Yeah man, this shit is thoroughly entertaining.

This is the second OutKast album we've had since starting the 1001 group... and it's a double album, 40 tracks, 2hr 15mins runtime, blimey! Not my usual taste of music, but listening along (with headphones) I kinda lost myself in it, good beats. Some of the skits and interludes were funny. I preferred Speakerboxxx over The Love Below.

Interesting. Not a big rap fan but I was pleasantly surprised at the variety of genres present on this album.

It’s would be a four with an editor.

Apart from "Bust" didn't like any other songs. Was a hard listen due to the length of the album(s)

Not my case. And though I did enjoy some tracks, the album was just TOO DAMN LONG :D

This is a fun album. Lots of good songs but way too long and therefore lots of not so good songs too. Would have a higher score if they cut out some of the cruft. Still mostly fun to listen to.

better than I expected the single is really good but not really a bad track

I don't think this is for me, but it's still a good album.

ну второй диск вроде нормич, а первый совсем говно если чо))

I have a great fondness for this album (though really, it’s two albums) but I am now realising I can’t remember when I last listened to it without skipping a whole bunch. The high points are really high, but there’s a whole lot of filler. Listening to both sides from start to finish was not actually that fun.

A truly diverse hip-hop epic.

A+ music

didn't like it, could have easily been a single album, can't believe people will complain that jazz is the musician self-indulging but would listen to 2 discs of this

Not generally my thing but some pretty decent tracks on there and BOB is, of course, a banger.

Overindulgent, far too long and with a lot of filler. Ghetto Musick is great, but it's downhill after that.

Trots den utmattande längden gav fortfarande albumet en lyssnevärd upplevelse. Vanligtvis kan äldre rap fastna i en funktionell men upprepade struktur och förbli i en trygghetsram. Det vill säga med ett plant beat och kontinuerliga status-referenser kopplat till de manliga könsnormerna. Till exempel Ekonomisk framgång, makt och sexuell erfarenhet. Detta tyder albumet på till en viss del. Det exemplifierar manliga könsnormer men lyckas med en strukturell komplexitet och musikalisk originalitet. Trots längden höll albumet en instrumental variation vilket underlättade lyssnandet. Trots hur kvalitativ musiken är försvagas ändå albumet på grund av längden.

Quality hip hop

Not bad some hit tracks but didn't engage me too much

Definite flavour of Prince. Lots of songs the odd one pops through, a bunch are irritating!

Too much of it but still great.

A couple of songs were alright, but otherwise imo it sucked. I couldn't get into it and thus I didn't end up finishing the entire album.

The Love Below gefällt mir um einiges besser als Speakerboxxx, das besser nie aufgenommen worden wäre. Überhaupt ist diese in keinem Detail zusammenpassende Zusammenstellung zweier Alben mehr als unverständlich. Es fehlt der rote Faden und es ist nicht ein Hauch einer gemeinsamen Handschrift ist erkennbar und lässt einen ratlos zurück. Love Below 4 Sterne, stellenweise sehr geil, Speakerboxxx 0.

The Big Boi album is the better of the 2 as it's more consistent, the other one is as messy as i remember. Hey Ya and a few others are brilliant but so many meandering annoying songs as well

I'm not doing over 2 hours of Outkast today, I'm just not. This will be the first time I've not listened to an entire album, but I just fucking refuse (I ended up turning it off on the second song of disc 2). aaaaaand it's just skanky late 90s hip hop anyway. I know these guys are in the list because they had a pop hit and the compilers of this list just go by that, particularly when it comes to genres like this, but uuuugh it's just boring and I can feel the gold teeth through the speakers. 2/5.

Vi la carátula, escuché los primeros dos temas, y desistí.

I mean, very different albums but both were awesome. Outkast is legit.

What is there to say? Possibly the best hip hop duo of all time making independent concept albums that sold/came out at the same time. I grew up on this shit and every song is a banger, which is saying something considering the length. Although this album did foretell the Outkast split that still saddens me today.

This is a long double album with 2 distinct sections. Since it is actually 2 albums in one, separately rated Speakerboxxx gets a 4 stars and The Love Below gets 3. 2RS

Best hip hop album on this list yet and I assume it will be. Like Andre 3000 more than I should and a few features from Killer Mike make this album even better....can’t bare to give this a 4 with the amount of stupid monologues and non music tracks.

Rating: 10/10 Best songs: all

a good album just not a favourite of mine

Not my cup of tea - over long and rambling

A nostalgic album for me

Extremely long; but brilliant anyway. I say this about a lot of double albums, but condense this into a single LP and you’ve got yourself an all time great!

Not my kind of music.

nope nope nope

wasnt able to finish, so shitty

This was a very interesting album. Once again, Rap is not usually my thing, but I liked this one.

Enjoyable, like the contrast in the two albums. Apart from the big hits, I like Speakerboxxx more than The Love Below.

Veeeel te lang. Maak er 2 albums van en het had leuker geweest. Na een tijd verveeld maar tijdens hey a toch even wakker

2u15??? niet doen! Gelukkig zijn het er eigenlijk twee. En we love 3 stacks. De Topschijven zijn ook gewoon de topschijven (ooit allertijden): The way you move roses - crazy bitch hey ya

Speakerboxxx shits all over The Love Below but definitely a 4/5. Roses obviously the overall highlight.

such a polarizing experience...

I'm not a hip hop fan, but The Love Below has a cool jazzy vibe, so overall the album is quite acceptable. 2/5 mostly thanks to "My Favourite Things". And God, this is long indeed.

its a good album eventhough its not really my taste, a mix of all kinds of genres with a couple hits inbetween too

Wow. So this was quite an endeavor to finish in 1 day but I got it done. I have to say I do prefer The Love Below more than Speakerboxxx, but in general they were both good. I will definitely be returning to outkast in the future

Double album so I feel like it makes more sense to rate these separately and then combine the scores - it's much too long to rate as one project. That being said, I love the double album concept and like how each is its own individual venture. Speakerboxxx: 5 This was phenomenal. Love the P-funk influence, features were great. Doesn't necessarily have the bigger hits of The Love Below but feels really complete. The Love Below: 3 Yeah this one lost me a bit. Middle is very strong with Hey Ya and Roses and I liked the concepts of the beginning but the end didn't really gel for me at all. Felt a little all over the place. Combined score: 4 Already Saved: Hey Ya! Saved After Listening: GhettoMusick, Bowtie, The Way You Move*, The Rooster, Bust, Flip Flop Rock, Last Call, She Lives in My Lap, Roses

Saved Prior: The Way You Move, Hey Ya!, Roses Off Rip: Unhappy, Bowtie, The Rooster, Bust, Church, Tomb of the Boom, Knowing, Spread, Reset, God (Interlude), She Lives in My Lap, Dracula's Wedding Cutting Edge: She's Alive Overall Notes: Cut like 20 minutes from this and it's an easy 5. It's a little bloated (particularly on André 3000's side) and I don't think it would've been that hard to trim the fat here to get it at least under 2 hours. That being said, there are a plethora of great songs on here and if that extra 20 minutes is the price I have to pay to get songs like Roses, Hey Ya!, Unhappy, and She Lives in My Life then I'll gladly pay it

Banger after banger

Nope

You happy now?

A man of my word.

3000 has one of the sexiest rap voices, so it's funny how little it features on his sexy album. I figure he knows his singing doesn't compare, which is why his super sexy talking voice gets a good run out. Funny also how the most lauded side of this double is the least well-realised. But if The Love Below can yield multi-gazillion sales while featuring endurance tests like Vibrate and MF Doomish scratch tracks like A Day in the Life... I won't vociferate about the superiority of Speakerboxxx too much. Weirder, funnier and more focused, Big Boi thrives by plunging himself into a white hot talent pool of collaborators, challenging them to stretch the sonic possibilities of Housequake. Result is in an electric bounce so ebulliently synthetic it's positively alien. After checking the credits, one reason 3000's side doesn't sustain as well as Big Boi's triumph of collective creativity might have something to do with insularity - his is the only name listed.

Liked Speakerboxx, didn't really like The Love Below. I know the point is to be raunchy about love and relationships but it just wasn't my vibe at all.

Speakerboxxx would kick the hell out of The Love Below if not for Hey Ya/ Roses. Both albums overstayed their welcome though

Bangers

Bijzonder goed album maar helaas niet mijn stijl

Not the most consistent OutKast album, but still full of masterful moments and singles. Both sides have their own atmosphere and both have a lot to offer!

At first glance, this is probably not the best Outkast album for me to start with, since it's actually two separate albums by the two members that comprise Outkast. Also, it's a double album, which is a tough sell for someone who doesn't particularly like hip hop. First impressions: one thing Speakerboxxx doesn't lack for is ideas. For example, GhettoMusick mixes soul and breakbeats in unpredictable and imaginative ways. Another plus is that there is a mix of samples and live playing, which introduces a layer of complexity and richness that modern hiphop often lacks. I have more praise to offer. The rap on Unhappy is rhythmically complex, which is a nice change, and the subject matter isn't the usual hardcore bullshit. On the next song, Bowtie, Big Boi channels George Clinton. Shocker, I'm actually kind of enjoying this. This doesn't suck. Technically, it's hyper-competent, it's relentlessly creative, and Big Boi stays away from the usual hiphop cliches. And it swings. Truly, I'm shocked. Big Boi takes you on a tour of the dominant styles in R&B over the last 50 years, filtered through a hip hop lens. There's actually very little to criticize here. The wordplay is clever. The singing is good. The arrangements are competent. The production touches are on target. Okay, it's not like I'm going to ever listen to this album from start to finish for my own entertainment, but this is the first modern hip hop album I've heard that doesn't make me want to throw a brick through my speakers. More praise. Big Boi's worldview is wider and deeper than a quarter. He shows some actual curiosity about the world. For this genre, that's huge. And his sense of humor doesn't suck. Another thing that distinguishes Big Boi from someone like say Kanye is that Big Boi actually seems to understand the genres he borrows from whereas Kanye is just kitchen sink sampling and montaging without a clue. Kanye makes my brain cells die. Big Boi actually engages me. Okay, finally, on Tomb of the Boom, guest DJ's Konkrete, Big Gipp, and Ludacris get to the usual hip hop cliches (DJ bragging, gangster tropes, misogyny), but their raps are firmly tongue in cheek. They know how ridiculous and mindless these tropes are. Good for them! Yet another thing to love about Big Boi -- alone among modern hip hop artists I've heard, there's almost no Prince influence. Prince himself combined and streamlined funk, jazz, pop and rock, eliminating most of the complexities in each genre, which made him commercially successful, but kind of shallow. Since most modern hip hop is overwhelmingly indebted to Prince, it too tends to be shallow. Instead of being influenced by Prince's predigested and dumbed down genre mixing, Big Boi goes back to the source, which goes a long way towards explaining the vitality of his music. Now, there is room for improvement. Big Boi could have brought jazz into the mix. Imagine if he had brought in some hip hop sympathetic jazzbos like Uri Caine, Tim Lefebvre and Zach Danzinger to play on these tracks. That shit I'd listen to for pleasure. Now we get to The Love Below, Andre 3000's disc. Careful what you wish for. The Love Below starts out with some lame-ass quiet storm jazz ballad. Andre 3000 sweetens the pot with a wicked wah wah guitar solo, but the underlying track still sucks donkey dick. I also don't care much for his sense of humor, either. It's smug, ugly and not nearly as clever as he thinks it is. Fortunately, the music improves. Happy Valentine's Day is a decent jam, although it's marred by Andre 3000's crappy rap. Still, it's not a patch on Big Boi's expert appropriation and mixing of various strands of R&B. It's clear where the talent lies in this duo. Sigh. Andre 3000 is eclectic in the way he stitches his tunes together from disparate elements, but unlike Big Boi, he lacks taste. As for his raps, they're technically nothing special, and the content is juvenile and distasteful. God, this is going to be a chore to sit through. I feel my brain cells dying. Alright, I give up. How to rate? Big Boi's disc is damned good, so 4.5. Andre 3000's sucks, so 1. I'll split the difference.

wait, hang on. i like an outkast album? which way is up?? but srsly...yeah, this is was really good. he's got a far better flow than i'd expected from his one massive hit. super tight, and not being utterly misogynistic is a plus, too.

Starts out strong, has interesting and energetic textures, but starts to taper out.

First off, this needs to be treated as two separate albums. Even when doing this, each of the albums is still way too long! There are a lot of tracks that feel like filler, and the various skits should just have been left out completely. It feels like there are potentially two excellent albums in here, each of around 40 min in length. All that aside, there are some really fantastic tracks on both. The bits that I liked, I loved. Two different styles, both with really cool rhymes and flow, great music. Would both easily be a 4 for me... if they were streamlined considerably.

Its a hit and miss album the whole way through. But when it hits, it hits hard.

I respect their musical deviation from fellow artists in the genre at the time, and the rapping is on point. But just not the sound to really grab my attention.

Decent album, surprisingly liked the first hipvhopvalbum better than the funk part

Like the album, really funky The album is really long 4/5

Speakerboxxx is the highlight. The Love Below is fun but doesn't have as many bangers. Great all around album.

The only thing this made album me feel was boredom. Also his voice sounds like nails on a chalkboard to me.

It’s a pretty solid trick to make this long of an album not feel overlong or padded out, and the two quite different elements complement each other better than would seem possible on paper

Feeling good, feeling great, how are you?

)

FINALLY SOMETHING THAT ISN'T ROCK! but damn it's long. I finally finished it. This felt like such a chore but since I had already listened to like 1/3 of it I felt I had to complete it. Tbh I skimmed parts of it--- because there are some great bits (inventive, use interesting sounds, jazzy bits, neat loops), and some very boring bits (very repetitive, uninventive loops, boring sounds, bland lyrics, just way too LONG). Boring bit examples: A life in the day of Benjamin Andre, most of the interludes, Tomb of the Boom. Good (entertaining/interesting) bit examples: She's alive, My favorite things, Take off your Cool, Unhappy. If it had been maybe 45 minutes, with just the best tracks and none of the completely unmemorable tracks, then it could've been really good. But as it is, it's 2 hours and 15 long minutes of intriguing ideas interspersed with unnecessary filler.

Creative masterpiece. Sometimes you don't know if you're lostening to an early Aughts hio hop/rap/pop/r&b album or a 70s Stevie Wonder Record.

Funny how at the time their whole schtick was considered so scandalous and controversial, while in hindsight it’s just kinda corny. Liked the album, it was fun, not great.

21/2

All time songs in this album like Roses and Hey ya, but too long and too many interludes to my taste to hear in one go.

Too long but liked it more than I expected. Second album much better.

guter HipHop. Viele Filler.

I love this album. I prefer The Love Below over Speakerboxx to be honest. Hey ya, into Roses is just amazing. Such a Solid piece of Art. Andre 3000 and Big Boi are probably my favorite Duo.

Interesting, long, couple of good ones.

impossible to take seriously but thats why its fun

Great album. Long (over 2 hours). Love both their voices.

Long, but enjoyable. A few bangers in there and very solid production and vocals

Probably my new favorite hip-hop album of all time. Love both discs.

Hey Ya!

Essentially two individual albums by each member of Outkast. Sonically impressive, sprawling, probably too long and with too many interludes. Trim those and some of the fat ('My Favorite Things' instrumental I'm looking at you) and this would be close to the best hip-hop/rap/r'n'b/soul double album of this century. That title probably belongs to their previous album 'Stankonia'. As it stands however, 'Speakerboxxx/The Love Below' whilst not quite as vital or important as 'Stankonia', is still pretty fucking good.

love the cover art. im so in the mood for this after the 2342343 rock adjacent records ive listened to. TWO HOURS? idk if i can make that commitment rn, will try tomorrow lol. okay its tomorrow. intro already sounds way cooler than anything this website has had to be offer in almost 2 weeks. LOVE A CHANGE IN PACE MID SONG. okay i kinda got lost in it and forgot to write but ive been enjoying it sm, i love how they have a lot of ppl 'over' and theres soooo much variety in sound and topics and for once i dont mind interludes. buuuut lyrics some time made me go ewww so. last 10 or so songs werent that good. saved: tomb of the boom, reset, love hater.

Not what I would actively seek out. But was not terrible....

Song 5, finally the first one I know. I thought I'd know more so far since it's Outkast. First disk was ok, nothing super special I didn't think. Second disk is definitely more artistic so far, on song 5 of it. Still don't really love it, but it's better imo. Ugh, I just can't with these lyrics. They're so...... raunchy. At least for my taste. Song 9 on disc 2.... finally another one I know. Ah, I know song 10 too. Overall, meh it was ok.

Not sure about this one- particularly didn't vibe with the first half of the album but the second half has Roses and Hey Ya so made it much more enjoyable.

Okay so this is actually surprisingly good. It has Hey Ya! which is just a great song! It is freaking long though!!

big boi > andre 3000

I might not listen to it again, but it had some enjoyable moments. 7.1/10 Best Track: "Hey Ya!"

Classic 2000's hip-hop that I never listened to/appreciated as a kid. Too outdated for me to get into it now, but it sure was a blast from the past.

meh

40 músicas? mais de 2h??? quem escolhe os albuns desse livro?? QUEM TEM 2H DO DIA PRA OUVIR MÚSICA RUIM???

Hmm, tok meg lot for lite tid til dette monsteret av et dobbelalbum. Likte mye fra Speakerboxxx, flere deilige låter som ga inntrykk av soul og funk. Fikk mindre tid til The love Below, men ga inntrykk av at dette er noe jeg må utforske litt til. Generelt mye bra, men kanskje litt mye interluder, som jeg føler hip hop generelt lider litt mye av. Tror likevel dette fortjener en svak 3-er.

I like the second half of the album, the Andre 3000 half!

Ikke helt min greie. Veldig sann tekst basert, og litt lite interesant musikk for min smak.

*They call me Mr. Ravioli, Mr. Streudel / Mr. Poke Em with the Noodle, Mr. Cockerspaniel in your Poodle* To ganske ulike album i en pakke, der begge er en god del lengre enn de trenger. Mange låter på 5+ min, og unødvendige introer og skætsjer som bør ha vært utdatert allerede i 2003. Men det er fortsatt mye å like her! Speakerboxxx er jevnt over bad-ass rap. Big Boi har fet flow, og mange gode features med på laget. Sangene glir litt i hverandre, men GhettoMusick, tomb og bowtie skilte seg særlig ut. The Love Below er mer all over the place. Andre 3000 leker seg med mye forskjellige sjangertrekk, men mange av låtene ender opp litt for enkle (nesten uferdige?) og kjedelige. Men når det klaffer klaffer det som bare det! Hey ya er jo en all-time godlåt, men Spread, Roses, Take off your cool og A life in the day er også fete. Alt i alt kunne disse drøye to timene blitt kuttet ned til en tight time og vært en sterk firer, men sånn det er nå er det mer 3,5/5.

A sprawling, fantastic classic.

Nice

Ein ganzes Album Hip Hop war mir schon immer zu viel. Auch wenns ein gutes war.

Unterschätzt!!! Von mir ;-)

Better than I thought, but couldn't finish it.

A couple of ok songs but didn't enjoy the vast majority of tracks

The singles can be catchy, but this album is plagued by awful awful interludes and crap b sides. One of them has a child trying to rap for chrissakes. The singles get this up to a 3, but it goes no higher.

Zu HipHop hab ich ein gespaltenes Verhältnis. Hier gefällt mir, dass es häufig ziemlich grooved, Funkyness besitzt, abwechslungs- und ideenreich ist. Und dann meine ich noch wahrgenommen zu haben, dass man sich auch selbst nicht so 100%ig ernst nimmt. Daumen hoch!

Ich mag eigentlich nur die Sachen von André3000

Habe das Album komplett zwei Mal durchgehört. OK, war heute auch ein Umzugstag, da hatte ich viel Zeit, aber 78 Mal OutKast am Stück, wenn das nicht fünf Sterne sind. Oben jetzt groß reinzulesen: krasser Sound für die damalige Zeit, auch die Texte machen ordentlich was her und haben den Test der Zeit bestanden (ist bei Hip Hop ja manchmal schwierig). Der Mix auf dem Album hat mich echt beeindruckt und das es trotz des krassen OutKast Hypes in den frühen 2000ern heute nicht abgenudelt klingt sagt einfach alles. Ich würde auch 6 Sternen geben.