Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

Undeniable highlights but VERY bloated

This album must have been incredibly fresh when it came out. The scale of the project is massive, which makes sense given that it’s a double album. Speakerboxxx is just a fun listen—a true, driving rap and hip-hop record—while The Love Below feels much more experimental and conceptual.

I can't believe I listened to two hours of babies babbling into mics and women thinking "where they panties are" just for Hey Ya! and Roses.

Some great tracks. Very eclectic. 2 guys with their own sounds coming together

A few good moments (more so in the first half) but j just got bored the longer it dragged out. I think really Mr. Out and Mr. Kast should have just released their own albums separately.

Really disappointed with this as I thought it would be one I liked. Kept on waiting for Hey Ya but how to endure a lot of mediocre before we finally got there.

So given I didn’t know OutKast was two dudes and not one, let’s keep it simple. It was quite entertaining and Album 1 dude is much better than Album 2 dude. Plus add in standard grumbles about double albums being bloated. Nuff said.

Negative stars. Terrible.

This album hasn’t held up very well.

This was my second day in a row with an album over two hours long (Metallica live yesterday). Although I generally like Outkast I was not looking forward to this record of theirs, knowing it was a double album and knowing that their stuff is usually longer anyway. I was intrigued by the concept, having never listened to it but aware of the dynamic of the very separate records that were released. My biggest "concern" ahead of listening was that it was all going to be way too much. And indeed it was. In other reviews it seemed people really preferred Speakerboxxx, and going in I thought I'd feel the opposite. After listening, I got fatigued by both of their albums midway through. They're both very different and had some interesting bits, but they truly could have pared this down significantly and it'd have been far more entertaining. Instead it all just felt overindulgent. There was tons of talent here and the production was top notch, but I wanted each of their albums to just end long before they were done.

*all-time.

Speakerboxx - A great Rap album with excellent lyricism and instrumentation at points. Probably a more consistent album overall than The Love Below, and at just over 40 minutes is extremely tight. Falls away slightly towards the end due to the number of interludes. 3.5/5 The Love Below - Hits higher highs than Speakerboxx and shows an unbelievable level of variety, from the several Prince-esque tracks to the fully rapped “A Life in the Day of Andre Benjamin (Incomplete)” (I assume a clever play on Sgt Pepper’s iconic closer). I also love the way the interludes add to the album and connect songs, compared to the aimless skits of many albums. However, I feel the album does slightly overstay its welcome, with the stretch of songs between “Roses” and “Dracula’s Wedding” really dragging for me. 4/5 Overall, I think that the two albums can be enjoyed individually from each other, without detracting from your enjoyment, as the two are essentially two completely separate albums that have been grouped together, and this thing would be an absolute mammoth listened to back to back (I listened to them on separate days). That being said the variety on display in the 134 minutes of this combined album make for a great overall record that does enough to keep your attention the whole way through.

Well this is very long, but there is great stuff here. Speakerboxxx is solid all the way through. Ghetto Musick is probably my favorite track. The Love Below really drags on and some songs seem very unnecessary. However, this one has some very high highs. Of course Hey Ya! But I also think She Lives In My Lap is an underrated gem. Still way too long though!

Oh man. I’m familiar with this and it’s pretty much two separate albums as a double album. It’s long. Going to give it a listen, but this is filled with well known songs that are still played today everywhere. I remember it being like two separate genres entirely on the separate albums. Big Boi’s album feels very Outkast. It’s soulful with his typical fast rhyming style. It’s got a lot of funk and soul to it though. It’s fun and energetic. Loving it early on. The Way You Move is a jam still, and everything around it is fun still. Church is fun and one of the highlights. Really like the sound on a lot of Andre’s album too. It’s way less hip hop, more like jazzy rocky soul music. It’s really good. Hey Ya and Roses is a great back to back. Timeless songs that don’t age. Biggest issue is that as a double album, it’s just too long. It’s really two separate albums and I think if you view it that way, it’s all great. Was debating going down to a 3 because felt so long, but the music is all solid. I’ll go up to 4.

A 2 hour behemoth of a piece that manages to keep you interested most of the way thru. Speakerboxxx is really energetic and fun, pulling a lot of contemporary (for the time anyway) sounds while The Love Below is chaotic, insecure and desperate with a lot of jazzy/old school inspiration. Found the contrast between the two compelling; Speakerboxxx is definitely more approachable and easy to listen to. The Love Below, while I appreciate the experimentation and artistry of it kinda falls off after Roses for me. It loses the momentum and captivation of the first handful of songs and a lot of it could've been cut. I do love some exploration of love and messy relationships though so despite the disjointedness it's my favorite of the two halves. 5/5 Would go on this journey again

I honestly don't quite know how to rate this album, because they're essentially two different albums mashed into one. Outkast is basically a rap duo of Big Boi (who's responsible for the first disc, Southern hip-hop with a very strong blend of funk and soul) and André 3000 (who made the second disc, the genre of which is very difficult to describe – it's some kind of psychedelic soul-jazz-rap). It would have been logical if they'd each released a single album and been like that, but the label said, "Nah, either the public will buy a double Outkast album or they won't buy anything." The result is a black-and-white mash-up lasting almost two and a half hours. Are these good albums? They're okay; the first half sounds lively and rich. André overdid it in places on the second, but there are far more interesting discoveries, plus the band's main hit. But two hours was too much, it had to be cut.

Definitely a top-10 all time album.

It's basically two REALLY GOOD solo albums smashed together. I think I can even overlook the ridiculous skits. "God (Interlude)" is especially funny for a skit. As I get older the more I appreciate Big Boi and Speakerboxx but the artistry from Andre 3000 in The Love Below is just so good.

3.4/5

One of the greatest hip hop acts of all time. I'm glad I managed to see them live once back in 2001. This double double solo album has lots of classics, but also a lot of fluff. I think overall Big Boi's 'Speakerboxxx' is a stronger record on its own. But Andre's 'The Love Below' has some of the most creative and memorable songs ever released by a mainstream hip hop act. But it's so dense and abstract at times it's hard to follow. It plays sort of like those old self-indulgent Prince independent releases. Interesting but too quirky for a casual listen. But there's too much great stuff on this set to rate any lower than 3. I'll give it a 3.5 rounded to 4.

Oei, dit is lastig. Dit is een album dat ik al best goed ken, sowieso de hits. Wil hier ook wel echt goed voor gaan zitten. Maar dubbelalbums? Ik ben gewoon niet zo'n fan hiervan... Zelfs niet van Outkast. Knalt er wel gewoon KEIHARD in met GhettoMusick, heb dit album in het verleden wel eens aan gezet en vond dan vaak de Big Boi kant wat beter te doen dan de Andre kant, ondanks dat Andre misschien technisch de betere rapper is, is Big Boi denk ik de betere artiest. Speakerboxxx is echt in alles een pure Dirtyy South hiphop plaat. Niet heel experimenteel, je weet een soort van wat je kan verwachten; de beats gaan hard, de verses zijn heel vet en de features (Jay-Z, Killer Mike, Luda) weten precies wat er verwacht word en gaan er vol voor. Dus dan The Love Below; alleen de opener 'Love Hater' - pure jazz. Ok Andre? We gaan een compleet andere richting op dus?? Heerlijk interlude zoals God, waarin Andre een goed gesprek heeft met God, de vrouw. Wel heel ironisch; het Love Below album is veel experimenteler dan Speakerboxxx, maar toch staan de grote hits (Hey ya, Roses) op Love Below. Tsja, zijn die nummers overplayed? Misschien. Heb ik het nog steeds naar mn zin? Ohjazeker! Ik heb expres dit album in 2 stukken gedeeld, dus na Speakerboxxx even een pauze voordat je doorgaat met The Love Below. Dat werkt wel echt ene stuk beter, sowieso zijn de 2 albums ontzettend verschillend, het zijn echt 2 losse albums wat dat betreft. The Love Below het jazzy, experimentele maar soms toch poppy album en Speakerboxxx het hard hittende echte Southside hiphop album. Dit zie je ook perfect aan de features waar je op Speakerboxxx veel meer echte Atlanta/ hiphop features hebt, krijg je bij The Love Below features als Kelis en Norah Jones. Ironisch, aan het begin was ik al overtuigd dat ik dit dubbelalbum te lang en te veel vond, maar aan het einde kan ik eigenlijk weinig anders doen dan concluderen dat dit een fantastisch album is en dat ik het heel erg naar mn zin heb gehad hierbij. Net net net net geen 5 sterren, ik merkte dat de laatste paar nummers, ik toch wel echt klaar was met het album. Maar desalniettemin; geweldig album, absoluut een must listen en bizar hoeveel creativiteit er in 1 album is gepropt. FAVO: GhettoMusick, Bowtie, The way you move, Flip flop rock, Last call, Prototype, Hey ya, Roses, Behold a Lady, Draculas wedding, take off your cool

Gast echt meer dan 2 uur… 💀 Hopelijk is het het waard. Ghettomusick voelt al verschillende nummers in 1 track. Sowieso vind ik dit album bij-elkaar-geraapt. Er zitten zeker lekkere nummers bij, maar ik mis een rode draad die de nummers samenbrengt? Het voelt als joh ik heb wat nummers over, laten we dat allemaal op 1 plaat gooien. Maar is het werkelijk garbage, dat ook weer niet. Ah het zijn dus eigenlijk 2 albums op 1 plaat… dan snap ik de keuze om deze genres te mixen niet… Wel interessant om te merken dan ik Speakerboxxx meer kan waarderen dan The Love Below.

Leuk concept dat het twee albums zijn en dat ze hun eigen ding konden doen maar nog steeds op elkaar konden leunen. Ik heb wel een voorkeur voor the love below. Die is veel speelser, vrolijker, melodieuser een beetje vies, maar met een verhaal die je mee neemt. Ik vind het verschil tussen de twee dat big boi klinkt als een domme dude die diep probeert te zijn en andre3000 een diepe dude die dom probeert te zijn. Mijn voorkeur gaat naar andre. The love below alleen zou van mij 5 sterren krijgen. Spread vind ik heel cool! Hey ya is een klassieker. Ik vind het leuk hoe de tekst een contrast is met de muziek qua vrolijkheid. Iets wat de beatles ook vaak deden, daarom past de videoclip er ook perfect bij. Roses is ook geniaal met vooral de line die eindigt op ditch. Bij speakerboxx kan ik dat niet zo over de nummers zeggen.

Ik was een beetje gefrustreerd over de 1001 lijst dat ze dit album kiezen en het beste album Aquemini er niet in staat. Een schande, een doodzonde, een aanfluiting er zijn op zn minst drie betere albums van Outkast. Ik moest even minder kinderachtig doen en over mijn frustratie heenstappen om dit los waarderen. Het is toch wel een goed album. Of twee losse. Andre 3000 is nog steeds bijzonder alleen is het geen rapper meer. Hij evalueert natuurlijk maar dat betekend ook dat we afscheid moeten nemen van één van de beste rappers die ik dan vervolgens toch mis. Het slaat eigenlijk nergens op dat dit 1 albums is. Ze hebben niks meer met elkaars werk te maken. De eerdere albums zijn echt samen en op Aquemini hoor je al goed dat het twee verschillende kanten op gaan maar hier zit het nog precies op het perfecte randje dat het juist goed met elkaar werkt, er zit wat spanning in. Het verschil is te groot geworden op dit album, Speakerboxxx gaat hard en is ok maar voelt ook weer conservatief als je het afzet tegen the love below. The love below daarintegen niet heel consistent qua kwaliteit. Of je het met elkaar moet vergelijken is een beetje de vraag omdat het zo los staat van elkaar maar het staat weer samen op 1 album waardoor je er niet aan ontkomt. Het is in ieder geval boeiend ondanks dat ik niet precies weet wat ik er nou van vind.

Er komt veel jeugdsentiment kijken bij dit album, als 13 jarige vond ik André 3000 al een bijzonder lijpe artiest die veel humor toepast in zijn muziek, in die tijd luisterde ik daarom ook meer naar the love below en liet ik speakerboxxx een beetje links liggen, onterecht aangezien daar ook wel een aantal bangers opstaan. Een nummer wat ik heb opgenomen in een playlist is bijvoorbeeld flip flop rock met o.a. jay z. Het gitaartje en de flow van de rappers gaan helemaal kwijt. Alsnog wat meer genoten van the love below. Hey yah, is zo’n nummer wat je eigenlijk niet meer kan verdragen omdat je t te veel hebt gehoord, altijd en overal, maar je kan het zo ook niet kwalijk nemen dat ze zo’n mega hit hebben gemaakt. Trouwens ook een leuke interpretatie op Coltranes favorite things. Het album is zo lang dat er ook nummers tussen zitten waar je minder enthousiast over kan zijn. Dat is het risico van een dubbelalbum. En ongeacht Teun vind dat dit album by far niet hun beste werk is, kan ik het ook niet anders dan 5 sterren geven

I enjoyed the first half much more than the second half. The first half had a lot of really good songs. They were still surrounded by songs and interludes that I wasn’t interested in, but I thought the good far outweighed the bad. I thought some of the music in the second half was enjoyable, but the lyrics really put me off, and they were still surrounded by songs and interludes I didn't like. Hey Ya! is a lot of fun though. Fav song: Hey Ya! Least fav: Behold a Lady

Some absolutely goated songs on here but again with OutKast albums it is soo long and some of the other songs / skits are shit. I mean where are my panties what even is that. Also revealed a dislike I never knew I’d have to voice- that an album doesn’t have to say its title over and over again. I know which goddmamn album I’m listening to. Specific rating - 3.1 Fav song - hey ya! Least fav- love in war

I don't know why but before listening I assumed I'd like The Love Below a lot more than Speakerboxxx, I think it was mainly a name based judgement and because Hey Ya! is on The Love Below. And then I heard Unhappy- and immediately added it to my playlist. Speakerboxxx is probably one of the best (if not the best) hip-hop albums I've listened to while doing this project. I forgive all the other interludes because it means we got Bamboo- this is how you put your kid on an album, not the fucked up way Eminem did it. And in contrast I hated The Love Below so much more than I thought I would. I found the God Interlude funny (A-lady!) and Hey Ya! is such an incredible and iconic song. But there were so many songs I just didn't like: overly horny, (literally) shitty lyrics and musically underwhelming. I could happily have never listened to any of the non Hey Ya! tracks on The Love Below (fine, I liked Take Off Your Cool). Favourite song: Unhappy (It's probably actually Hey Ya! but out of protest I won't give it to a song from The Love Below!) Least: Prototype

very disco groovy but it didnt really move me

Man, I thought I liked this album more. I hadn't really listened to it much in recent years. There are moments when this is extraordinary; they're just way too few and far between for me.

Crazy but too long imo so you get lost in it

Feels overwhelming if you try to listen to it in just one sitting, took me half a day to finish. First time listening to an Outkast album, have only listened to a handful of their songs, and I believe it’s a strong rap album. As far as rap albums go, it’s a pretty long one; a double cd/album in fact. Enjoyed the Speakerboxxx side more, though. Psychedelia meets hip hop, and I’m here for it. Favorites: Knowing, GhettoMusick, Flip Flop Rock (feat. Killer Mike & Jay Z), Reset (feat. Khujo Goodie & Cee-Lo), Church, Spread, Roses

Some good tracks, but mostly self-indulgent toss.

Boyfriend music teste type shit

"Speakerboxxx" is creative and interesting, but"The Love Below" is, at times, both puerile and self-absorbed. The instrumental cover of "My Favorite Things" is good, and "Hey Ya!" might be the best song on the album, but I could have done without the rest of the songs.

No. Don't know the band. Saw the album. Don't like that hip hop culture.

Mucho jaleo...

If you can't find something you like on here you might need to reconsider if you actually like music or not.

No me gustó nada y mira que los conocia y me gustaba miss jakson

7 - GOOD

Too bloated

I don't remember this album being that good but it is! I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this album. During this time I was listening to a lot of Ludacris, and I loved that Atlanta sound!

Es tan largo que tiene momentos buenisimos y momentos bajos. Es dificil de poner nota a algo así, creo que brillaria muchisimo mas por separado en 2 o incluso 3 discos distintos. Creo que cuando más brilla es cuando toman elementos del jazz, los beats son gloriosos ahí. Terminandolo, es una experiencia el disco. te va paseando por distintos lugares. Va a quedar guardado pero solo gracias a The Love Box, si fuera por Speakerboxxx no alcanzaría. Hay un corte de 3 o 4 canciones más bien románticos que me pareció muy bueno y también llegando al final otro corte más centrado en los beats que despliega el laburo del productor (que escribiendo desconozco quien es pero que voy a averiguar)

This album is g i g a n t i c (2 ½ hours) and as such it suffers from the main problem that all similarly-sized albums do, that even the best tracks tend to drown in the overall length, making them lack the impact they would have if they weren’t surrounded by so much other material. Plus, by the end, you just get tired of it no matter how good it is (There are, of course, exceptions to this concept, but they can probably be counted on two hands). I remember that when this project was announced people were expecting that Andre 3000’s disc would outclass Big Boi’s, and when the opposite turned out to be the case, nobody really quite knew how to react. But it’s true: Speakerboxxx is a great rap record, whereas The Love Below feels like a less talented, more pretentious Prince (and it’s hard to be more pretentious than Prince). Still, this album is so ambitious and so huge that there’s at least a normal-sized record full of great songs hiding somewhere in there. Best track (or tracks: we’ll do one from each this time since it’s technically two albums stuck together): “Bowtie” and “Pink & Blue”

funky

I don’t know OutKast beyond some of the hits, but I'm excited for this. Speakerboxxx: full of engaging songs, with full mixes, lots of horns, catchy riffs. Lots of rap, which is hard for me to follow from audio only but that’s okay - the vibe is generally fine, and the features tasteful, eg Killer Mike sounds a bit aggro but I have established positive attitude to his work on the basis of Run the Jewels. If this is Southern hip hop (positive and conscious), I’m down for it. The Love Below: "experimental pop"? Prince is an obvious reference point, the comparison is not unreasonable - Andre 3000 not a genius guitarist but has no lack of musical imagination and conviction. Not every song is great but it's an interesting album, I could imagine playing it in full on another occasion. Overall, it's Good, 7/10.

perfect

Simply for the song “the way you move” this is a stand-out album. Overall a good listen

rare to go beneath the hood and see what makes each artist in a duo so special to the duo without detracting from quality. love the distinctness of each side. first time, maybe, i was excited about listening to something this long

When to listen: off Kazaa in my childhood bedroom, or in Julianna's Woodstock house. Obviously I've known a few of these songs from back in the day but surprised how many other songs I enjoyed, especially the ones with brass instrumentation. Not every song was a banger, but enough of 'em were for me to wholeheartedly recommend the album.

There’s an OK 20 minutes hidden somewhere in this 10 hours of self-indulgent twaddle.

And that’s just because of André 3000, cause Speakerboxxx is shit.

Stank you jazzyyy 3000/3000 Very bisexual

First listened on 1st and 2nd December 2024. Favourite song from Speakerboxx is The Way You Move. Favourite song from The Love Below is She Lives in My Lap.

This album is far too long and very mixed. There are tracks with a strong echoes of classic soul which work well. Even the rap (of which I'm not a fan) is well integrated at times. There are some strong female vocals and the instruments featured are wide ranging and add a lot of variety. Some excellent musicianship with lots of different production sounds. But just when I'm enjoying a track it is followed by something much less sophisticated and poor quality. 40 tracks of such varying quality marks this down for me, despite some good songs. Hey Ha is a great single.

I really struggled to rate this. Rather than one album, this is two entirely distinct albums packaged as one, each with their own merits and flaws. Personally, I prefer The Love Below over Speakerboxxx but they are both fantastic and do a great job of complimenting each other. In the end, I think the final product is greater than the sum of its parts.

Beside the Billion Play song "Hey Ya" there is a powerhouse at over 2 hours. A bit overwhelming but fun.

unfortunately speakerboxxx brings this down. if it were just the love below it might be a solid 4. between the way you move, hey ya, and knowing are great. tomb of the boom is fun tho

It's wild that this isn't one album, but two separate albums combined into a double, and it's still somehow perfect. Speakerboxxx starts extremely strong with GhettoMusick, and has some really fantastic songs on it like Bowtie, The Way You Move, Flip Flop Rock, and Last Call. On the other side, The Love Below has the absolutely legendary Hey Ya!, but also some weirder hits like Happy Valentine's Day, She Lives in My Lap, and Roses. Maybe they should have been released individually, just so it wouldn't be a nearly two and a half hour album, but this is still an all-timer.

Did not expect the pure breadth of skill and music this album would bring to the table. While I knew OutKast was held in high regard as a pioneer and influence to modern sounds, I still was really impressed by this double album. Huge variety from track to track and some really great songs in here. Combined with an obvious feeling of it being ahead of its time and having clear influence of some of my favorite artists sounds today. First 5/5 so far.

So many great songs that one can't help but forgive it for the great sin of being a double album (closer to the length of four regular albums at that!). Besides, it has the added benefit of being of a post-split diptych. P.S. Outkast, and maybe Andre 3000 specifically, seem to be a bigger influence of Kendrick Lamar than any other artists. No small thing.

Innovative doesn’t always mean great? The hits still hit, but lots of the rest is ridiculous

Very fun album with a lot of fun touches like the Gunbuster esque interstitial Speakerboxxx throughout that album, and really really enjoyed The Love Below as a goofier more experimental album, but it is just so long as a double album it is hard to listen to as one thing.

Speakerboxxx is a fantastic rump-shaker funked-out blast of looking back and looking around for a great sound and Big Boi kills it as a lead on that, and Love Below is a fascinating almost-explosion of ideas from Andre 3000 across a wide breadth of tone and genre and all the rest of it which feels like it’s had tangible inspiration on all sorts of people. The thing is I just don’t know if it’s a strength that they’re together on “one” album - honestly, 40 tracks (I’m not gonna try to count without interludes) would be a lot anyway, 134 and a half minutes would be a lot anyway, but more crucially, an hour of Speakerboxxx jumping straight off the 100m diving board from Last Call and Bowtie into an hour of The Love Below just feels too much. I wouldn’t want either really compressed is the fucked up thing, there’s very little fat you could trim and you surely wouldn’t want to - I think you’d just have to Fuel/Refuel it as a separate pair who are spiritually a double, which would give you more room to breathe on The Love Below especially. And then also maybe I’d be able to purely focus on A Life In The Day without also dying for the pee break at the end.

Hey Ya is probably my favorite hip hop song of all time. Roses was a spectacular surprise! The rest of it stank. 2 hours to hear two good songs.

Earns a 2 by not being overly vulgar

It was the best experience I ever had. I'm now fan of OutKast

Eclectic mixture always interesting, rap and ballads soul tinged at times and poppy. There’s a lot going on and on the whole it is excellent.

I bought this album 20 years ago for the Hay Ya song but was disappointed when the rest of the songs were more rap. But listening again, there are some great songs on this album.

No nyt oli levyllä pituutta, tupla albumi joista kumpikin levy oli tarkoitus julkaista erikseen. Siksi kumpikin puoli kuullostaa erilaiselta. Vaikea sanoa kumpi parempi, toki jälkimmäisellä on Hey Ya!. Ymmärrän miksi levy on niin pitkä, mutta hyviä kappaleita aika vähän. Tai omaan makuun sopivia. Mielenkiintoinen kuunneltava kummiskin ja kappaleet on massasta poikkeavia. Väliskitit hauskoja. Parhaat: Hey Ya!, My Favorite Things, The Way You Move

Not for me!

klassiker!

I can't believe I am saying this but I am DNFing this one. I remember my parents owning this album and never listening to it so...

Hey Ya is such an anomaly across both of these albums. I think they did too much here. 3 singles, that I can recall from back in the day across 2 albums? Not great odds. I guess Hey Ya was so big it doesn't matter? Idk, I expected to enjoy more than I did for a 2+ hour long album 2.5 and only because of Hey Ya

Vraiment cool et éclectique

belle découverte

lopetus erityisen hyvä, sairas my favorite things

I usually love double albums this one was fine a little too long for me with a lot of filler stuff. But the songs that were good were really good Best track Roses

Before today Hey Ya! was the extent of my knowledge of Outkast. Speakerboxxx is a good album, and The Love Below is a great album. Together they are a bit bloated as a double album... the interludes disrupt the flow and this could have been a SPECTACULAR single album. Hey Ya! into Roses is a great one two punch. It's kinda funny that My Favorite things is on here -- John Coltrane famously did a jazz version of that song... who we heard from earlier this week. The version on here is great going into the luscious Take Off Your Cool with Norah Jones, into Vibrate -- which is one of my favorite album highlights. Whoever is playing piano on this album has some serious chops!

Here we go, I’ve been hopeful and excited to get some OutKast on here, and this is a very interesting, polarizing record to talk about, nead the end of their discography. I’m a big fan of OutKast’s work, this being the most commercially successful of their releases, yet never my favorite, largely because I love hearing the duo work together. That conclusion is less shade to this album and more a credit to my favorites of their projects, which sit among my favorite hip-hop records of all-time. Yes, this is long, but it’s really two albums, and with some mental gymnastics with how it’s constructed, I can get on board. Big Boi, the less iconic member, was never any slouch, he’s a tier below the greatest of rappers, and he proves here he can carry a full disc on his own. The flow, creative vision, and ability is on full display here, as Speakerboxx is a special southern hip-hop release with awesome tracks all over. Then there’s Andre, who digs as deep as ever into his experimentation and ideas with a record that’s only loosely connected to hip-hop but cool and super entertaining with a historic run of tracks towards the middle. It may be unfair, but I struggle not to compare the group to themselves, and this is an awesome release I enjoyed more this time around than ever before, but not quite enough for a perfect score yet. 2 listens Favorite Track: Roses Honorable Mentions: She Lives In My Lap, Hey Ya!, Bowtie, The Way You Move, Reset, Prototype

Expectation: -> Please tell me Hey Ya! is on this album. After listening: Disappointed. Disappointed in myself for not once seeking out a full Outkast album despite liking five of his songs prior to today. I've done no research on this mammoth of a rap/hip-hop album but it should be under consideration as top-5 ever made in the category. A colossal effort featuring 40 songs/intros/interludes spanning 2 hours and 15 minutes, showcasing his and other talents, with a striking variability in song styles and sounds. I won't do my usual track ranking due to its length and a time limitation. I was convinced this was a 5 before song 10, maybe a full hour before hearing the album's biggest hit. This will surely get more play on my speakers well beyond today.

I had forgotten how good the deep cuts were on this one.

I have a horribly vivid memory of buying this on CD a few years after it came out and it playing in the car before I'd got to know the lyrics. There was some sniggering from my teenage daughters when Spread came on - I think they were enjoying my embarrassment and seeing whether I was going to skip the track or try and act like it was all no big deal. I don't think I've listened to it much since then and I'd forgotten how good it is! It's a bit self-indulgent, especially in the second half, and I really do hate spoken word interludes but I still think it's a 5.

Feels a lot like they're cheating by sneaking two albums into one listing, but overall I enjoyed it I think I preferred the the second album but it averages out with a three

Great double album

Not for me

I don't hate Outkast, but I sure don't like them.

Speakerboxxx: 4 Stars Big Boi made a great hip-hop album but personally not as good as The Love Belowm Favourite Songs: The Way You Move, Bust, Flip Flop Rock, Reset. Least Favourite Songs: War, Tomb of the Boom. The Love Below: 5 Stars André 3000 is one if the best rappers ever, just below Yuno Miles. Favourite Songs: Love Hater, Spread, She Lives in My Lap, Hey Ya!, Roses. Least Favourite Songs: Behold A Lady.

Great tunes. Fun music.

the Singles are inconic. Listening back 23 years later, it's kind of not that great. It had it's moment.

ofc liked it!! some songs stand out more than others, dk if id listen to it all the way through again

I thought this was going to be a 5 but after intently listening to it all I think it ultimately suffers from being a double album.

OutKasts final proper album (not including the soundtrack). A double album that is distinctly two halves. I enjoy both sides. Big Boi brings the hip hop vibes on Speakerboxx, while Andre goes in an incredibly interesting and unexpected direction of R&B and spacy pop on The Love Below. Very good album, but I prefer Aquemini or Stankonia.

3.5/5

Essential.

Peak?

the goats

I think theres a really good album here... The problem being that this is a double album

This is good. But dropping a star for length. Way too long.

Really long but I don’t count that against it since it’s 2 albums in 1. Enjoyed both of them.

look, this should be a TEN as it's two 5 STAR ALBUMS.

It's a good album but it's too long and the second half really drags for me.

An album that's just a lot of fun, top to bottom. It's also a double feature, which I wasn't crazy about. The lyrics are the highlight. They're clever, biting, funny. The music is great throughout. I preferred the first album to the second, but the highest highs were absolutely in the second. Hey Ya and Roses back to back is an incredible combo. Really enjoyable if you want to use 1/8th of your waking hours to listen to it.

This one’s a tricky one to rate, because it is essentially 2 different albums packaged together. Speakerboxxx was definitely the stronger of the two in my opinion. Both had their high points, but this was way too long an experience. 3/5 I guess.

Dubbel album. Een rap (met killer Mike) best een leuk album. De ander met hits als roses en miss Caroline en verder eclectische jazz achtige muziek

Not my cake again two raps in a row , this is a bit different though and unique kinda better

i actually quite enjoyed speakerboxxx and specifically "ghettomusick" and "church" for their synthy aspects. the love below is... creepy, weird, and made me uncomfortable to listen to; the only thing it has going for it is "hey ya," but i may just be saying that because that's the only track i was previously familiar with. this rating is purely for the combined qualities of both albums, speakerboxxx would probably get a 4 from me on its own

Let’s say Speakerboxxxx 4, The Love Below 5

didn't disappoint me

Ha! Haven’t heard this in years! Wonder how it’s aged? Wow, it’s really good. Damn I hate the double album. It would be so much stronger as TWO albums. But broken up, I really love both, and honestly am surprised how well they’ve aged. 4. Solid. Despite that terrible length

Score not applicable, did not listen to album

9/10

Very fun album. Andre 3000's distinct rapping was very enjoyable to hear. Lot of good songs to choose from but some standouts for me were The Rooster, Roses, Pink & Blue. The album length did catch me off guard at first and it does kinda feel like two albums wrapped together, but thats alright. 6.3/10

I didn't listen to everything, it's definitely unique but they only have 1-2 good songs. Not in my top though.

Speakerboxxx - 4/5 The Love Below - 2/5 Overall - 3/5

I really really enjoyed this. Both were great and esp liked the jazzy r&b feel

En realidad son dos álbumes (por eso dura 2 hs). Uno es rap/funk, con vibes absolutas de GTA. Y el otro de repente es Sinatra+rap (?????). Love hater es buenísima pero Reset es top. Hey Ya es conocidísima. Siento que el disco 2 es la versión pionera de Tyler the creator, una mezcla de cosas que suena bien. Fue una buena experiencia escucharlo, todo un viaje, pero no creo que vuelva a hacerlo.

some really high highs, but just so darn long.

dit is echt veel te lang.... outkast is wel goeie... maar vgm ken ik alleen roses en hey ya! ik vind echt leuk de liedjes hebben variatie unlike saaie rock 🫪 sommige skits zijn wel beetje weird en t is echt veel te lang..

ik voel de vibe niet helemaal waar ze voor gaan.. best wel saaie hiphop?? tweede helft was wel veel meer vibey

Great song

There’s a lot to digest here, and other than Hey Ya I haven’t listened to any of this in years. I prefer The Love Below overall, but Speakerboxxx has some great moments, though I think some of the guest appearances drag it down. I think they were better when they worked more closely together (Stankonia in particular is a masterpiece), but this shows both of these guys have a lot of talent on their own. Too bad Andre 3000 has never really made a proper follow-up expanding on his funk/soul influences.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U9rMkgoGL8&pp=0gcJCQQLAYcqIYzv

Double album, with Big Boi on Speakerboxxx and Andre 3000 on The Love Below. Obviously, the hit tracks are "The Way You Move," "Hey Ya!", and "Roses." What surprised me were the varied number of features from Killer Mike to JAY-Z to Norah Jones and the list goes on. Andre 3000 has quite a sense of humor and a singing voice for different, jazzy styles of music. The album is fun and feels like a play with many acts.

Couple good songs but far too long that you just lose interest

Me quedo con Hey ya y hasta ahí. Aparte es innecesariamente largo

I was unsure of this until further into the first album. There are a good few very good songs. It's far too long though

Podria decir que volumen 1 no me encanto, quizas algunas que otras cosas para destacar pero no mucho. Y si pude encontrar mas placer en el segundo volumen con temas como Protoype con ese coro fantastico que te abraza el oido. No tenia idea de que Hey ya! era de ellos tampoco, gran tema me empezo a gustar mucho mas el album desde este momento.

I mean Hey Ya might be the song of the 2000s. There are a few other big hits, and some lesser known bops (to me) that I enjoyed but IMO this collection would have been better off distilled down to 45 minutes.

I liked it, wayyyyy too long tho.

I have this and it is inventive and fun but it is too long. Even if you split the albums out it is too long. There is one great 40-45 minute album in here or maybe 3 more average 40-45 minute albums.

Sophista-funk/aristocrat/distinguished dog, clean up your act/pull up your pants/ladies and gents/please, act like you got some sense. I was so obsessed with the delivery of these lines, I would restart the song over and over just to hear them. I got this album, along with Lindsay Lohan’s Speak, for my birthday one year from an aunt and uncle who I thought knew me better than that. At 12, I wasn’t a huge fan of Lohan and I don’t think I knew OutKast at all. But, I dutifully listened to all the albums and came away a fan of The Love Below. Over time, I came to appreciate Speakerboxxx. I never cared for Speak, sorry Lindsay. If you can get past the unnecessary number of interludes, both albums have a lot to offer and the cultural impact of Hey Ya cannot be doubted.

A bit of an exhausting listen but there's a lot of good stuff here Fav tracks: Unhappy, GhettoMusick, Hey Ya

The Disc 2 is marvelous. Funk, r&b, jazz… excellent.

Obviously this album is way too long. I think that there is a solid 4/5 album here, but there is just wag too much filler and songs I don't care about. I really though I was going to enjoy Andre3000's half better, but besides Hey Ya, I don't think there was a single song I liked. Everything was just a skit, him talking, or a really boring ballad. Mid 3.

Has it's moments

Duazo, aunque mejor el primero

A part of me wants to rate this lower because of the amount of fluff. There are some all time bangers buts it's too long. If you think of it as two solo albums put together into one, however, it holds up.

I bought the explicit version of this album in the 5th grade at MOA and got in trouble for burning it and giving it to the Spangenberg twins. Honestly holds up and I stand by that

Wild that Hey Ya basically represents this album for me — and it is wholly unrepresentative of the rest of the album

This is the kind of Hip Hop that white record collector / record store people who hate Hip Hop will tell you they like. Turns out it is not as bad as I had thought based on those experiences.

Damn. I always like this record when I hear it but I never go back and listen again. I guess that says something. I’m gonna try again later- wrong vibe for today

Легендарная хуйня. Югу есть что сказать

awesomeeeeeeee

Greay

Wasn’t looking forward to over two hours of this. Anyway I split it in two sitting. Very listenable. Not being into hip hop so I’m no expert, it sort of lands between the de la soul vibe and the Jay z bullshit. I liked Speakerboxx more than The Love Below. Maybe cos I was getting tired of it ?

I don't want to hear it

This one had some great bangers. It was funny too. I was honestly surprised by how much of it I recognized. There was definitely some filler and even for a double album it felt long. I think I would normally go 4 starts, but I’m gonna go 5 just because I think it will shake out that way compared to most of these other albums; we will have to see how it compares. Not as good as the queen is dead though.

fantastic album. I own this one so obviously I kind of like it

Cool but not totally my thing 3.

Peak OutKast/Atlanta hip-hop

Bought this when it came out off the back of a couple of singles I liked … was disappointed then and I’m still disappointed now. Too long and really don’t get the double solo album format.

bem normal, nada muito cativante, mas divertido até

Long as hell but pretty enjoyable from start to finish. I know we got hey ya on here. And that song is one of the most popular songs of all time. And for good reason it slaps hard. But im getting ahead of myself. First we start off with speaker box and thats more of a big boi thing than Andre 3000. Its alot of what you would expect from an outkast rap record. And its very good. Lots of good verses with great production behind it. Its good if not a little safe. But the 2nd half of this double lp makes up for that. Andres half the love below is wild. It starts off with some jazzy piano. There is pop stuff and spoken word. Its all over the place. And it has the best songs here but also the worst too. I know people like roses but not me. Poo poo as an adult man hurts me. But generally this 2 hour beast is very consistent. I like both parts about the same. For all different reasons. Its all good all around. Maybe not all but so much of it is good. And when you have so much of it its a hard thing to do. I think id prefer a tighter project but I cant complain very much at all with what I got.

Hiphops White Album. Speakerboxx er SÅ god, nogle af årtiets bedste beats. The Love Below er mere o pog ned - når den rammer plet er det nogle af de bedste sange det her årtusind, men der er nogle fejlskud og nogle numre, der varer alt for lang tid. Når det så er sagt er TLB også virkelig banebrydende, og jeg gad ikke leve i en verden hvor den ikke eksisterede - hvis den ikke var her kunne vi godt sige farvel til Frank Ocean, Tyler The Creator, Kanye Wests 808s-Yeezus run, Lana del Rey, Janelle Monae, Cee-lo Greens Fuck You!, og det ville være en trist verden at leve i

Kan som udgangspunkt bedre lide når OutKast laver musik sammen! Hey Ya er en af de bedste sange der nogensinde er skrevet, men Andres plade lugter meget af at *alle* ideer skulle føres ud i livet. Der er helt sikkert 60 minutters fed musik her, men der er ikke 135 minutters fed musik.

Some of their best songs is on here, but they're hidden inside 135 minutes..

This was so long it took me 3 whole days to finish, the two sides are almost polar opposites but very enjoyable, Andre3000 is the horniest man alive

This doesn't hit me in the way some rap can. Nothing really caught my attention like a PE, Wu, Nas, Dre... album does.

too many bitches and hoes for me. some good tracks tho.

Day848 - there’s a handful of really amazing songs on this double album even if you have to get through some dumb skits to hear them

Arguably the best album of the 2000s. Energy, variety, guest stars. It’s got it all. My only complaint is that it’s SOOOOO long.

My first reaction to seeing an early 2000s hip hop album that is over two hours long is...not excitement. I mean of course everyone has heard Hey Ya but this is not exactly something I would be familiar with otherwise. However, apparently there is some good funkier/jazzier/more soulful stuff here? Basically this is two separate albums packaged together form what I gather, hopefully one will be tolerable... Ok, halfway through the first album, more of the same. Maybe not as bad as some but where is this funkier side I was promised? Standard early 2000s hip hop so far, violence, misogyny, and all. First album down, nothing new, still irritating hip hop that I don't connect with at all. 1.5/5 for the first half. Halfway through album number two and this one is a little better. It actually does have some interesting things going on - real instruments, actual melodies, well constructed songs. I am giving the benefit of the doubt and assuming that some of this is supposed to be funny because parts of this really make me appreciate how well Flight of the Conchords parodied this kind of music. 3/5 for this album. All in all this was one of the less terrible hip hop albums I've come across but counting it as one album makes no sense. It is clearly two albums that are wildly different slapped together and should have been separate releases though. 2.25/5

Me encanto, super diferente a lo que esperaba, muy interasante musicalmente

some songs were bops some were absolute trashy flops eh like a good ratio tho

Coon stuff

A double album. A gift or curse, depending on the quality of the music. It's Outkast, so André 3000's genius makes the quality pretty damn high most of the time. The production is ludicrously good and Outkast makes some amazing music. That's true for a majority of this double album, but only a small majority — call it 60%. That's how much of this is a good listen. A gaggle of 3, 4, and 5 star songs. The flip side of that is that this is more than two hours. That means you're getting roughly an hour of subpar music. And don't forget the obligatory transition pieces. I've said this about another Outkast album — transitory tracks between actual songs tend to be fun and break up an artist with minimal variety. But that really isn't needed with Outkast. The quality or fun of the transition tracks are eclipsed by the genuinely good and varied music that is here. They can definitely cut those outta here with minimal losses. On the whole, this is a good album, but it's a good reminder why double albums are such a risk. 20m of meh songs on a 60m album is a lot more forgivable than 40m of meh songs on an 120m album, despite it being the same proportion.

Several hit singles from this album, and when I think of Outkast my mind goes directly to “Hey Ya!”. The two albums recorded separately by the members of OutKast but released together was an interesting concept. However, the album’s length was a bit prohibitive in me having the time to fully immerse myself. For starters, I much preferred this album to Stankonia (previously reviewed as part of this journey) and came away with The Rooster as a standout from Disc 1. Outside of the hits, I also found I appreciated Big Boi’s Speakerboxxx more than Andre 3000’s The Love Below/Disc 2.

Super long, but such a vibe all the way through. It's two albums in one, and both are bangers.

A unique collection of musical stylings and storytelling. I am suitably impressed with this group and agree whole heartedly that this album belongs on this list.

really good but damn 40 songs…

Not one I’d listen to again

3 1/2 Stars: It's ambitious and and sounds great, but this double-album is in desperate need of an edit. And honestly, I don't know why they didn't just release it as to separate, individual albums instead of billing it as an 'OutKast' record. Neither side sounds anything alike with Speakerboxxx being the upbeat, melodic rap of late 90s/early 2000s, and The Love Below definitely goofier, tongue-in-cheek and more experimental. It's still a good listen albeit a little too long.

Bien, pero no me entusiasma. Me gustan las que ya me gustaban, el resto no me ha dejado marca.

I was just about to judge this record after an hour or so, but then the "The Love Below" part started. Wasn't too excited about the Speakerboxxx part, but the second half was much more interesting. Still I would appreciate more tracks like the jazzy 'Love hater' or 'My favorite things' for example. Speakerbox **/***** Love Below ***/*****. Maybe as whole it's closer to ** than ***.

I have to give big credit to versatility of this album but I almost hate this structure of sub minute "tracks". It makes me rather frustrated.

#380 / 1089 Heard before? ✅ Revisit? 🤷‍♂️ It is now difficult to understand what kind of effect this album had over 20 year ago, but I'd think it didn't come out in a total vacuum and the styles they use weren't unheard of. Probably on a double album they were, but that doesn't really make it that much different in my opinion, just technicalities. A lot of this record is stuffing, fluff in the background, so many interludes and fillers, which I found annoying in the 80's, let alone today! It felt too long before the first record was even over, at about half way mark I started skipping tracks after a minute or so. Second album freshened it up a bit, felt like changing to whole another artists music. But that too has too much fluff on it. I think "Hey Ya!" was the first track to actually make me move in my seat. Strong 2/5

A prime example that an album can be overly stacked, even when the majority of the songs are at an excellent calibre. OutKast at their creative peak, consistent, incredibly produced tracks can still feel repetitive if there is over 2 hours worth of them. I feel good albums need a relative punch to them to enhance impact although the album divides itself, I’m Outkasted out by the first half. 6.5/10

Heel lekker albumpie hoor

Olvidable

Mind bending, occasionally thrilling, but ultimately too damn big. Doesn’t really make the case for the idea of releasing two solo albums together as one under a band label.

lo devo recuperare perché sembra interessante, per ora 3 politico

A game of two half's. Really enjoyed first lp would give it a 4. Second half is alright but don't know why this was a double lp.

Quirky but ultimately disappointing

OK in small doses, but over two hours... Transparency, I didn't get to the end.

I didn’t mind this but deductions apply for length

2 hours and 16 mins of my life I'm not getting back. Unremitting tedium (and no, Hey Ya isn't getting it an upgrade). 1*

this one was HUGE and musically diverse. My fav track - "My Favorite Things." (lol). Great blend of jazz and... breakbeat, I think?

Love OutKast and this album contributed to such a unique sound and trends in the 00s. Some fab songs but felt there could’ve been some fat trimmed from both discs to really elevate it

Plenty to like, so much variety. Whilst it does drop off in parts, I've been listening to it repeatedly for the last 2 days, delaying me getting to the Friday album.

OutKast are suuuch a fun band, never get bored of listening to them. So many hits on this album. Only reason it's not a 5 is there's quite a bit of filler and I was struggling to find time to listen to the whole thing all day.

A modern classic and so fun cover to cover

I loved this. Great, timeless production that despite being made over 20 years ago still sounds fresh. Andre 3000 is so unique in his flow and lyricism. Slightly long at times with a couple of filler tracks but otherwise fantastic.

listened to this a while ago. liked some songs, but not everyone. the album feels GIANT. it is tremendous in its influence though, no denying that. it demands respect and does it deserve it hoo boy.

This double album is PACKED with banger tracks and i gotta be honest, it is soo long (only reason it's not a 5 for me cause id love it if i could listen to it in one sitting) 😭 but I had a great time listening to this

This is a huge record in a lot of ways. Length, style, variation, theme, influence, and more. It’s all good stuff but I think Andre 3000’s stuff really shines. It’s ahead of its time, it’s not the typical gangsta rap you would find on other records of the time. It’s deeper and more musically diverse than that. Great stuff.

3.5. Lots of stuff that wasn’t for me but then some stuff that was amazing. Take of your cool (Norah jones) was a fave. Didn’t know Roses and Hey Ya came from these guys. All in all a very cool album.

La musicalidad y las voces quedan demasiado bien con lo que quieren conseguir en las bases de hip hop M gustan las ideas de las canciones God (interlude) por ejemplo me ha sorprendido

I really respect what Outkast were trying to do here. It's clear they were bursting with ideas and I don't begrudge them for wanting to put them all out into the world. But there's definitely too much filler and too many half baked songs. It's really eclectic, and they're trying out a lot of different sounds, but they don't really sound committed to anything so it comes off a bit like dilettantism. It feels a little like a band rushing to fulfill their record contract. It's cliche to criticize a double album by saying the artists could have trimmed the excess and made a better single album, but I regret to admit that is exactly the case here. Who knows, though -- if someone forced them to cut this album down we may have never been granted Hey Ya, one of the greatest pop songs ever written.

You would never assume that the guys that wrote Hey Ya would have a deserved cultural significance in the music game

понравилось... сохранил.... не большой любитель хип-хопа, но тут слушать было интересно и прикольно.

heyy yaaaa

Its good also 40 songs is absolute wild they are too fast and im not synced up also smashed phone on floor incase you forgot

i mean its got some pretty peak songs in it

It's got that upbeat sad song called "Hey Ya!" on it. So it's got that going for it.

Much like the last OutKast album, this one is terrible. This one doesn't just have terrible lyrics, though. It has 40 tracks of insipid brain rotting swill. Peppered within are some "sketch" tracks, which is just a terrible thing to do to an album. Make a music album and go do your terrible sketch comedy or whatever somewhere else. I almost gave up on this album half way through the first track, but damnit, I just had to give this album its fair shake, and I really didn't need to. Any hope this album had for earning a 2nd star from me was dashed when it reminded me that the song "Roses" exists. They honest to God sing "Roses really smell like poo poo". This, after they've already said "shit", so, it's not even for curse word reasons. Also, the context is that the "bitch's bitch" he's singing about thinks her shit doesn't stink (implying she thinks it smells like roses) but he says roses really smell like poo poo, but roses smell nice, so her shit really doesn't stink and she's right? In a song where he goes on and on about how this bitch is a gold-digging whore? It's so dumb.

Interesting. 2 albums by two artists. I preferred 'The Love Below" but Speakerboxx shows some creative pop. Not my genre, so this is a good rating. 851/1001

Best Song: The Way You Move. Such a smooth, joyous pop song. Honorable mention to "GhettoMusick". Worst Song: Bust (feat. Killer Mike). Killer Mike has a decent feature, but the whole song samples this wet noise that sounds like someone sucking their teeth and I found it incredibly distracting. Overall: What an incredible album. Absolutely stacked with everybody who was somebody in the early 2000s, with a great mix of radio-friendly pop tracks and goofy southern hip-hop. One of the few cases where it being a double album might actually be worth it, even if it does run a bit long.

need to finish

Banger after banger.

Awesome! Long but great. Realized I like The Love Below better than Speakerboxxx but the whole thing is great. Andre really is a musical genius!

A sprawling, conflicted project that thrives on its own contradictions. Big Boi’s side is tight and rhythm-focused, while André’s half is far more eccentric and stylistically scattered. That imbalance is part of what makes it interesting, even if it also leads to inconsistency. Some moments feel excessive or unfocused, but others are so inventive that they justify the length. It is less about cohesion and more about the sheer range of ideas being explored.

Both are chocked full of bangers but the first album is a lot more consistent. For a double album bloatfest I enjoyed this a lot.

Day 18 Speakerboxxx/The Love Below by Outkast I’m a big Outkast fan, but I don’t really listen to this album front to back that often. And honestly, let’s not kid ourselves, this is two albums. Even in production and feel, it was always going to be that way. It’s long as well, over two hours, so I had to find the right time to really sit down and take it in as a full project. Speakerboxxx starts off strong. Even though I usually prefer André 3000, the first half of Big Boi’s side is actually really good. After that, I kind of lose focus a bit. The Love Below is where things really click for me. It’s almost a masterpiece. It might be a bit bloated and could probably lose a few tracks, but there’s so much bold, creative music here. It blends hip hop, blues, jazz, funk—it’s ahead of its time, melodic, and really catchy. As a whole project, it lands at a 4 for me. It’s a great piece of art, but I do wonder if more collaboration between them could have pushed it past Stankonia. Wine pairing? Something bold but layered, like a Rhône blend or a Syrah. Complex, a bit chaotic, but rewarding if you take your time with it. Food pairing? A full spread. BBQ, sides, a bit of everything. This feels like a long meal where you keep going back for more. Vinyl? Yeah, I’d like to own this. First listen? No. Favourite track? Roses Overall 4 out of 5.

Despite being like 2 solo albums put together, this works as a whole. They do sound like distinct things but they still complement each other. Also for a 2 hour album there’s hardly any duds on here, and those are basically the skits/interlude tracks

Yes,no,yes,no, don’t know.

Ok! Good thing I have the day off, because to get through *both* albums is going to take some time. That's definitely one of my immediate criticisms -- the bloat and length of this. Plus, I recall "Speakerboxxx" (SB) being the weaker of the two albums. I've spent way more time with "The Love Below" (LB) since it's release 20+ years ago. ********** Both albums have super strong, hit-packed, and front loaded lineups. "GhettoMusick", "Unhappy", "Bowtie", & "The Way You.." all still hold a lot of punch on SB. "Happy Valentine's Day", "Spread", "Hey Ya!" (arguably the biggest hit to come from this), "Prototype", & "Roses" are all stone cold classics off of LB. I unnaturally love "Behold A Lady" and that stays in heavy rotation on my playlists. I think both SB & LB suffered from weaker second halves, where the indulgences really started to show. There's at least two albums of HITS on this monster, but there's a corresponding and proportional amount of filler. So, the question is do the hits have enough buoyancy to float the extra weight? The answer is a resounding yes (5/5). There's just SO MUCH to love on both albums, the added girth is forgiven. In fact, since it's been a while since I've been through SB, I forgot how many guests they pulled in. Killer Mike!? Cee-Lo! I guess I forgot, and they helped on this revisit. Time has also dimmed LB a bit on the back side. It truly is the most indulgent part of this journey, and is maybe the easiest to make a case for cutting. Andre could have pulled back on the weird, funky slinking some. I love a heavy dose of it, but it begins to border on 'caricature' at times.. or, maybe I'm just burned out some on it. I have spent a LOT of time with LB. Criticisms aside, this is an absolute rap/R&B heavyweight and deserves all the praise for it. There's an album's worth of pure energy and magic in the hits, and even the scraps aren't bad.

I spent some time with this one back in the day (not nearly as much as Stankonia), but it had been quite a while since id heard any of it and I was excited to revisit it. It did NOT disappoint. If anything, I think it's better to me now than it ever was. I remember liking but not loving Speakerboxxx, but that one grew substantially in my estimation today. Guest spots from Killer Mike and Cee Lo Green highlight some super creative tracks, though I could have done with about half the interludes. Id put it up against any rap album of its era. But The Love Below was a different beast entirely, and it let you know from the opening track. "Creative" doesn't do it justice as Andre Benjamin really took it as an opportunity to stretch his legs and break from the genre. We all know (and at a time couldn't escape from) Hey Ya, but tracks like Prototype and Love Hater also stepped out of their traditional mold, and the later interludes and instrumental tracks (like My Favorite Things) were weird and quirky in ways that may have ultimately spelled doom for the duo. All in all, there's is A LOT here, and while it isn't all gold, it stays interesting and engaging, and is definitely worth the journey. An easy 5/5.

Variety:5 Adequacy: 5 Listenability: 5 Uniquenes: 4 Emotionality: = 4.6 rounded down up to a 5 "Plus, I make great peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Van Helsing" This album was culturally monumental. I think the moment that dawned on me was when I was watching the awful "Flight of the Phoenix" remake and all the characters who are stranded in the desert spontaneously start dancing to "Hey Ya". At least that's how I remember it. The album and (especially that song) had such major mainstream crossover appeal that it was basically used as short hand in this terrible drama for funtimes. The fact that this kind of sad and ironic song's lyrics were completely ignored by most people who listened to it gels with other similar popularly embraced but misunderstood songs like "Born in the U.S.A.". In retrospect, this one also feels like the final period at the end of the sentence of pop music for me. Everything else has just been postscript. Maybe there has been one since that I can't think of, but this seems like the last GIANT moment of musical cultural consensus behind a new hot thing before everything just began to run together in a mostly indistinguishable stew. What since this has had the same impact? Help me out cause I'm struggling. There have been great albums, albums I love that have come out since this, but have there been any all-time classics that will stand the test of time. And does this one even accomplish the feat of being "great", despite it's undeniable popularity? Let's find out. THE TRACKS Speakerboxxx "Intro" - Works to prepare you for what's to come. Something that's at times unabashedly goofy, catchy as hell, and very electronic forward. "GhettoMusick" - Damn. First song in and I'm gonna call it my dark horse MVP. Sorry "Hey Ya". This fires on all levels. Would you call this electro-soul/funk? It's almost uncategorizable. My favorite part on a song that is 100% hooks - The Patti Labelle feature and the 80s keyboard preset-sounding beat that explodes back into the cool as fuck synth. Aces. "Unhappy" - What a strong left turn into a tight piece that I'd call, I don't know... pretty? Downbeat, but not too depressing. Barely scraped the surface and already the variety here crazy. "Bowtie" - Big Parliament and Prince vibes with a nod to (Curtis Mayfield) all over this one. Andre 3000 became the star off of this, but don't ever sleep on Big Boi. He kills it here with a strong assist from some other Dungeon Family alumni. Those stanky horns - *shivers*. "The Way You Move" - Push it. Push it real good. Crazy that this is ( I think?) a complete original. It has all the hallmarks of a great song that uses a ton of classic samples to build something with a killer groove and unforgettable hooks. But no. The latin beat and horns and the repetition make this seem simple, but that's no knock. "The Rooster" - Goddamn that scratch guitar line, with the layered bits over top... There is a LOT going on here. This is all Big Boi, and it's pretty bitter in tone. The escalating vocals combined with the funky horns make this one an exercise in heightened tension. And like everything before it so far, it's also catchy all get out. When are we going to get our first dud? Will we get any? "Bust" - It gets way darker here, with Big Boi splitting duties with Killer Mike. The most basic thing on this album so far and still sounds amazing. The cool ass fuzzed out tremolo guitar that ends this is icing on the cake. "War" - This one made me dizzy. In a good way. It switches modes a few times, and I would compare it favorably to some of the medley's from the latter Beatles albums. All the parts work on their own, but feel right together. This gets angry, quickly, but loses none of its liveliness. "Church" - Despair and soul-searching has rarely sounded this funky. They prove they can tackle the big questions and still make you want to dance here. The beat here made me think briefly of Eminem's "Without Me". "Bamboo ( interlude)" - Adorable. "Tomb of the Boom" - We get a Dungeon Family reunion, with close-knit cousin Ludacris dropping in to say hi as well. Solid. But possibly the only track on the album that feels like it was flown in from some other album. "Knowing" - What sounds like a real instrumental beat here, and we're back into the regular groove of the album proper. This is one I usually forget about. The title throws me then I hear that magnificent chorus and it comes back. No idea if they were heavily influenced by De La Soul or not, but in another world this with a more laid back chorus this would not be out of place on one of their albums. "Flip Flop Rock" - Jay Z and Killer Mike guest here and sound like they are moving in slow motion as Big Boi sets the walls on fire with the lightning he's spitting. That was a half a pot of coffee to get us to the end of part one. "Reset" (featuring Khujo and Cee-Lo) - Damn, I always forget Cee-Lo was a Dungeon Family guy. Debra Killings steals the show here though in the chorus. "Last Call" - Mello and Lil Jon and some friends drop by for an assist and steal what I guess is Outkast's version of a party anthem? The chorus makes this song, but everything around it supports it well. It's no "Yeah", but they can't all be. The Love Below "The Love Below" (Intro) - Another very purposeful intro that tells us singing will get a lot more of a spotlight here. Lush and bright, it sets the mood wonderfully. "Love Hater" - A little bit of whiplash from the intro here with a jazz-fusion freakout that transforms for brief spots into a hilarious, classy jazzy bit of singing from Andre. Beautiful stuff. "God" (Interlude) - This was a hoot. A charming and lovely hoot. "Happy Valentine's Day" - Joi and Screechy Peach ( I am unfamiliar otherwise) give a nice assist on the chorus, and Andre 3000 makes a funky Prince-ish jam work with barely lifting a finger. Do I hear some claps mixed into the beat there? "Spread" - Some old timey organ barely makes an impression before we get into the sickest beat on the album, and maybe the horniest/ funniest track on one of the horniest/ funniest of discs? Prince would be proud. Andre steps up to the plate and shows that not only has he got the singing chops but he can hang quite equally with Big Boi when it comes to spitting fire. "Where Are My Panties?" (Interlude) - Dear lord...lol. "Prototype" - This is one of those songs that sounds like it has always existed. My pick for favorite track on this disc. Spacey, soulful, and almost as horny as Spread, if that's possible. But more in the tasteful Isley Brothers/ Isaac Hayes mode. Those fat, liquidy beats and the equally fat bass send this even higher into the stratosphere. This is the Andre track I'd choose to save from a burning building. "She Lives in My Lap" - This album is lousy with great songs I forgot existed. Rosario Dawson? Huh, don't think I ever knew that. Very weird cacophonous ending that still somehow sounds tightly put together. "Hey Ya!" - We had to get there eventually. Don't listen to the lyrics, just daaaaaaaaaance! This is the inescapable gravity well that draws any and everyone who is even casually familiar with Outkast. Andre has the songwriting credit here, but I wonder if some sort of deal was worked out prior where Big Boi still gets to cash those checks. I hope so. Either way, Andre will be able to make as many weird flute albums as he wants for eternity. You can't criticize this one without sounding like a contrarian. It's the "Roses" - I don't think I'd be out of line saying this 2nd in line of giant monster successes on this album. It's quote the flex to put them back to back like this, and honestly still crazy. I'm reminded of how the B-side to "Hey Jude" was "Revolution". Also, I love teh idea that at any given moment there might be multiple people in their cars earnestly singing "POO POO" at the top of their lungs while cranking this at a stoplight. "Good Day, Good Sir" (Interlude) - "Spectacular's right in front of you". "Behold a Lady" - Pure ear candy. Bonus points for the claps ( x2 for including the simultaneous "clap clap). Edit: The synth line on this drilled its way into my brain and laid enough eggs that it was stuck in my head all day. Thank you Jesus, thank you lord. "Pink & Blue" - Dripping with atmosphere, this one goes to some interesting places. I don't want to speculate on Mr. 3000's preferences for the older ladies, and it's usually bad form to conflate the artist with the pov of the song, but... Get it Andre. "Love in War" - Solid minor piece on a disc full of absolute bangers, this one weirdly feels like a collaboration with Post-era Bjork. "She's Alive" - Looooove this one. The sad piano over top of the electro beat and Andre in full Nat King Cole "Nature Boy" mode. Also the most emotional one for me as the lyrics hit pretty close to home. "Dracula's Wedding" - I wish I could just insert the gif of the truck driver doing double take from The Naked Gun here. On paper this sounds crazy. But goddamn if it doesn't work completely. Kelis helps out a bit with the best feature on any track here, in my opinion. And the best line. You know the one. How many Halloween playlists did this end up on I wonder? "My Favorite Things" - Let's reuse that truckdriver gif again I guess. "A techno-infused jazzed up cover of "My Favorite Things", huh? Ok, sure. Why not." I know this was conceived and mostly recorded as a solo effort but I still like to imagine the conversation with Big Boi about this one. I guessing that he just let Andre be Andre and that was the secret of their success? The only other guy I can imagine pulling this off is MAYBE Herbie Hancock. "Take Off Your Cool" - A giant swing in the opposite direction for a relaxed little ( mostly) acoustic number with Norah Jones. Feels slight, but not bad by any means. "Vibrate" - Live me some atmospheric electronic nonsense, and the reversed sounding beats here certainly fit the bill. As fine as this is, I can feel the energy draining as we come down from the highest of highs. Also maybe too long by about 3 minutes in my opinion. "A Life in the Day of Benjamin André (Incomplete)" - At least we go out on a high note, even if it's a dark one. This runs a close second to "Spread" for sickest beat. Andre seems to be in autobio mode, and I'm down for it. HIGHLIGHTS - Everything else MIDLIGHTS ( btw most other artists would count themselves lucky for these "fillers" ) - "Tomb of the Boom" - "Reset" - "Take Off Your Cool" - "Vibrate" LOWLIGHTS - No way FINAL THOUGHTS An impressive, important album. I think these guys were already hugely influential, and part of a sound that would be copied endlessly throughout the decade even before this album was released. But afterwards, it loomed even larger. So large that I think it has been argued by more knowledgeable people than myself that the group themselves could not escape its shadow. Both would go on to do cool stuff ( I especially liked Big Boi's follow up. "Shutterbug" can hang with the cream of the crop off this). Interesting that this was originally intended as two solo albums, got fused together, and still became a smash, without feeling like the Frankenstein's monster that it was. I'm not sure how intact the original visions for those solo albums remained, or how much work was done to make the two as cohesive as possible, though it seems like the songs must have been mixed around a bit unless the collaborations between both guys were already baked in. I think a lot of people ( most maybe) have a preference for The Love Below on this given that Andre 3000 seems to be the flashier of the two and , I mean, it does have "Hey Ya". But in no universe would I ever call this whole thing backloaded. Even the fat on this album is still very good. It's just suffers in comparison with all those bullseyes. The interludes don't even bother me, despite the fact that I deleted them from my playlists. On a side note - as may times as I've listened to this, whenever a few years have gone by and it's time again, I always have that "Oh yeaaaah..." moment where I remember that "Ms. Jackson" and "So Fresh, So Clean " are not, in fact, on this, and that they had other great material before. It all starts to run together, almost like Stankonia and this were some monster triple album, which is probably how I played them in the iPod days. PLAYLIST ALTERATIONS - It would not hurt my feelings to lose most of the interludes off the Big Boi disc FURTHER LISTENING - Even in Darkness - The Dungeon Family - The ArchAndroid by Janelle Monae - In Search Of by N.E.R.D - Under Construction by Missy Elliott - R.A.P. Music by Killer Mike - Funcrusher Plus - Company Flow - Tha Carter III by Lil Wayne

God what a time capsule back to my early 20s. This album dominated. Outkast ruled. Speakboxxx - I think of the two albums this is my preference. I fall on the rap and energetic hip-hop side of the fence. And my good Big Boi leaves it all on the records. Tracks that do not mess around. "GhettoMusick" is a spinning tutorial into what you're about to get with the rest of these two records, but will give you whiplash with how it stops on a dime. Masterful opening track. "The Way You Move" is so much fun then you get to follow that up with "The Rooster" and Bust (Feat. Killer Mike)" You have little time to catch your breath between the fine production and the revolving door of "Featuring..." appearances. Seriouly, Sleepy Brown, Killer Mike, Jay-Z, Lil'Jon and Ceelo Green just to name a few. The Love Below - This thing is so experimental and spacey and raunchy. Like "Spread" may be one of the raunchiest songs I've ever heard. "Hey Ya!" will forever have us all shaking our Polaroids. And "Roses" is a song that everyone needs to hear. "My Favorite Things" was a surprising highlight for me. Andre 3000 fills every word on his side with an audacity few can equal. This is the same guy that in the middle of the East Coast / West Coast rap beef of the 1990s reminded an audience booing Outkast and everyone "The South got something to say!" He does not lack confidence. Its no wonder Andre 3000 made Eminem's list in "Til I Collapse." Early on in The Love Below I was leaning toward 4/5 because while the majority of this is top shelf musical craft, it was running LONG and seemed to be too indulgent in both directions. Final Thoughts In retrospect it seems obvious that these two were on exit velocity trajectories here. Pulled in different directions by the inevitable gravity of their own interests. Big Boi uses his space and time to bombard with a progressive flow and energy then the album switches over to allow Andree 3000 to luxuriously slow jam across his turn. And both are such talents and together they work so well together. Separate's always better when there's feelings involved, but man... There was a moment right around the Hey Ya! & Roses back-to-back that really hit me in the gut. I was overcome with a strong desire to be young again. I was missing those halcyon days of my early twenties. As awesome as these two records are, you could see that these two artists were on separate trajectories. When SB/TLB came out, the best days of Outkast were behind them, already memories. Are my best days behind me, I wondered. I started this project for the sense of discovery, maybe what I discovered today, even with an album I was familiar with, was the reminder to cherish when you are in the now, "If what they say is "Nothing lasts forever." Great music will engage with you like that. Yeah, its a 5/5.

This is a great album, one of their best. But maaaaaan it's long.

I've loved this album since it came out, but always The Love Below. As a teenager I didn't enjoy Speakerboxxx and basically only listened to it once. Paying better attention to it today, really enjoying Tomb of the Boom. Still love The Love Below!

It's two separate albums. Speakerboxxx is great. The Love Below has a couple of singles and a bunch of crap.

No prawie tak samo dobre jak oczy zielone Zenka. Swoją drogą już nie mogę się doczekać jak Andre zacznie na swoich koncertach śpiewać oczy zielone... będzie hicior

I like it but its too old school hip hop-y? I havent finished the entire album yet so maybe it gets better?

Not for me, but good for what it is.

hard to think of a double album that's tighter. 4.5

I have to split my rating. Speakerboxxx is up there with the worst Albums I have ever heard. It’s so bad. 1/5 The Love below is better, it has the hits and it feels musically balanced. Liked it, but it has too much songs and running time. 3/5 Fav: My favorite things

I love the length and its diversity. I found my self asking "is this really the same album" many times. That might not be what everyone wants, but it's definitely a breath of fresh air for me cause I always saw albums as rigid. 10/10!

overall a good album. I was surprised by the political message in war but I liked it. roses is pretty good too. hey ya is obviously an all time banger. a thoughtful album

Wowzers, a two-hour album is not something you see everyday. Even thought it’s long af, OutKast made sure to deliver. This is a 2 hour journey that takes you through a myriad of funk, r&b, and rap songs and by the end of it, you will have experienced so many emotions. This is some impressive shit!

This is really two solo albums marketed as a double. Prefer disc 2 but average at best

No lo volvería a escuchar, pero joyita escuchar la influencia de estos sonidos en la música que ha salido en las últimas dos décadas. Love Hater thoooo, OBSESIÓN.

This is an album I really like but admittedly did not relisten to yesterday, I'm sorry, but I'm so many albums behind and I really got to keep this thing moving.

Two hours is way too long, but classics on both discs

Classic example of above average talent managing to overreach its boundary. These guys are 2 of the godfathers of southern hip hop, and released 2 masterpieces of the genere. Then came the fame amd glory and out the back door went the talent and creativity. Sure Stanktopia (sic) was a hit, but had none of the individual flavor of thier early work, and made purely for the masses. This entry a double disc breakup album, imo, just further fractures the ingenious ingredients that these artists used to dabble in.

No es mi estilo, me parece muy genérico del estilo. Seguro no ayuda que no es en mi idioma. Pero seguro no es lo mío

Speakerboxxx: 4/5. The Love Below: 3/5. Overall: 3.5/5. Originally meant to just be two solo albums from Big Boi and Andre 3000, their label encouraged them to package it as an OutKast album, leading to this over 2 hour long album who’s first disc is a Big Boi album and second disc is an Andre 3000 album. Big Boi’s speakerboxxx is much more rap focused, continuing on the trajectory the duo was following on their previous few albums. And it is mostly great, plenty of bangers like the hit “the way you move” or “the rooster.” Andre’s The Love Below is where things start to get weird. There is very little rapping, instead it’s a strange fusion of Funk, Soul, Jazz and pop that’s all about different perspectives on love. And it starts out really strong with “Love Hater” and continues on a good streak for the first 10 or so tracks, including the massive hit “Hey Ya!” Which is one of the best pop songs of its era. But then halfway through, the Love Below just really loses steam. The love below is Andre 3000 trying to experiment with new sounds as he was moving further and further away from rap, but not all of the experiments here succeed. On the whole, Speakerboxxx/the love below is very worth at least one full listen, Big Bois record is a high quality 2000’s hip hop album and Andre 3000’s is an interesting and adventurous, if inconsistent journey. But like most double albums, it doesn’t always stick the landing, leading to an OutKast album that’s quite a bit less consistent than an Aquemini or a Stankonia.

Не люблю реп. Но heeeey yaaaaaa

It's weird, every single song starts off intensely irritating, before settling in to something really good. Lots of annoying vocal stings and squeaky samples, mixed in with some absolutely spectacular rapping and beats.

WAY TOO LONG. "Hey Ya" slaps, though. 7

Good album, the Speakerboxxx half runs circles around The Love Below. There's better Outkast albums, but I'm not mad about listening to this.

SIGH. It's just really not my thing. I understand that they are an iconic group and have produced some incredibly influential tracks and albums BUT... It just doesnt really click with me.

This is fun of courseeee, I think its good stuff ngl. Kind of dont pay so much attention to the lyrics (some of them are crazy fr) when I listen to OutKast but the melodies and fun, the style is CLASSIC and its a little bit kitchy so it gets a high rating from me!

Definitely wish it was a bit shorter, but there are still so many great songs in here. Speakerboxxx was amazing, and I love how many ideas are in there, the overall energy (which is incredible), and the amazing writing and flows. The Love Below was a bit more inconsistent for me. Some tracks felt a bit more outdated, and, overall, it didn't hit as well for me. There are still some great tracks in there, though, especially towards the end! Overall, pretty good. Favorite Tracks: Bust, War, Bamboo (Interlude), Last Call, Hey Ya!, Love In War, Dracula's Wedding, My Favorite Things, Take Off Your Cool

Kinda wish they took the best tracks from each record and intermixed them to make a proper Outkast record, but damn, this thing is so absolutely bursting with ideas, sounds, hooks, rhymes, and beats that there is always something new to discover. I really miss hip hop production like this. It just sounds incredible. There are better Outkast records, both because they are more concise and nothing quite beats Andre and Big Boi bouncing off each other, but if you are going to put out a 2+ hour rap record, this is how you do it.

I lowkey enjoyed some of this, and why was my grade 5 violin piece in it. My Favourite Things remix was fire, 3/5. Favourite song: The Way You Move

dura dos fucking horas uf pero este muy bueno, muy sollado, aún así sea súper largo no se me hizo pesado, pero yo es por que lo escuche en varios momentos. hubo temas que se me hicieron repetitivos, pues que no decían mucho, y aparte de los que son conversaciones hubo unos que más bien suave, pero me disfruté igual la experiencia

Well, there’s really only one song from this double-album that I’ve listened to: “Hey Ya!” I like the catchy R&B instrumentation, and I like the meaning of the lyrics, but I think it’s funny that the instrumentation masks the lyrics very well (and even André 3000 says so in the song (“Y’all don’t wanna hear me, you just wanna dance.”))

The production on this is top-notch, which is what should be expected of OutKast. The songs are ok, with Big Boi focusing more on hip-hop and rap and Andre 3000 doing more varied forays into pop and jazzy r&b. I enjoyed Andre's "side" a lot better, honestly. The record is good, it's just not my wheelhouse.

So I did the math - this isn't a double album, it's more than a triple. 135 minutes (the length of this album) divided by 44 minutes (the length of 1 LP) = 3.068 LPs. Damn that's a lot of music! This album might offer the most bang for the buck on the entire list. That being said - Speakerboxxx (Disc 1) is pretty great hip hop. Each song has its own style - there's plenty of diversity and plenty of guest MCs, most of whom seem to be from the South. "GhettoMusick," "Bowtie," and "Flip Flop Rock" were the standouts. "Church" was so obnoxious I had to skip ahead. My only other complaint is the inclusion of so many time-wasting skits. Otherwise I'd say that's a 4 for Big Boi. Now coming into this, I thought I'd enjoy the Andre 3000 half of this record more than the Big Boi half but I was wrong. The Andre side should be cool. Very Princey, and funky, lots of falsetto. But it gets off to a weak start before it finds a groove, hits "Hey Ya," and "Roses," and then falls apart again. "Good Day, Good Sir," is incredibly embarrassing. But that's just a skit - not a big deal. The worst offender for me is "She's Alive," where Andre squeezes 1 minute of music into four. LIke - why. Dude. The album is already over two hours long. And don't get me started on the anxiety-attack that is "My Favorite Things." He clearly wants to blend jazz into his music, which is fine, but the only place it works is "Vibrate." On the other hand, "Hey Ya" is an all time banger. I appreciate the ambition, and I think Big Boi made a great record - but Andre 3000 really let the rest of us down with his side. It's underbaked, and yet overbaked. The worst baked. It's gotta be - THREE STARS

Insane that they were forced to put this out as an Outkast double album. The two albums are so very different from each other. It's not a band or a duo. It's just two guys that used to work together, working on their own albums, and forced to package them together. Weird. Andre's The Love Below is much better for me than Speakerboxx by Big Boi. Neither are perfect. far from it. And while both have some fun, enjoyable parts, I just like more of Andre's side and his collaborators. Speakerboxx has too many typical rap bits that are just average. Some dick-grabbing, I'm tough, and you bitches... His guests are meh. Ludicris - typical, and we get a cameo by one of the worst, somehow-popular rappers ever, Jay-Z. Yah, I get to dunk on that piece of garbage again! Hope he appears on some other album so I can dis him another time! I like most of it except for the interludes, skits and these three: The Rooster, Bust, Tomb of the Boom - weak, average, typical. For the Andre side, he could drop the interludes and talk-y bits too. They detract a lot. I love the jazzy bits and multi-instrumentation throughout. Sadly, it ends on a low note. Unsure why that weak rap bit is there. I'd give the Big Boi half a 2.5 and the Andre part a 3. But because they're a pretty influential group and were always willing to experiment a bit, I'm going to go ahead and round up. 3 stars

Too much filler

Speakerboxxx was better and there were way too many interludes but damn the music was great

Loved the The Love Below. Not as big a fan of speakerboxxx

Just a fun listen. 2 absolute bangers on this one in OutKasts' hit single Hey Ya! and the other being Love The Way You Move. Nothing much to say, other than for my future self, I am going to give my own rating on each of these, that is separate from the website ranking, and it will be out of 10. Fun listen, classic early 2000's hip hop/rap! Ranking 8/10 Best Tracks: Hey Ya! + Love The Way You Move

Speakerboxx: The Way You Move: Who doesn't want to hear Patti LaBelle? Rooster: Talking a/b kids who don't want you to be in their lives, that hit home. War: Wait, was this written in 2003 or last week? Reset: Goodie Mob. ATL hip hop is so flowin.

Did the physical release have a sticker that said "Hey Ya and 2 hours of other"? Overcooked and overstuffed.2 stars for Hey Ya though.

Bon album mais trop long. J’ai décroché sur le 2eme disque

Trèèèèèèès long donc ça le dessert, Le premier album est très bon et est un solide 4*, les feats passent bien, le flow est présent et l'album passe vite, j'étais donc confiant pour la suite (: Mais j'ai trouvé le deuxième album soporifique, je n'ai pas accroché du tout et j'avais hâte que ça s'arrête, j'ai juste apprécié les 3/4 derniers sons qui sortent un peu du reste de l'album Donc 3, mais avec un certain regret vu que le premier vaut vraiment le coup, et je l'aurais réécouté pour peut être mettre 5

- 'Bamboo (Interlude)' is the funniest thing I've heard on any of these albums - Love the beats, super easy to get behind, makes the lyrics easier to follow - Rhymes are a little profane for my taste but that's not a knock against it - Feels a little long - Both halves are distinct and catchy - 'Hey Ya!' is so iconic it feels like it almost doesn't belong on this album - Liked 'Happy Valentine's Day', 'Vibrate' and 'Last Call' - Really interesting collaborations

Nah, none of this is for me.

Ok, but too long

I discovered Outkast only recently but missed this record until now. I love the genre, I love Aquemini. I was ready to give it a 3 or a 4. But this is an absolute 5/5 of a masterpiece. Speakerboxxx is poppy, fresh, filled with crazy good beats. Unhappy, The Rooster, crazy good songs. Then comes the second half. The Love Below is jazzy, soul, almost avant-garde. Love Hater, She Lives in my Lap, Hey Ya! André 3000 doesn't miss a hit. I live for shit as good as this. Damn it's crazy they went for a double album, with all this good shit they could have milked it for at least four records.

I remember the excitement around this album, Ms Jackson had been a huge hit for me as a young teenager not long before this, that and some other cross over hits made hip-hop more accessible and shone a light on Outkast and a brand of hip-hop that hadn't come to my attention yet. This had everything that I wanted, it was experimental and poppy at times but also demonstrated some classic Outkast stylings that I'd already fell in love with on Stankonia. The whole idea of the double album and two solo pieces joined together, the CD case where you could flip the cover artist to whatever you were loving most. 'Hey Ya' is undoubtedly overplayed but it was still a brilliant piece. Big Boi's Speakerboxxx was by far the album I played more and still sounds incredibly fresh, but every time I listened to The Love Below I also found and liked something new. A great album, and I remember thinking, "hold on, I'm basically getting 2 albums for the price of one! I'm definitely using my paper round money for this!"

Me gustó que vaya para tantos lados y por momento se ponga experimental. Dicho esto, me pareció demasiado largo, hay cosas que sobran. Nota: 3.9

Gesamt: 3,4 Speakerboxxx: 3,8 Highlights: Ghettomusick, The Way You Move The Love Below: 3,0 Highlights: Hey Ya, Roses

Why are these just one album? It's two very different albums. Speakerboxx gets a 3 star. Very average hip hop/rap album. The Love Below gets a 4 star. Bangers after bangers but I'm docking one star for how misogynistic it is? Anyways it averages to 3.5 and I'll round it up to 4

1 disc was too much. Two was depressing. Lot of skips

Great songs/releases push it to a 4, the lenght pulls it toward a 3 and then Andre’s weirdness brings it back up slightly to a 3.5, has to be one of the most ambitious hip hop releases ever

I understand these were essentially two different solo albums and they don't thematically go together but there's a 5/5 album between the two of these once you cut out a lot of the fluff. Some great songs in speakerboxx and the first half of The Love Below is chock-full of bangers until it just kind of veers off. 3.5 overall

Too fuckin long and boring

Both sides are a little too long, but it's hard to find much else to complain about.

- I like the vibe switch between the two sections of the album - it’s interesting how he can be vulgar in such a pretty way - I liked the jazzy song - I don’t like when they put the baby crying sounds on songs, especially not multiple songs in the album - My Favorite Things getting turned into what is basically a Mario Kart song is so awesome

Many bangers but at least as much filler via interludes and experiments that I am not necessarily down with. Surprised to enjoy Speakerboxxx more. "Spread" is one of the greatest beats I've ever heard but man oh man do I not enjoy that song. Highlights: "GhettoMusick", "Flip Flop Rock", "Last Call", "Hey Ya!", "Take Off Your Cool"

Very groovy, I have heard this album before, and I love the instrumentals. It is not my favourite OutKast album, though there are some amazing songs on the album. That said, and it could have just been the headspace I was in today, but the songs on this album do sometimes feel like there is too much going on at once and I prefer their calmer music, as it is easier to follow the lyrics.

good

hip hop isn't for me. but at least I gave it a shot.

This album was ok. Not really my time of music but definite a could decades old! Church is the only one that I can fully remember. Hey Ya was way more popular then I thought. 1.5/5

I preferred the second disc more. It was easier for me to follow along with and I liked the love story going on.

i was a little worried since its 2 hours long but i don't think there were any songs i didn't like. it's a great ride the whole way through fav song: The Way You Move

It's a sprawling project and I'd be lying if I said I listened to the whole thing more than once when it came out. That said, it's full of bangers and yes, like lots of rap albums, the interludes tend to kill the momentum.

There’s a 4 star OutKast album in there somewhere for me, most of it coming from Speakerboxxx. Too much shit I don’t care for or don’t care about. 3/5

A classic that was fantastic to revisit

A mammoth musical project that covered a wide breadth of hip hop, and nice collection of songs! "Hey Ya!" and "Roses" are some all-time classics but a handful of others also stood out.

Disc one is fire. Disc 2 is shite.

Speakerboxxx was actually pretty good. Not my genre, but I liked it. The Love Below was tiresome - a 14 year old bragging about all the pussy he gets. I couldn't finish.

First album really strong. Second album had fun conceptual moments but didn’t really come together.

Some beats and melodies a bit basic, but a majority of the music was stand out skilled musicianship and creative melodic music and wordsmithing. I can see why there's so much love for these guys and this album specifically.

I liked this one, but it was pretty long. The cover of my favorite things was very fun.

Definitely the longest album I’ve ever listened to!

I genuinely think they’re incredibly underrated, this was great from beginning to end

Excellent!! Modern hip hop classic

Without a doubt their worst of the five albums, but I understand why it needs to be here. Honestly I would put every single one of their albums here but I'm biased. I think I prefer Speakerboxxx just because I don't think all the experiments on The Love Below succeed, but I really admire that Andre tried them all.

Favourite Songs: The Way You Move Bust Hey Ya! Roses

surprised

speakerbox is an instant classic, not sure how I feel about love below, the highs are higher but the lows are much much lower

Uffff this album is a party. Is fuckng sexy, jazzy, danceable, rapable… is like a box full of surprises not only the lead single but the whole album.

I LIKE THE WAY YOU MOOOVE

Still need to listen to this one... 🙈