Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

Não é meu estilo

This one caught me flying low. I didn't expected the same album but with different styles, each one influenced by the Outkast duo. I gotta say I'm a big fan of The Love Below though, that funky more relaxed style made something click in my mind. It was definitely a good listening session.

02/10/2025 Apart from being so long, it was relatively enjoyable. Spotify listeners: 22.8 million

4.1 Super ambitious but maybe a bit too much to take in on one listen. Whenever I hear Hey Ya I get flashbacks to 2005 of the college bar in fairview (twisters) and pimps and hoes night.

I liked part 2 more but I don't think I would listen to it again.

Genuinely flawless. What more hip hop should aspire to be.

Yep, still only like Hey Ya!, My Favorite Things, and Take Off Your Cool. Rife with misogyny. So long.

Fuckin hell yeah this is gooooood shit. Speakerboxxx I think I liked more than the love below but they're both good. Special shout out to Church, Flip Flop Rock, and Reset.

I get why these guys each did their own disk, but the release is yet another reason why two-disk albums almost never work. Way too many intros/outros, among other problems. But the highlights have staying power.

Lot of creatively, but also some pretty bad songs on this 2-disc set, ultimately this stank of self-indulgence

93/1001 :: Outkast - Speakerboxxx / The Love Below Heard before? ✅ Would I revisit? ❌ Rating: 7.5 Listen before you die: Yes I’m sorry Miss Jackson but while there’s some real gems on here I’m not sure I’ll ever listen to this (whole) 2 hour and 15 minute sprawler again. Been a while since I listened to Outkast’s swan song. It’s an important album because it truly shows where 2 visionary rappers can take the genre. That said, if I’m picking sides I enjoy Big Boi’s Speakerboxxx slightly over Andre 3000s The Love Below. I especially love the Killer Mike features. The first time I ever heard Killer Mike was Stankonia but this was a strong reintroduction. The Love Below does have some bangers though. Obviously Hey Ya but also She’s Alive and Take Off Your Cool. Overall an important album but it could use a nip and a tuck.

Not my favorite OutKast album but great songs on this one.

Always a fan of these guys in passing. Never got into them that much, but I really did enjoy this one. 3.5 if I could rate it that way.

This album kind of meanders. Otherwise, the highs are exceptionally high!

I don’t care for OutKast in general. Though, I suppose it’s good I’ve finally heard all of Hey Ya.

These albums could have been so good, seriously a missed opportunity. Having them be one album that's two hours long was their first mistake. It plays as two albums, so should be treated as such. Andre and Big Boi literally made their own seperate albums and decided to make them one, when this would already have been so much better as two solo albums from them each. And then you have the issue of the music itself not even being all that interesting. It has a few good songs in there, Hey Ya is an obvious classic. But it's just not at all worth listening to all two hours of this just for a handful of good songs.

This double album needs a double review. Speakerboxxx Sick mix of slick lyrics and silky flow. Filthy beats. 4.4 outta 5 The Love Below Electric and eccentric sound. Andres flow just goes crazy, he's definitely a top 5 spitter all time. That being said I think both albums were a little too long and could have the fat trimmed. 4.4 outta 5

Das Doppelalbum „Speakerboxxx/The Love Below“ von OutKast besteht aus zwei getrennten Alben: „Speakerboxxx“ von Big Boi und „The Love Below“ von André 3000. Es zeigt die unterschiedlichen künstlerischen Perspektiven der beiden Mitglieder und erweitert die Grenzen des Hip-Hop. Speakerboxxx – Big Boi: Big Boi liefert energiegeladenen Southern Hip-Hop mit Funk- und Soul-Einflüssen. Bekannte Songs sind „GhettoMusick“, „The Way You Move“ und „War“. Die Produktion ist inspiriert von George Clinton und bietet eine starke Basis für Big Bois präzises Rappen. The Love Below – André 3000: André 3000 experimentiert mit Pop, Funk, Jazz und Soul. Höhepunkte sind „Hey Ya!“, „Prototype“ und „Roses“, die durch Falsettstimme und ungewöhnliche Arrangements hervorstechen. Humor und Romantik prägen den Charakter des Albums. Das Album erhielt breite Anerkennung, gewann mehrere Grammys, darunter „Album des Jahres“, und verkaufte über fünf Millionen Exemplare. Es ist ein Meilenstein in der Geschichte des Hip-Hop.

Speakerboxxx > The Love Below, but both are really great

I think I prefer speakerboxx over the love below but there are definitely some nostalgia hits on the latter.

2 Stars (5/15)

Hadn’t listened to the whole double album before. Lots of creativity, but probably could have been trimmed to just one album

long listen. some nice tunes. love the vibe

Damn this album kinda long... ...what do you mean disc 1?!

I love so many songs on this: rubbery bass, horns, guitar funk, Prince and Parliament and so much more. But this is one where maybe a single disc would do. Culled and leaner, it would be nonstop classics.

It brings rap and pop into the new century, looking backward and forward. I did eventually yield to exhaustion: just too much goodness.

This is definitely longer than it needs to be, and at the two thirds mark, I was ready to give it a three on that basis. But it continued to win me over, and I think somewhere around Dracula's Wedding I tipped me over into four. Big Boi half good, Andre 3000 half better. (And I loved the version of My Favorite Things)

Very good. Two standalones put into 1 album explains why I used to think Big Boi didn't have anything to say on songs like Hey Ya

Had to skip a lot of this - too long not to. Hey Ya! Is good and I quite liked Last Call, but the other 126 minutes was so bad this was almost a 1

Firstly, this album is actually two albums rolled into one, which means it is miles too long. Secondly, it was dog shit, even hey ya l couldn't say this. If you are reading this before listening to it, then save yourself the trouble and use your time more wisely. I would suggest watching a good film, maybe 12 Years a slave.

The Love Below was head and shoulders above Speakerbox for me. Highlight was hearing some Coltrane inspired Favourite Things. Okay, just long but it is a double album I guess?

One of the first and only rap CDs I ever owned. As a kid I only listened to the hits, a lot of this sounded vaguely familiar but mostly new to me. Speakerboxxx is incredible from front to back and in my opinion superior of the two. The Love Below is a bit bloated but so out there you have to respect it, along with two of the biggest hits of the 2000s right in the middle, and "A Life in the Day of Benjamin Andre" is a masterpiece.

Wildly ambitious double album, Appreciated the differences between each member, everything sounded pretty good with a few hits in there, I just got tired of it all by the end

fun.

Incredible album. Some all time hits. I wanted to like it a little more than I actually did upon relistening, but it’s obviously amazing.

Fundamentales y este, tal vez Skantonia sea mejor o al menos más sencillo de escuchar, su obra maestra. Ajenos a esa absurda guerra entre el rap de la coste oeste y el de la este, desde Atlanta sentaron cátedra. Me gusta más The love below, pero no quita para que Speakerboxxx sea de enorme calidad con auténticas gemas como la inicial GhettoMusick, Unhappy (que resuena a los inigualables Arrested Development),Bowtie (hola Janelle...) o ese pepinazo que fue The Way You Move. Lo de André en The love below es de otro nivel. ¿Qué son la titular, God o Love hater sino música de otro planeta? Happy Valentine's Day es más Clinton que Prince, que también (al igual que She Lives In My Lap). Spread otra marcianada, como Prototype o la genial Prototype. Hey ya es uno de los mejores temas de este siglo, Roses sigue esa línea, y otra de mnis favoritas es Take Off Your Cool.

Pretty good, but this was way too long and while I get its a double album, each one could have and should have easily been cut in half. If all the filler/fluff was removed, I would rate this a lot higher. I did prefer The Love Below to Speakerboxxx (although The Way You Move does fuck heavily). The hits were amazing, and some others were just meh.

7.5/10

A twofer!! Listened to this incessantly my freshman year of college, I’ve since rotated through their earlier albums more often, so this was a fun return! What a masterpiece.

2.7

Couple of good songs. So much too much longer than an album of this quality should’ve be.

The second disc is more memorable than the first one for me. Both are probably pretty good. I didn't particularly enjoy either one. Hey Ya is still a great song. There's a thin line between 'playful' and 'silly', and the mood of the person judging it (me) probably has a lot to do with how it is viewed on any given day. Today most of this seemed silly but I could see it as playful in other mindsets.

It does have enjoyable songs but it has so many that feel like filler.

Koska levy on tungettu täyteen paskaa, niin edes muutama timantti ei pelasta kokonaisuutta. Minkä takia 40 biisiä joista moni täysin sekundaa. Taas käy sama sanonta, että kun tarpeeksi räiskii niin joku osuu. Voisi nousta helposti neloseen mutta nyt meinaa tipahtaa jopa 2 puolelle... annetaan silti 3, koska kakkonen on liian pieni arvionti levylle jolta löytyy kuitenkin yksi 2000 luvun suurimmista hiteistä

Ihan ekana, aivan liian pitkä levy :D Tuntuu siltä, että levylle olisi kerätty aivan kaikki julkaisemattomat biisit molemmilta herroilta, eikä mietitty yhtään mitä pistetään pihalle. Tästä syystä lähtee ainakin piste. Vähän lyhyempi levy ja enemmän ajatusta jos olisi biisikattaukseen käytetty, niin nelonen irtoaisi.. Mutta lopullinen fiilis levystä löytyy jostain kolmosen lähimaastosta, joten napataan se kolmonen tähän.

Oon aina tykänny tän levyn ideasta missä eka levy Big Boin soundia ja toka sitten Andren. Lahjakkaita ja monipuolisia. Itse henkilökohtaisesti nautin ekasta levystä enemmän. Kokonaisuutena ihan liian pitkä. Ja omasta mielestä rakenne, missä olisi joka toinen Andreta ja joka toinen Big Boita olisi toiminut paremmin. Tällöin olisi pysynyt mielenkiinto yllä helpommin. Törkeen kovia raitoja silti. Kokonaosuutena 3,5, mutta luikautetaan neloseen koska tää vei mut yläasteajoille, kun kaverin huoneessa kuunneltiin Outkastia ja photoshoppailtiin.

En kerennyt molempia levyjä kuuntelemaan, mutta ensimmäisen ainakin. Vähän sekavaa settiä, osin positiivisessakin mielessä. Joissain biiseissä piristävän epätyypillisiä sävelkulkuja, eikä kaikkea vedetty jostain universaalista biisipankista. Joitain todellisia täytebiisejä mikä jäi arveluttamaan, oliko aineistoa oikeasti kahteen levyyn vai oisko pitänyt paskat siivota ja tyytyä yhteen lättyyn. Laitetaan kuitenkin kolmonen sekoilusta!

No nyt oli kyllä sellainen höyryissä tehty sekametelisoppa, että on pakko arvostaa.

Kyl tää nyt vähän petti odotukset. Oon sitä "Stankonia" tms. levyä kuunnellut ja siinon parempi meno ja melske. Tässon vissiin noiden pumpun jarrujen osuudet jaettu vallan eri älpeille ja se rikkoo harmoniaa. Spiikerpoksi ei lähtenyt yhtään, mutta lavpilou ol sit maittavampi, mut kuitenkin molempia vaivaa jotenkin muoviset ja vaisut saundit. Levyn isoimmat hitit on tietty hyviä joten niistä plussaa. Pituushommissa tää menee viel rajummaks kuin pumpkinssi ja tää on varmasti ei niin paljoo hipetihopetista tykkäävälle melkonen koetinkivi lusia läpi ja fiilis touhusta voi olla se, että päivästä toiseen tarjolla on ylipitkiä levyjä, joita ei haluis kuulla ennen kuolemaa. Noh mut pitkässä listassa tulee kaikennäköstä vastaan ja eiköhän se särökitarakin sieltä taas kohta kilkata.

Pari killeriä, pääosin filleriä. Järkyttävän pitkä kokonaisuus varsinkin tähän projektiin. Rehellisesti kuitenkin odotin pitäväni paljon vähemmän, koska paljon huonompaakin olen kuullut.

Nämä 2-levyn julkaisut pitäisi saada perjantaille. Kyseisen levyn kohdalla asia ei kuitenkaan aiheuta ongelmia, koska en jaksaisi muutenkaan kuunnella tätä materiaalia kahta levyä.

Eip oikeen oo minun juttu. Sentään paljon muutakin, kuin vaan sampleja ja räpätystä.

Nautin! Oli tosi monipuolinen levy (pitkä tosin, mutta kerrankin ei haitannut) ja muutamaa isoa hittiä lukuunottamatta en ollu juuri kuullu näitä biisejä. Erityisesti ilahduin sound of music- coverista lopussa lol. Monenlaista sisältöä ja yllätyksiä. En osaa teknisesti sanoa mitään, mutta oli todella miellyttävä kokemus

Tää oli kyllä iso pettymys. Entuudestaan tiesin tästä vaan isot hitit, ja nehän on hyviä biisejä. Niiden lisäksi ei oikeastaan noussut yhtään mitään kappaletta esille. Siihen lisättynä se että levy oli pitkä kuin nälkävuosi, niin hohhoijjakkaa. Kakkoslevy vielä tunnelmaltaan leppoisampi kun eka, niin oli kyllä unen tulo lähellä.

OutKast’s 𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘣𝘰𝘹𝘹𝘹/𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘸 is the rare double album where each half feels like its own world. Big Boi’s 𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘣𝘰𝘹𝘹𝘹 is a tight, funky hip-hop record that could stand proudly on its own, while André 3000’s 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘸 pushes into pop, funk, and jazz with sheer brilliance. Together, they delivered two massive singles — 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘺 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘔𝘰𝘷𝘦 and the unstoppable 𝘏𝘦𝘺 𝘠𝘢!, a song so iconic it practically defined the decade. At over two hours, it runs long, but it remains one of the boldest and most creative albums of its era.

I bought this at the time of release. The double album, released to placate both artists I believe, allows for some songs and skits that wouldn’t have made it into a cleaner, shorter album. As a result there are some tough listens interspersed with some quality songs. Both albums are very different in style and have some real gems, such as Speakerboxxx & Happy Valentines Day, but both have stinkers too. What it certainly doesn’t lack is creativity. Overall, 3 stars.

Undeniably changed my music taste as a teenager

I mean I bought it day of release and listened to it almost non stop the whole year. Two musical genius es allowed to flex so their creative muscle. There will never be another hip hop album like it.

Such a classic listen. I love it.

Fun and interesting but they have better material

the length of a movie, good tho

Хип-хап, смешанный с поп музыкой, соулом и джазом.

A classic

a magnum opus of Hip Hop!! i love this album sm

Okay. Here we go… This is final official album from OutKast. Idlewild was a soundtrack, though it did have a few new original singles. I remember the first singles from Speakerboxxx/The Love Below were leaked on the net and how hard I scrounged to find the MP3s on Kazaa or Limewire. All of these songs still hold up, despite sounding very much of the time in production. Speakerboxxx really is like a party rap record, but has some fairly introspective songs from Big Boi. I found myself bopping my head to most of it. I used to hold The Love Below on a pretty high pedestal, and I do think it is truly amazing, but there are some songs that have been nearly overplayed, as if ‘Kast hadn’t ever had an album before. And even those songs drilled into our heads are still amazing. I love this double header mind funk. We got spoiled with a two-fer. Oh, it’s timeless.

A definitive album of the era. Brilliantly imagined and executed. It might even be a definitive album of the hip hop genre. 2 albums in one, 2 sides of the same brain. Sad that this was the final OutKast record, but also grateful.

Not my favorite OutKast album, but you've got to appreciate how bold and experimental this was for an early 2000s hip-hop project. It's like a competent artist looked at the vapid frivoloty of what was charting in the genre at the time and thought 'let's do this, but make it respectable'. It's too long, but surprising production choices on every track keep it from becoming tedious. It's also still got the unmistakeable vibes of an OutKast record, led by the unbelievable flow of Andre 3000. So the floor here is very high. Strong 3!

You have to admire the scope of an album like this. Looking at how it came about, you also kind of have to hand it to whatever record label executive convinced Outkast to release these two albums under a single project. Though not everything on offer here works, there’s something here for everyone. I greatly enjoyed myself despite the gargantuan length. Flip Flop Rock was an awesome discovery for me that I’ll be revisiting a lot. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Not my personal favorite Outkast album (I personally prefer ATLiens or Aquemini) but their catalogue is just so solid and timeless that if you were to rank them worst to best, even the quote unquote "weakest" Outkast albums are still head and shoulders above a lot of other artist's work. Speakerboxxx/The Love Below is still so wild, experimental, creative, and entertaining and is just another notch in the belt of one of the greatest discographies in the genre from the best duo Hip Hop has ever seen

Got it already.

Decent album

Didn’t have time to listen to a ton, but first couple were meh, then it got pretty good. It’s a solid rap album but generally not my style

4/10

Speakerboxxx was 5. Love Below was 2

honestly i didn't mind the total runtime or the amount of interludes for once. the songs and production quality made up for all that and then some. Stankonia is likely most people's fav album (i like it a lot too!), but there's something about Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. it's fun, innovative and well-produced. while The Love Below is pretty different from what they've released in the past as it's so much more sensual (and kinda horny), Speakerboxxx is very reminiscent of what they're known and loved for hard to decide on which part i liked best as they both have lots to love

I didn’t know what to expect from this album and given its length, I listened to each “album” separately and not the whole thing in one go. For a start, it’s long. Even breaking it up, the seperate albums themselves are still long. However it has Hey Ya on it so it’s pretty good. The first album was probably more typical rap and I didn’t hate it. It’s just not for me. The second album felt more experimental and aside from Hey Ya, I wasn’t a big fan of it either.

Really just feels like 2 albums that aren't connected, some pretty good songs but far too long, felt like a drag to get through in the end.

One of my all time faves!!

I guess this is two albums two artists released as one? 7/10 for Speakerboxxx and Hey Ya off of The Love Below. Didn't much care for the rest

Too long didn't finish but didn't hate

Not my taste

Who else makes hip hop like this? Nobody! It's just Outkast. I'm sure some people who are balls deep in underground hip hop will read that and start shouting the names of a dozen rappers who've pushed the boundaries of their medium, blended a wide range of genres, and created real art. Listen nerds, I'm not talking about some dude who made one mixtape in 1997 then jumped in front of a train and wasn't discovered until suburban teens started sharing his shit on Kazaa several years later. I mean mainstream, world-renowned hip hop artists who have taken the medium to a higher plane, then went number one twice over, went DIAMOND, and won a Grammy doing it. It's just Outkast. This album has so much to take in and think about, so many interesting ideas, so many weird left turns, so many unique soundscapes, so many....fucking...songs.... It's a little long, guys. The level of quality is pretty consistently remarkable, but it's definitely still a little bloated. Like, I don't need skits, man. No skits. Stop it with those. This thing is supposedly an album a piece for either member (cool idea, by the way) but it's really a double album each in terms of length. That's god damn crazy! I enjoyed it a whole lot, but I can't give it the 5 knowing how many times I looked at the list of songs I had left and went "god DAMN!"

They’re both underrated as rappers. And the production is great. If this was edited down to a single album I’d give it a 5. As a double (really two separate albums) it’s a solid 4. Hey Ya will continue making wedding reception dance floors pop off for the years to come, but if that’s all you know of OutKast you’re missing out.

The pinnacle of the experimental production seen through former OutKast projects. Funky beats with heavy use of brass combined with great rapping. Plenty of hits on it too but it’s still far too long with too much fluff to be considered one of the best.

Not for me

I want to like it. I like some of it. I think.

Not much of musical interest for me with the exception of some of the Prince-inspired ideas.

I've enjoyed OutKast since 1998. I remember hearing "Rosa Parks" and just being blown away. Still one of the greatest hip hop songs ever in my opinion. I then went backwards and heard ATLiens, which became an all-time favorite of mine and probably what I think is their best album. When Speakerboxx/Love Below came out, the hype was unreal. But I remember it not grabbing me like other OutKast albums did. As a teenager I didn't think much of it. But looking back, and especially relistening with a critical ear, it's very clear tl;dr: like most double albums, it's too bloated and would have been much better had they taken the best of both albums. Now, I understand the reasoning between the double album concept and that they were essentially two creative visions brought together to improve sales rather than risk both artists releasing solo albums to potentially mixed interest, BUT I think Big Boi and Andre 3000 are at their best when they're working together. Speakerboxx feels more like an OutKast album but missing that Andre weirdness. Most of the best tracks do feature him anyway. I think despite this, Love Below is actually the better album. It's undeniably more creative, more full of risks, and more unique and feels like it's own thing. Not to mention it has what's probably the most popular OutKast song ever, and one we'll probably hear at every wedding for at least fifty years, "Hey Ya!" All in all, it was an enjoyable listen, which is saying a lot for something I had to put two hours into (it helps that I skipped the skits), but this totally didn't need to be a double album from two distinct artists. In a way, I think I was ultimately disappointed with this when it first released because it was supposed to be OutKast's final album and it isn't *quite* an OutKast album and it feels a little like we got robbed by what it could have been. Still, skip the slop and stick around for the bangers and I think you'll ultimately end up appreciating this one.

I love this album! I am familiar with it and I either owned it when I was younger or one of my friends did.

Too long. Some fun songs and a lot of nostalgia but one I’m unlikely to revisit.

Very mixed styles. Some I really enjoy and some I can’t get through and skip! A couple of bangers though

one hit

I was really bracing myself to give a 1 to this album -- this absolute titan runs at over 2 hours long, and I didn't think too fondly of the OutKast album I heard roughly a month ago... but this one was actually good. Breezy, even. It helps that I listened to each side a couple hours from each other, I found this one a lot more soulful and less embarrassing than their previous entry. Big Boi absolutely carries this one, though. He had the better side by a country mile.

Alright, hopefully I won't be getting another 2 hour plus album for awhile. It's just way too long for any artist outside of a few greats. That said, Speakerboxxx was good and The Love Below is just okay. Big Boi is underappreciated vastly. I listened to this is two sittings and the difference between the two is stark.

Two whole amazing albums in one

An album with two completely different artistic directions that only seem to intersect when it came their funk sound. Speakerboxxx was way more cohesive than the love below. The love below was a bit more artistic, poetic even. Between the two, I found Speakerboxxx more enjoyable. But overall, a good album.

Love the Speakerboxx tracks with brass instruments. Especially Bowtie, which I could listen to on repeat for ages. I’d give Speakerboxx a 5 if I could, and The Love Below would get a 3.5. The Love Below has a couple great songs (Dracula’s Wedding!) but a lot of it was too experimentally jazzy for me.

What a strange double album. The first (Big Boi) half is incredible, maybe my new favourite hiphop album. The great beats + horns combo is pretty much the best thing ever. The second (Andre 3000) half is so much worse. Goofy lyrics and smooth jazz, not great. All in all, the positives outweigh the negatives.

What a testament to their incredible musicality - how they blend so many different styles of music is really something quite special.

My parents in 2002 (probably): Oh wow a double Outkast album? Sweet! Me, 23 years later: UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH The Love Below is a 5 and Speakerboxx is a 2

Not my thing

Eclectic hiphop. Needs editing.

Beautiful southern blues

This is a great album.

Hmm, long, bit spotty

This has been the longest album I got on this experiment and it were great two hours. OutKast is another one of these bands I somewhat hovered around for a while (I really like Hey Ya! and am aware of some other songs) but never really dug into. So two hours, of essentially two albums really gave me the chance to actually get to know their style. And what a great style it is. I genuinely didn't expect to vibe with as many songs as I did, but seems like I am just way more into hiphop than I expected, which is at least one cool thing I learned about myself. Unexpectedly I think the song I like individually the most on this album is Unhappy, it just has this perfect groove to it that make it listenable for hours. I overall like the second half of this album way more than the first, but I think that just speaks to how strong the second half is. Even the ever elusive Hey Ya! gets better in context with all these other songs about love and relationships (wow I wonder if that is like... foreshadowed in the album title or something) around it. There is a bunch of stuff to dig into but I think the songs Love Hater and Happy Valentine's day make the big difference for me. Also just to mention, this is the second album that has a song on it with the plottwist of "god is a lady" and I think there is something I am missing there but for now I just think it's kinda funny. Overall great album, I want to take away points for being two albums in a trenchcoat but I cannot.

Some good songs I remember. Some I did not care for.

A bunch of bangers on here. Funny I didn’t realize some of them were Outkast.

I’m not a fan of them but I think it’s good. I just don’t want to listen to 2 hours of this.

Good

Showcases the best of southern hiphop

Me costó escuchar un álbum tan largo. Hubiese preferido que sean dos álbums separados como pensaron publicar en un inicio. Pero aparte de la dificil experiencia de escucha por la duración, puedo decir que es un muy buen álbum. Me gustó mucho más la segunda parte "A Love Below" perteneciente a Andre 3000. El primer álbum está bien, tiene buenos momentos, pero tiene un enfoque más tradicional de rap y sampleo, clásico de Outkast. "A Love Below" se siente mucho más ecléctico, experimental, divertido. Cuando empezó esta segunda parte sentí que la escucha se hizo mucho menos pesada a pesar de la duración, porque los temas sorprenden en su variedad y calidad. Tiene momentos de humor, de romance y meditación de un tema a otro, mezcla jazz, r&b, rap, soul, funk, rock, electrónica... Todo de una manera sublime. Si el álbum hubiese sido solo "A Love Below" lo huebiese considerado un gran álbum.

I have had this album in my collection since it's release, but hadn't listened to it in more than a decade. It was fun to revisit, and I really like "Speakerboxx"... "The Love Below" not so much, so overall, I think I will give the album four stars overall.

Love it.

Finally an album I wasn't already familiar with. Decent, I'll need to listen to it a few more times to fully digest it.

There’s a lot here that’s fun. Great beats and inventive hooks, but like most double albums it winds up being a bit self-indulgent and in need of some paring down. The length here is the biggest problem.

This album feels like everything and the kitchen sink. There’s some really fun hidden gems, an all-time classic, some boring shit, and an interlude that made me take off my headphones at work and go, “oh great heavens!” It all averages out to a 3.

Fist listen all the way through. Very good.

40 tracks. Many of which bang

It's two albums, both with no idea left out. It feels like it never ends. There's probably a great album in there.

I feel like i am reviewing two separate albums. Well i suppose i am actually. After listening i couldn't help imagining the best tracks from both being combined and just having one incredible record. There are certainly some songs that could be done away with in my view. I preferred Speakerboxx. I would have taken that and interspersed it with the hits from The Love Below along with some of the more imaginative, jazzy stuff. I get why that wasn't possible though. I dont think Andre 3000's side is poor, just a little unbalanced and at times the experimentation was a bit excessive and forced. Really liked A Life in the Day of Benjamin when he returns to his rapping roots. Speakerboxx is what i expect and love from Outkast. Although it does get weaker as it goes on. I really do think that this could have been whittled down to one long incredible album. As it is there is too much filler to give it more than an 8/10. Favourite tracks - GhettoMusick and Roses.

Too long.. some good songs on it but it's too damn long. Liking the second part more.

I think I made it through one entire listen of both in 2003. There's material here for less than one album, but the hits are phenomenal. Sloan tried a comparable album - Commonwealth - and it largely works the same. You just need everyone contributing to each track, even if it's just a guitar part or backing vocal, otherwise the spark you have come to associate with the band/duo is missing.

Repeat listen

I mean it's Outkast so the rapping is amazing and there are some real classics - but overall it just felt soooo loooong. The interludes made the album hard to truly enjoy also.

An introduction into hip hop for me. I enjoyed the groovy beats and topical lyrics.

Speakerboxxx came out of the gate swinging. High energy, aggressive, and funky. Phenomenal instrumentations accompany many of these tracks (which also applies to Love Below). I was surprised how much I was enjoying this album. As for Love Below, it just didn't carry the same strength that Speakerboxxx had, in my opinion. That's not to say it's bad; Hey Ya! and Roses especially are outstanding songs on Love Below. I can also respect a good concept album, with this focusing on love. Maybe my opinion will change with another listen, but this is where my first impression with this double album as a whole sits.

Enjoyed this much more than I expected...but wow, talk about fat. This is fat by about a 3rd. Still the tracks that are good are actually great. Which offset the throw-aways (my opinion). I walked in thinking this was gonna suck. But by about the 5th cut, I was blaming my ignorance. And I think this has to be a 5 star because it's an obviously important set of songs. Gotta give it to them....

Pretty good

I wish they trimmed the fat and this was a 1/3 of the length. 2.5/5

What a genius idea for an album by a duo, especially since they both have such impressive solo careers. There's also definitely something to be said about an album that features Norah Jones, Lil Jon, Rosario Dawson, and Jay-Z. There's a great balance of genres here. However, I wish they'd trimmed this big boi (pun intended) down to be closer to the size of a "standard" album, cuz this was lengthy and my wee attention span was fighting for its life. I definitely related to the "y'all drivin your Subarus, sitting in your cubicles" line in Tomb of the Boom lmao. Favorite songs: Bowtie, Last Call, Roses

So, OutKast, we meet again. Stankonia has been a great surprise when I heard it, it was quite enjoyable or at least not annoying, and of course it had some hits like Ms. Jackson. Now, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below started off worse but also surprised me with some great stuff. Sudden jazz tracks? That's very very nice. More sang parts, nice, nice. A lot of experimental feel in this monumental record. Even some The Mars Volta-esque passages conbined with said jazz tracks. Not all of these experiments were my thing, I'll be honest. Towards the end there was a track that sounded like a combination of Ryo Fukui style piano playing with breakcore beat, which was a very cool touch. And of course, the famous Hey ya!, which is a timeless classic. Overall, OutKast showed me again that they are probably my favorite hip hop artist ever. Why am I giving this album a 3 starts rating, then? (just like with Stankonia). Well, it's still a hip hop record and it's one of my least favorite genres, it has no emotional or sentimental value to me, I didn't grow up with hip hop culture, not at all. It's just not my thing, but this list helps me appreciate the genre more, that's for sure. Plus, this album is LOOOOOOOONG. 2 hours and 15 minutes. And don't get me wrong, I listen to music almost always so it's not bad for me - plus I am a prog lover so long songs and albums are casuality for me. But still, 2+ hour long OutKast record might feel like a chore sometimes.

This thing is all over the place. No wonder they split shortly after this. Some great stuff here though.

This is #day375 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… I have a little bit of bias creeping in with this one. This record, or rather "Hey Ya" (and "Ms. Jackson" from Stankonia, which I got on #day253), was part of my teenage years. But I'm not going to dig deep into that now. It's probably my first time listening to this album all the way through. I like the concept: releasing two solo records under the band's moniker is kind of fun. The two-plus hours of music pay off thanks to the variety of genres and styles: hip-hop, funk, jazz, electronics, psychedelia... Anyway, this is a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day376.

I fully enjoyed the album. The first half (Big Boi's side) had a lot of music I had not give a fair listen to when originally released. Tracks with Killer Mike really stood out.

Made it through most of the 2 hour and 15 minute album. The highs are Everest and the lesser known tracks I kind of zoned out on.

This was my first double album and I wasn't sure what to expect, but obviously, they didn't disappoint. I couldn't help but think, "Which one is going to be better?" But now I know that's not the way I want to approach doubles; they're both so good in their own right. I loved that I got the feel the difference in the two artists that make up such an amazing duo, I honestly wish that I could listen to other groups do this sort of things. Speakerboxxx: In your face, pretty bombastic, and has a lot of amazing beats. The Love Below: Fun, sorta goofy, an instant classic. Favorites: GhettoMusick The Way You Move Church Prototype Roses Behold a Lady

I think the best way to sum up this 40-track, two-and-a-quarter-hour monstrosity is ‘self indulgent’. It’s not completely awful but I did not enjoy any more than maybe 15 minutes of it, and that ROI in my books is pretty shit.

Speakerboxxx is a solid, focused hip hop record by Big Boi that gets better in its second half. After The Way You Move, my favorite tracks are Knowing, Flip Flop Rock, Reset and Last Call. Meanwhile, Andre 3000's goal seems to have been to make anything but a rap album. Which is insane to make a record without your best instrument, but it's an insane accomplishment. Apparently, Hey Ya was the product of Andre's first attempt at learning guitar. Though, not everything worked for me on The Love Below. But songs that did are Happy Valentine's Day, Behold a Lady, Pink and Blue, Love In War, and A Life in the Day of Benjamin Andre.

don't really care that this was basically two albums glued together - why not take the time to meander through an album if the music is good? it's hard to decide which side is better, because i like both of them, just based on different merits. speakerboxxx is so solid, it's so good, and i think it beats out the love below as a stand alone album. the love below might be a bit more convoluted, but i was happy to tag along for a ride on big psychedelic-concept-album mountain. plus, it has hey ya!, and that's gotta count for a star or something. highlights (speakerboxxx) unhappy, the way you move, the rooster, last call (the love below) happy valentines day, she lives in my lap, hey ya!, roses

Decent

When it's good, it's very good. Too bad there's two hours more on top of the good. Rating: 2.6

The double album, while novel as a way for a two person group to work together separately, led to the overall project feeling bloated. Each song, like the double album itself, felt like it overstayed its welcome with only a few exceptions. Extended repetition in word and beat is a perfectly reasonable tool to be used by artists, but each time it was employed here was more loathsome than it was compelling. A phenomenal production value and the handful of hits save these albums from not being revisited for me. Perhaps I lack some inter-textuality or broader context for the works within their respective genres, but they just don't do it for me standing on their own. 2.5/5

Highly enjoyable, no idea how I haven’t heard this before. A few skippers, but at least 5 certified classics and a lot of other heaters. Liked the adventurous jazzy stuff and the rap/rnb double album thing.

I always have said I just don't like Outkast. The album grew on me for sure. It was way too long but as soon as "my favorite thing" got in I was like I GET IT NOW

One of their biggest hits and most divisive albums but a solid one

Was so happy to get this album! Hey Ya one of my favorite songs ever!

This is my favorite OutKast album. I know that's not kosher to say in the hip-hop world, but the concept is so creative and so well executed that I can't help it. Big Boi's Speakerboxxx is a more chart-ready evolution of the group's past work with hooks galore and great production. On the other hand, André 3000's The Love Below sees the artist go all out in every direction, indulging in all his psychedelic Prince fantasies. It may be more uneven than Speakerboxxx, but it's highs are way higher. So much to love here. Key tracks: GhettoMusick The Way You Move Prototype Hey Ya! Roses

Two albums for the price of one. I don't think whole is greater than the sum of the parts, but they're still two really good albums.

Man what an album (technically a double), it’s probably closer to 4/5 but it’s got some bangers that I couldn’t bring myself to not give it a perfect 5

It's been forever since I've heard this. I knew my taste in music had evolved since maybe 2004-2005 when I last listened to this but I was constantly surprised at how happy I was to hear Speakerboxxx in particular again.

I did not fuck with it

Where Are My Panties didn’t have “(Interlude)”??? that is Not a song and you shouldn’t shake polaroid pictures 🤓☝️

too many fucking interludes

Really good for me Fav song: Church (Speakerboxxx) / She Lives in My Lap or Hey Ya (The Love Below)

Stranger lyrics and themes than I thought, tight beats and impeccable vibes

A frantic album in two parts. I think a lot of the songs are punchy but several which are filler. Though, I suppose that seems to be the point for some. It's a shame that Hey Ya! is on this album as it absolutely has to be the Standout Track: Hey Ya!

I tried this when it was released because it was the talk of the town and I loved "Ms. Jackson" so I wanted to give it a shot. It was eclectic and not 100% hip hop/rap ("The Way You Move"). I am just not a fan of either of their voices and the machine gun tempo of their rhymes. Disc 1 - In listening to it again today, it's just too fast for me to enjoy. The frenetic pace of Andre 3000 is not something I can enjoy, slow down dude, I can't keep up. Best tracks I forgot about, "Unhappy", "Knowing" (cool beat). Disc 2 - terrible start, hated the first 3 tracks. "Hey Ya!" was a huge hit, still is. "Happy Valentine's Day" wasn't bad and I enjoyed "Dracula's Wedding". "Spread" was unlistenable, as was "She Lives In My Lap", "A Life In The Day..." and "She's Alive". 50M people listened to "Prototype", I didn't enjoy it at all, self indulgent nonsense. All the skits were dumb and unnecessary. I'm in the minority, I get it, and I'm fine with that. They have an impressive listen count (255M for "The Way...", 1.6B for "Hey Ya!") across every full track, all over 3M. The production quality was really good and the music is much better than most rap bands, and light years better than today's hip hop mumble shit. 3 stars, it's good, it's just not my thing. Almost as much bad as good.

45/1001 Speakerboxxx/The Loce Below Heard before? ❎ Revisit? ❎ I honestly dreaded this when it came up and I got it done. For me personally, Speakerboxxx is the far more interesting half with snippets of jazz, soul and funk thrown in. The Love Below feels a bit more experimental and it didn't work for me. What saved that half was the one two of Hey Ya! and Roses.

Didn’t listen to all of it, skipped some, but the tracks are good

I don't know... there are some major bangers, but I feel like for a 40+ song double album they are few and far between for me and most of them were on The Love Below. If it was that single album it would have been a 3, but speakerboxxx weighed it down.

What a masterpiece! Incredibly versatile and deep

So freaking good. This is their White Album. While they sound the best together it’s amazing to see their individual styles and compare them to their masterpieces Aquemini and Stankonia. Equally brilliant in their very different ways.

A double album that’s actually two solo albums? That’s a weird way to announce you’re breaking up, but ok. Having both members produce an album in their own style helps me appreciate their contributions to the collaborative OutKast sound but, after listening, it's not surprising that they could get frustrated by the constant collaboration and both want to branch. While it's a weird concept, I do appreciate the peek behind the curtain... and that they managed to get a hit single from each album. I could do with less skits & interludes, at 2+ hours it’s hard to get excited about playing through the whole album again. Maybe a playlist of the highlights, though! “Hey Ya!” will always have a little piece of my heart and a spot on my lifetime playlist.

Bleh... too long

- niet afgeluisterd, vond het maar niets - 0 nummers toegevoegd aan MMMM

2 out of 5. The first half, Speakerboxxx, was better to listen to, though The Love Below's variety was it's best feature. This does go on for too long if listening to the whole thing from start to finish.

Too much crap

Ahhh what a weird one to rate. Double album with some bangers and forgettable ones. Too many skits in an already long album. Other than the songs I knew, wasn’t really into it.

Didn't like Speakerboxxx at all, but The Love Below SLAPS

Speakerboxxx er en 4er for meg. Trodde ikke jeg skulle like denne best, men gjorde det. Andre 3000 har noen gode på skiva si og, men er ikke like god som Big Boi. Ender midt på.

Cool

One hell of a double album, absolutely jam packed with an array of incredible beats and luscious rap performances - not to mention skits that actually made me lightly wheeze (unlike most other rap album skits). This thing proves that OutKast is SO much more than just "Hey Ya!" and "Roses" (but of course those tracks do in fact slap)

I remember when this was everywhere. The singles definitely stand out. Like most double albums it seems bloated. This one I will need to return to. 3/5 Heard before? The singles Owned: No. 1/1001, 1/10 (10%) Will I get? No Recommend:

This album for it being 2 hours and 15 minutes is actually pretty good. It can get repetitive and boring at times but still has some bangers considering this is an Outkast album so I expect no less from them. I think it format is really unique as both discs act as separate albums by Big Boi and Andre 3000 so I say it wins on the unique scale. But the music is also pretty good as well Favorite Tracks: GhettoMusik, The Way You Move, Bust, War, Church, Flip Flop Rock, She Lives in My Lap, Hey Ya! Rating: 4/5

Revisiting this for the first time in, like, 15 years made one thing crystal clear: Big Boi's side is much stronger than Andre 3000's. It's kind of crazy that it takes the latter 3 tracks to really get going, and even then it's in no hurry. "Hey Ya!" sticks out for being a concise, focused pop song, because the Love Below is otherwise meandering and loooong (21 tracks?!). Speakerboxxx has lots of bangers and its own share of artistic flourishes, whereas the Love Below basically has "Hey Ya!" That was a nuclear bomb of a song, so maybe it all balances out?

Some obvious 5 star classics on here and some very good stuff that I didn't remember all that well from when I owned this album - e.g. Flip Flop Rock and Prototype - but man I can't condone an artist putting out a 135 minute album of two completely different solo albums with so much in the way of detour bordering on absolute frolic. As a 45 minute album of choice cuts, this is a clear five star album. I don't make the rules on how I rate these. Okay fine I do.

Weird album to rate given the two halves are so distinct and were written as solo albums. It would've made much more sense to just release them as the artists intended, but y'know, record company politics. It's a good album and there's plenty to like here but given both members had a lot of ideas to try and get in, it's VERY bloated. There's a lot going on, Big Boi's album is more hip-hop-oriented with some nice guests spots, great rapping and cool beats. Andre 3000's showed his more experimental side and is more of a genre mesh between soul, pop, funk, r&b. Which is all fine but it's a bit of an overwhelming album to take in, and I have a backlog right now so don't really have time to listen again. 3* as the highs are certainly very high but I was running out of steam by the end

Speakerboxxx niks voor mij. 1 ster The love below is beter. Maar de interludes vind ik niet goed.

Some classic songs but way too long of an album

Interesting concept that is well executed, but drags too long. A couple incredible songs cover for the less interesting entries.

Very long album, with way too many interludes. Still some killer hits that everyone knows and Killer Mike destroys it on “Bust” Regardless this is way too long and could have been cut into a single album. 2.5/5

A double album, sure, and it has peaks and troughs, but Hey Ya is a GOAT and there are several other amazing songs. Their best album? No, but, still very good. Mid to high 3s.

Superb album. A little disjointed at times and wish this had more collaborations instead two solo albums

i don’t think Hey Ya! can make the length and amount of interludes on this album worth it

I still don't like hip hop. Sorry.

This is what happens when you let two of the greatest hip-hop artists of the 2000s go absolutely hog wild. Not all of it works for me, and I do prefer Andre 3000's contributions, but I can see why it deserves the nod.

I mean, it's OutKast

Crap

Awesome

Весьма оригинальный альбом. Но Speakerboxxx всё равно лучше, чем у Андрэ 3000

Classic.

I didn't think I was going to like any of this as it's just not the genre I'm into. So I was "pleasantly surprised" with how listenable some of it is Then again, it's not something that I would choose to listen to.

Not a fan of skits.

Too long, not my thing. I felt sick by the end of it 😂. They are not without merit and some tracks were decent to be fair but the sheer length confined it to the single star.

This album absolutely slaps, after listening to the most boring albums and then coming onto this, which actually had soul, tempo and beat to a set of lyrics outside the norm

Beautiful chaos. I love OutKast, and while I may not fully understand the genius of this project, I recognize just how important OutKast is to hip hop and music in general.

catriel y paco pero hace 20 años

Really good! Takes me back

Looong

Boah

Speakerboxx> Favorite Track: GhettoMusick

The Love Below is one of my life albums. But aside from that, Speakerboxxx is a more solid rap album than my younger self gave it credit for.

It’s got Hey Ya! On it and that part of the album is great. Never did make it through the other album back in the day…. And even now found a struggle.

This is a double album where each of the two Outkast members contributes approximately half of the tracks, which is a novel concept. It would have been better for me if several of these songs were eliminated. Just because as album has 40 tracks doesn’t necessarily make it great. There was slightly too much rap here for my liking.

Ah, I remember my 8th grade art class being obsessed with this album, whilst I was sooo annoyed about it. Just one of those sets of singles I disliked from the moment I heard them, and the extreme repetition fossilized my annoyance (see also: Macklemore, Ylvis). I also consider OutKast to be in a natural class with the Black-Eyed Peas, who I disliked for more legitimate reasons. As far as I know, OutKast didn't do anything offensive, I'm just not into the vibe. But there's like 500 songs here, so maybe I'll like one of them! Pros: Speakerboxxx is a grade A name, and they say it a lot. Even Ludacris says it! (I think there's also two "the love below" mentions.) 'Bowtie' has good energy/horns. Actually, Speakerboxxx has good energy throughout. The lyrics aren't really my vibe for the most part, but are technically competent, I guess. 'Happy Valentine's Day' is about the 14th and I like that. The track with R.Kelly on it is not good at all. Cons: I did not particularly like any of the songs. There were 87 slurs (which is only moderate on the slur count considering how long this album is, but it's not 0!). 'Bust' (too loud). The Love Below is less energetic than Speakerboxxx and less good. It also contains 'Hey Ya' and 'Roses', about which I did not change my 8th grade opinion. Although I will admit the line "she's got a hottie's body / but her attitude is potty" is solid. Andre 3000 and Jeff Probst have the same taste for funny British-ish accents. Norah Jones. I would probably give Speakerboxxx a 3, The Love Below a 2, but since I had to listen to both, we'll round down.

I’m not a fan of this genre, but I listened to this album and it was good. 4

You’re just pulling my leg, right? I must have stumbled upon the deluxe edition, right, right? Well, fortunately with this album I can deploy my two-hour rule, where I only have to listen to albums longer than two hours once instead of my usual twice. I’ll think of this album as endurance training for the fearsome 69 Love Songs, an album that only becomes more probable with each passing day. Still. Man. Why do these hip-hop albums always have to be so fuuuuuuuuuuuucking loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong. I thought Stankonia was padded out the ass. With that kind of track record, I’m expecting this double album to be entirely ass. DAY ONE: Speakerboxxx I usually write the preamble for these albums on my first listen and my actual thoughts on the second, but I guess I’m handling everything at once now. Here we go. GhettoMusick is a strange track - the kind of experimentation I’m not used to with hip-hop. I don’t think it pulls off whatever it's trying to get at, though I can respect the effort in being unusual. Unhappy is a better follow-up. I appreciate the mile-a-minute vocals and its undeniably catchy in some areas. The ska influence on the early songs is interesting, especially on Bowtie, The Way You Move and Rooster. Speakerboxxx falls into an extreme slump somewhere down the middle but somewhat recovers in the final quarter – Reset is alright. Overall, the experience is kind of lost on me. Disc one starts out competent and tapers off very quickly, likely due to my own mental fatigue setting in. I always sound like a miserable prick whenever I write these reviews for hip-hop albums. In all fairness I think these Outkast guys are adept within their niche and have the most artistic merit out of all the other rap artists I’ve heard through the list. Hip-hop just doesn’t appeal to me. DAY TWO: The Love Below Back again, this time with a lovely orchestral intro. I wonder what’s in store for me. Wow, what a pivot. I didn’t see this coming. Love Hater is a solid track. It’s strange hearing rap lyrics paired with a jazz fusion-y sound. The song is enjoyable, especially on the instrumental front. The bossa nova sound of God is a good follow-up... Just excuse the lyrics. Man, WHAT THE FUCK????????? Disc 2 had something going for it, then it was taken away from me. Oh well. Happy Valentine’s Day is belaboured and repetitious, though the electronic oscillating sound at the end of the song is pretty neat. Prototype redeems the album a little with a very nice, funky instrumental. No fucking way. This second half is full of surprises. Here I was, bored out of my mind listening to She Lives in My Lap and then, without warning, I get jumped by Hey Ya! Good song, though I would never have guessed that it came from a double album, or an early 2000s album, no less. There are some good instrumentals a little later down the line, but I’m kind of completely mentally exhausted at this point, so I’m just gonna list em out with no elaboration: She’s Alive, My Favorite Things and Take Off Your Cool. I respect the experimental first side of this album, though I greatly prefer the more relaxed sound of The Love Below. It’s a sound for sore ears. Gonna check the book on this one. A whole lotta waffling about originality. I can’t criticise – it definitely is unique, both in background and sound. As mentioned before, Outkast are the best of the hip-hop artists I’ve listened to through the list, so I respect this inclusion. I thought I’d be nearing the end of the hip-hop ladder with this megalodon album behind me, but alas. Of the top 20 hip-hop albums on this site, I’ve now listened to 8. I don’t know for sure how many hip-hops I have left in me, but I will soldier on nonetheless.

"the love below" clears "speakerboxxx" by far.

Rv/g

Bardzo eklektyczna płyta. Może nawet za bardzo. Niektóre utwory mógłby śmiało wypaść z tego szalonego projektu. Doceniam zabawę materiałem, eksperymentowanie ze stylem. I jest tu naprawdę dużo dobrej muzyki. Śmiało, po wycięciu kilku kawałków dałoby się z tego zrobić płytę 10/10 a tak to jest tylko 6.5 równane w dół.

Two powerhouses making a masterpiece 4 stars cause OutKast is amazing but does not deserve multiple albums on this list

Good

shit

Mostly good, not my normal genre. Hey Ya is a banger.

A guy once told me that Outkast are The Beatles of hip hop. I don't know.

This is an easy 5 for me. They are so cool and creative. This was my first encounter with the unique musicianship/artistry of Andre 3000. I loved The Love Below when it came out. It hits on rap, rnb, soul, rock, folk, and more. I appreciated Speakerboxxx much more on this decades-later listen. I can’t believe the cameos on this double album, Jay-z, Lil Jon, Nora jones.

point2.

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Surprising that I liked Speakerboxxx more than The Love Below but still holds onto the 4

Not a huge OutKast fan but this wasn't too bad.

Damn that's a long album!! Really enjoyable though

Can feel a bit long but overall did not seem like a bad album. Low 4/5.

Recognize a few of the songs but have not gone out of my way to listen to these artists.

I generally find concept albums to be bloviated artistic self-aggrandizing. But OutKast does it right; you don't need to know about or get into the concept to enjoy it. This was the album with the mega-hits, OutKast is one of the top 5 or 10 rap duos/groups of all time, they're influential, and I like it. It's a 5 from me, dog.

This is a masterwork. If you've only ever listened to Hey Ya, or The Way You Move, you need to listen to this front to back (better clear your afternoon, though, it's a 2 hour 15 minute double album). This album is a true hip hop epic, in its length but also in its lyrics and production. Every track is filled with groove and style. Several songs feel like a couple of songs combined into one, and I mean that in a good way. It's a journey.

Way too long.

Yeah, this is a good album, but in all honesty with 2+ hours of music is there much of a chance that a good group can't put out a good album? Double hip hop albums should be outlawed. 4/5

Doble album de Outkast donde hay un disco para cada uno. lucha de egos, doble tostón. Aunque como siempre, entre tanta paja siempre hay alguna idea memorable. Flop

I listened to this in two parts as it is pretty long, but it is consistently good. I think the length and it being two separate albums doesn't work so well for streaming but I imagine this was cool as a CD.

some complete stinkers on this album. it shouldnt be on the list. theres no reason this and stankonia are here over aquemini and atliens, absolutely ridiculous. maybe theres a reason people dont put out 2h15, 40 track albums all the time, there is so much fat to cut off this album. if this was a normal single album, there could be some gold here. im gonna go listen to a 6/5 album; aquemini

Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below Added 13/40 songs Best song: Roses

so....I know this is basically two solo albums smushed into one under Outkast's name, but 2+ hours is a lot. There are some absolute bangers on both albums that I love. That pushes this to a 3 for me. But the rest of the album has quite a bit of self indulgent filler that could have been cut. don't tell my son who is going through an Outkast phase right now...

Some really good stuff but a lot of things that could have been left on the cutting room floor. This might’ve been better as a single album with some of the fluff cut out. But it does have some great songs.

As with all double albums, a bit self-indulgent, but on the whole brilliant

Iconic rap duo. Full range on display going between funky horn licks, dj/club beats, guitar/bass/drum ensembles while storytelling. Love the references to their other songs throughout. Some classics on this one

Very fun album. Interesting shift of genre in the last few songs

Hey yaaaa

I get it but it's not for my ear. All feels very produced and processed.

A truly excellent and ground-breaking album, but it's definitely got a bit of bloat on it. If a couple of tracks were cut from each album it'd be a very easy five, as it stands, it's somewhere a touch below that.

The Love Below is a fantastic genre-bending solo album from André. Speakerboxxx has some decent cuts but shows why Big Boi needed his partner from the get go

I actually listened to the first half of it was amazed how much I liked the first four or tracks. Fun and funky. Thought it was going to be a 4….until it descended into generic rap that just isn’t for me. I’ll quit while I’m ahead and call it a 3.

Some reasonable tracks, but this just isn't for me.

It was okay!

quite disappointing to be honest. i found speakerboxx to be quite boring which i guess is unsurprising when the wikipedia says it was “praised for being consistent”. the love below was more interesting but still overall unnecessarily long.

2 amazing songs and the rest is blah

Love this album!!! There's so much to offer with many songs a little bit of something for everyone.

Rejudged this after years of absence. Really solid. A high 4.

7/10 Speakerboxx is a lot more consistent but The Love Below has higher highs; Prototype, Roses, Hey Ya. It's a shame Big Boi and 3k rarely share the same song and overall it's too long. But it's still a good project.

So many great songs, mixes of hip hop styles. The interludes are unnecessary

Some decent memorable tunes. Couldn’t listen to all 2 hrs of it though.

This is one of my favorite albums of all time. I remember it came out my senior year of high school and dominated by listening for years. I still go back to it frequently. way ahead of his time.

This was my first listen to the whole double album. It’s really fun, for a while — but it’s a bit long and starts to drag about 1/2 way through the second side. Production & creativity are top notch. The flows are spotless and varied — influences from Jazz R&B psychedelia— super funny! I’ll listen again But this double album gets to be overindulgent at points. After awhile the fixation on gIrls and relationships gets boring. And, though it’s funny, sometimes they’re trying too hard for the laugh line. It’s a little forced. The time investment means I wouldn’t spin it all the way through immediately after playing it. It’s a 4.

1. Intro - N/A The intros and interludes will not be ranked on this album for obvious reasons. 2. GhettoMusick - 8 Fun song the change from soft to slow at first felt very out of place for me but by the time you listen through to the whole track it makes sense. The rap is very solid as is the chorus which you will unconsciously find yourself belting out at times. 3. Unhappy - 10 Beautiful vocals on the chorus. The verses are exactly the style of rap we've come to love with Outkast over the years. The only reason the song isn't a 10 is because the instruments are a smidge too loud in parts and can overpower the vocals. Instrumentally the bass is excellent and the track is just absolutely a wonderful listen. 4. Bowtie (feat. Sleepy Brown & Jazze Pha) - 9 Another very fun song. A wonderfully balanced mix between singing and rapping, chorus and voice. Beat is amazing and the rhythm is incredibly smooth. Best song out of the opening three. 5. The Way You Move (feat. Sleepy Brown) - 10 I love the way this song moves. This is just an amazing song that encompasses where the genre was going around that era. 90s rap had some harder stuff in it, but a lot of it was born out of pop-style tracks which themselves still had that 80s disco flair to them. This was more what defined R&B in the 00s. You got a sound that's like the vocals of Boys 2 Men while getting that classic rap verse that defined groups/duos like Ill Al Skratch. Just fantastic. A track to put on repeat. 6. The Rooster - 8 Another great track. Just classic Outkast. The flow and the beat are excellent and really help the song change between the fast flowing raps and the melodic bridges & chorus really well. 7. Bust (feat. Killer Mike) - 7 A pass over track. Signing is good, rap is good, beat is great, instrumentals are solid but there's nothing out of this world about the track. 8. War - 9 First minute is excellent and left on an island once the song actually moves into the actual rap but that rap is exquisite. Phenomenal short tack. 9. Church - 10 Rap is amazing but the beat and the chorus, particularly and especially the chorus on this track are unreal. Incredibly well written song. 10. Bamboo (Interlude) - N/A 11. Tomb of the Boom (feat. Konkrete, Big Gipp & Ludacris) - 6 Rap is a different tone than the rest of the album and it doesn't work well here. Beat is alright but change of rappers and tones makes the track feel consistently off the mark. Too many cooks on this track. 12. E-Mac (Interlude) - N/A 13. Knowing - 8 Dirty beat on this but a solid track overall. Signing is quality, rap is very good, and the intermingling of voices is done so well to make the track an enjoyable sound overall. 14. Flip Flop Rock (feat. Killer Mike & JAY-Z) - 9 Strong from Outkast. The rap is quick and great with a beat that's absolutely fantastic sounding. I was a little bit hesitant about Jay-Z's part but he adds exactly the kind of supporting vocals that add a great volume to the track. Solid stuff. 15. Interlude - N/A 16. Reset (feat. Khujo Goodie & Cee-Lo) - 8 Good flow to the song with very good raps in it but overall the beat and rhythm are what carry this song to excellence. 17. D-Boi (Interlude) - N/A 18. Last Call (feat. Slimm Calhoun, Lil' Jon, The EastSide Boyz & Mello) - 6 The chorus is solid on the track but the verses don't sound great at all and that really leaves you with a sense of disappointment. 19. Bowtie (Postlude) - N/A 20. The Love Below (Intro) - N/A 21. Love Hater - 4 An extremely out of place track. Vocals are absolutely overpowered by instruments that sound like they are being played without a clear direction. Overall, the track is not really sounding like it should be on the album at all. 22. God (Interlude) - N/A 23. Happy Valentine's Day - 6 The rap in the second half of the song is fantastic but the opening is incredibly weak. Still, overall it's not a bad song. 24. Spread - 6 Pass over track. Not much to it and I'm not one that really cares for the imagery of the track. The change in tone of what The Love Below entails to what was on Speakerboxxx is not one I enjoy. 25. Where Are My Panties - N/A Speaking track so no rating. 26. Prototype - 7 Better song. Singing on the track is nice as is the beat and overall sound. 27. She Lives in My Lap (feat. Rosario Dawson) - 3 It's just a non-sense of a track overall. Signing isn't impressive on it, instrumentals are bang on average, and it's a track I could do without listening to again. 28. Hey Ya! - 10 This is just a great track. Instrumentally it's absolutely genius and vocally it's just as good. Amazing track to dance to that will easily be stuck in your head. 29. Roses - 6 The chorus is atrocious but the verses are very good. Instrumentally the song is good as well but I can't get past the horrendous lyrics in the chorus. 30. Good Day, Good Sir (Interlude) - N/A 31. Behold a Lady - 9 The bass on this is really enjoyable and the lyrics are just as fun. The verses are really really great too creating a magnificent track. 32. Pink & Blue - 8 Solid song with an AMAZING chorus on it. Just a great smooth track with absolutely enjoyable lyrics. 33. Love In War - 9 Vocals are amazing overtop of a solid beat and really overall enjoyable structure to the song. 34. She's Alive - 5 The monologues are a bit annoying as is the change in octave on the vocals at the very end of the track. Beat is good but the rest of the song is too poor for me to enjoy it. 35. Dracula's Wedding (feat. Kelis) - 9 Lighter song but it works so well. Vocals are almost therapeutic on this track and overall which you could easily overlook it, it's a solid piece of music. 36. The Letter - N/A 37. My Favourite Things - 1 I hate Christmas. 38. Take Off Your Cool (feat. Norah Jones) - 8 Lovely song with some soothing vocals. Bit of a standalone as it's more just acoustic guitar with the vocals but it works well as a wind down track on what has been a long double album. 39. Vibrate - 6 It's not a bad song. The beat is okay and I like the idea of it. It's just a little too repetitive and long. 40. A Life In The Day of Benjamin Andre (Incomplete) - 7 The rap in this is great but instrumentally it's a bit lost. The clapping in it is good but I have no idea what the point of the background sounds are for. Average Rating: 7.31 Adjusted to a 5-Point Scale: 3.65 Round-Up: 4 Stars

Still a remarkable blend of the best 90s hip hop with the best 00s pop. In the great list of 'classic albums with one bad track', God I'd love to cut the worthless instrumental cover of My Favorite Things.

Perfect album(s) no notes. Fun, funky, groovy, badass. Beats for days.

Too long. I definitely liked The Love Below better than Speakerboxx. I knew three songs.

This really does sound like two albums, and I think the strongest songs on each of them are the ones that sound like they belong on the other one/manage to combine the two sounds more cohesively. I think this would have been 5 stars if they had found a way to make the whole album flow together more. I like the Andre 3000 side slightly more than the Big Boi side, but both made for fun listens.

The only song I know by OutKast is Hey Ya and I see why. It breaks out of their normal style for a broader audience. They have a well put together album, but their genre is not my style in the slightest. Roses was funny but I would not regularly to listen it...

own

Speakerboxxx : Overall a great hip hop album, made me want to dance but also spoke up against political and social issues (racism, war in iraq). Great features (Jay-Z, Killer Mike). The Love Below : ABSOLUTELY IMMACULATE ??? definitely a 5 star album, should’ve been released solo and it would’ve gained my heart. even the interludes are incredible, the transitions are goated. overall it’s a great album, with a lot of artistic and innovative tracks, but it’s way too long for me to give it 5 stars. if they were two separate albums, the love below would’ve definitely be one of my fav albums ever.

Monumental release! Would have been good albums by themselves. But put out together these to lps complement each other well. Super fluid hip hop record followed by a super creative funk, jazz, soul album referencing each other is fun to listen too. Banger singles on both discs. Hey ya, the way you move, roses - damn! But also many of the lesser know tracks are great. I enjoy e.g. unhappy, the rooster and happy valentine's day. These two hours never drag. Really respect this achievement!

I fully expected to like the André 3000 half more, but that turned out not to be the case. There’s a lot of good material here, but it’s a bit too long, especially “The Love Below” half.

Not my taste in Music, but a lot of pleasant songs

There is such a thing as too much OutKast

Very very good and unique

Was dreading the 2hr length, but honestly this album is an absolute feat and includes a wide variety of styles, sounds, tempos, vocals, and instruments that hold up very well 22 years later. Incredibly ahead of its time. I can see how it probably inspired the likes of Doechii and Thundercat that we see as big names today. 4 for musicality, performance, and originality.

I'm a little surprised that this album makes the cut: the hits are huge and were inescapable, but I'd never actually listened to the album. An album that's two fucking hours long. Well, Speakerboxx actually bangs. A lot of energy without wearing out its welcome by changing its sound and form. Sounds of its time but not really dated? Really good stuff! Good features to keep it moving, feels like An Album. The Love Below has even MORE shit going on, where not all of it sticks, but also feels like An Album. Shockingly, the "experimentation" for lack of a better word feels more dated here than it does on Big Boi's half, which is weird cuz I always felt like Andre was the outre one. Anyway, good stuff, but this shoulda been two separate albums - too much playing on the Outkast name and too little thinking about how different these two pieces are. Two fucking hours, man.

another outkast album. its ok I guess. Nothing too exciting. Not really my cup of tea. One song merged into the other. This is tooo long. I got bored only 11 songs in. The Rooster was okay. It was not unbearable though, in fact, there are some really good songs, but did mention...It's just too damn long. Any good songs get lost in the noise. Easy 3 stars but I downgraded it to 2.5 because it is too damn long

This album caused a real fuss in the months before it came out. "GhettoMusick" sounded Outkast enough, but the divide between the next single, "Hey Ya", and "The Way You Move" on the very same day, was vast. But all of the fears ended when the record came out. It ranks third on my ranking of Outkast's albums, for whatever that's worth, just behind Aquemini and the G.O.A.T.ed Stankonia.

Wow, a lengthy double album. But does not have my favourite Outkast song, in Ms Jackson. Most of The classics are on here. Outkast know how to write a good melody, and they're filled with catchy hooks. Album is enjoyable, the highs are pretty high, but there's also a lot of "eh" on here. If this was a one hour album with all the chaff cut out it would probably be a 5 star album. Outkast could use a good editor. Unfortunately it's overlong and bloated. For me Roses and The Way you Move are the star songs. I also enjoyed Vibrate and My Favourite Things. Hey Ya is polished but holy God am I sick of that song.

Was worried when I saw it was a 2 hour double album but it didn't drag too much which is a plus straight off. Never been into outcast enough to know too much about them so didn't realise this era was two solo albums stitched together. I think Bigbois was nearly exactly what I've wanted from outcast, more focus on rapping but with still slightly quirky and interesting. I approve of two features from Killer Mike too. Andres was a bit too experimental for me and given this was released in 2003 it isn't that shocking he's making jazz flute albums now. That said, Hey Ya and Roses are brilliant and nobody else could make them. I think a single album contributed with 80% BB would have been the best, id give bigbois a 4.5. and Andres a 3 so we'll say 4.

A load of trash in between Bust (Killer Mike is generally the best thing on the album as a whole), and Hey Ya and Roses.

2 albums hey..... Interesting approach. I didn't realise it was 2 solo albums until after I'd listened but I definitely preferred Big Bois speakerboxxx to the love below. The love below felt a bit disjointed and harder to follow, but maybe I was just fatigued after already listening for an hour! They being said, I think Andre 3000 is a better rapper than big boi and the two singles from the love below are better then anything on speakerboxxx. I think Roses is almost as good as hey ya, certainly heard it less. 2 hours is too long though!

It's hard to call this a perfect album due to how long it is, but it still kinda feels perfect to me. Its so ambitious in a way I can't really explain. It's almost like a hip hop version of "The Wall" (eh maybe not, idk). Like many, I definitely prefer "The Love Below" over "Speakerboxxx" though Big Boi's stuff is still really great even as a stand alone album. But yea, Andre is the real star of the show. "Hey Ya" is a generational pop song, easily one of the greatest of the decade. "Roses" is my personal favorite Outkast song and "Happy Valentine's Day" is also fantastic. Now that I've listened to the full album again I can say for sure that I think "Stankonia" is their best album but this is still an incredible record that is deserving of all of the praise its received. Forget Idlewild. This was Outkast's final album. Favorite track: Roses

OutKast production is definitely on show on many of these songs. I like also the "grandness" of it which is missed in modern hip hop, the interludes add more of a thematic feeling. Surprisingly I like Speakerboxx more than The Love Below, I think there's more soulful productions with catch choruses. But overall way too long

Big Boi is criminally underrated within Outkast and solo, and this is a great showcase of his talent. The production and sampling gives a very good, fun base for some very talented vocal delivery and lyrics. Tomb of the Boom is the classic, but I loved Bowtie and Bust (with a great Killer Mike verse). Like any good 3Stacks record should be, The Love Below is delightfully strange and eclectic. A mix of beats from jazzy to simple drum machine loops and an equally varied array of vocal deliveries and flows keep the listener from settling into a pattern at the beginning of the record. Hey Ya and Roses are the classics from Andre, and for good reason.

I didn't know what to expect as I'm not a big fan of rap. Nevertheless, I have quite liked this album, it's been a really nice surprise.

If you ever need a smile, the opening tracks of this album will gift you one. That alone has to be worth some stars. Using a spray paint can as percussion is wacky and brilliant. Happy Valentine's Day may just be the new official song of the demi-holiday. Now if I just enjoyed all the music on the album. I do enjoy some of it, appreciate some more of it and actively dislike a few tracks. Many of the tracks would be better if they were a minute shorter. The length of the album in full made it hard to listen to, but the fact that this is art does not escape me.

not into these guys pret much at all. this came out while i was in high school and the only thing i felt about it was i wish Hey Ya would never play anywhere ever again. i did not know that this was actually 2 discs with 40 tracks total which is ambitious no matter what i feel. 3 singles that still play, but not my style for any of them. crowd pleaser and culmination of this group's growth over the years. right off the rip, this is 2/5 because it is never something i would put on alone. production wise, its an achievement in layering hip hop with funk and rock styles in a way that modernizes older music to a newer audience. clearly, the meeting of grit from the street and the experienced quality of musicality is what makes this stand out from other artists in the genre. GhettoMusick is a good start. there is no question that they are having fun making this as stacked as possible, it feels like a magnus opus. there is a playful theme throughout and it seems like no genre is off the table. Bust feat. Killer Mike is a good track. a lot of these songs i am not familiar with. Ludacris has a great feature on Tomb of the Boom. lots of features that show just how far this group has come being in the spotlight. the cover of My Favorite Things is probably why this is on the list, its a technical powerhouse that's going to make any jazz head go nuts. the second half seems like Andre's chance to be as out there and experimental as possible. basically this is a record for everyone, with the diehard Outkast fans being completely vindicated, and new listeners have at least one song that will work for them. the last track is an Andre slice of life wrap up reminiscing about old times which gives the whole thing a very uncertain future ending.

Two very different albums and I much preferred The Love Below. I realize I'm in the minority with that opinion, but I found The Love Below to be a multi-genre album which was way more interesting to listen to than a traditional hip hop album. Top tracks: Hey Ya!, My Favorite Things, Roses, Where Are My Panties

2.5

TIL the idiom "a curate's egg" lol There is a solid 5⭐ album in here somewhere.

A few decent to good track, but way to long

I feel like I thought this was the best Outlast album originally bc it had the hits, then I heard the others and was like oh yeah these are way better.. this still isn’t the best one but.. damn I had fun listening to this album! Legendary! Also an underrated thought but that first half is soooo excellent!! Some crazy lyrics on the Andre half but still a total banger… yes!

Now I gotta make a sub list of all albums where each guy does a thing

ok I do like it but unforch for me it is a bit too long for my liking and not every track is hitting as hard as i'd like.. its a 3.5 for me

Nice one, funky, groovy

An old favorite!

This was a solid hip hop album! A little on the long side but it was more like two albums in one which was kind of cool. Obviously Hey Ya! Is the biggest track on here but there were some other bangers in there too. The hip hop/jazz version of My Favorite Things was a highlight for me. Highly recommend!

C'est le genre de rap/hip-hop que je préfère, faque je vibais bien au moment de me rendre compte que C'EST TELLEMENT LOOOOOOOOOONG JME SUIS DÉJÀ TAPPÉ 2h15 DE METALLICA HIER, POURQUOI JE DOIS ME REFARCIR UN AUTRE ALBUM QUADRUPLE OSTI!!! J'AURAIS MÊME PAS LE TEMPS D'ÉCOUTER LE NOUVEAU KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZZARD WIZARD!!! C'est quand même un trois, mais en dessous de 1h ça aurait été un quatre! J'dis ça, j'dis rien...

Favorite Track: My Favorite Things

Amazing just.. amazing

I'm very conflicted in this. I'm not sure if such a thing exists as too many good songs on one album, but if anything is suffering from that dilemma, it's this. If this was just an hour long of the best songs this would be an easy 10/10 for me, as it's got a collection of many of the best songs from the group, but like I said, it just takes a while to get through, and the album really starts to feel its length, not because the music is bad, but because it is a commitment to sit down and listen to it in one go. Great album, two really amazing albums on their own, but smushed together they kind of lose a bit of what makes each CD so unique, and kind of suffers from its own success in the end

Definetly OutKasts best album. They are undeniably the best rap duo in history, their chemistry is so perfect. Some of my favorite rap out there and I'll be coming back to this album again

Very rarely does an album justify being a double-LP, let alone two full-length albums itself. And yet I wish there was even more on this album. Fantastically creative, innovative, funny, and heartfelt. Genuinely amazed how well this album has aged. One of the best and most eclectic rap albums I've ever heard.

Great bops!

2 stars for the Speakerboxxx and 4 stars for The Love Below, which had some real bops

Oh yes indeed

Blast from the past! I had (might even still have) this on CD! Fun! Cracking album. So many tunes … and many choons