Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

Good listen.

Man holy shit never did give this a proper listen and OutKast doesn't miss. Its got skits and interlude, heavy funk and hip hop energy from Big Boi and crazy psycho sex funk from Andre 3000. Production is so solid, robust and ripe with unique instrumentations and sounds. Big fan of the discog deeply, now well aquainted with what's beyond Stankonia and Aquemini.

yes yes yes

Hey Ya! ITs a fun album. Lots of songs. Vots of assorted hip hop styles. Great album

1. Väldigt långt album. 2. Mycket här som inte var för mig. 3. Några få låtar som var nice (utöver Hey ya)

not all the way through but first side is some cool stuff, mostly mid, second side is super cool, I like spread the most. Really like the often vulgar and inappropriate feeling lyrics over smooth tracks, its a cool juxtaposition

Masterpiece!

Not their best but still good

Great blend of hip hop, funk, jazz, electro-pop and more. This is a very interesting and listenable album. I can see why it's rated so high.

Some interesting stuff her. But OMG way too loooooooooonnnnng.

I like some of the production. Why the hell is this two hours

YESSSSS GOD

Good lord, this is a long album - but I like Outkast and particularly how they incorporate horns/swing sounds into their music. I also like that Andre 3000 is one of the only rappers I can recognize by their voice!

The South got something to say - the 'Nevermind' of hip hop. Iconic.

Fond memories of this growing up, but it doesn't really do it for me anymore. Not sure exactly why. Too frenetic, maybe.

Really good. I think The Love Below has the top individual songs (“Roses,” “Hey Ya!”) but Speakerboxxx is more consistently enjoyable for me. Distill these two down into a single album with their best ~50 minutes and it’d be 5 stars.

Das ist viel zu lang wirklich, einfach über zwei Stunden. Es sind aber gute Lieder bei und wäre es kürzer und die weniger guten Lieder wären nicht da, wären es vier Sterne. Sehr vielfältig

banger

One of those albums that I don't enjoy that much (not my thing), but I can see the creativity and quality. It's much more than hip-hop, it's an album of two halves but both are quite quirky and very varied. Love the funky and jazzy (esp. on The Love Below) elements.

Phenomenal! 2 completely different sides. One is hiphop energy and the other is slow groove. Well done.

I'd say 3 for the first album and 2 for the second. Some good material here and there but heavily diluted in the 2 hours long and quite painful albums. Happy to be done with it!

I bought this when it came out, and was obviously swept away by the hype. I’ve never dug OutKast, and I don’t think I ever will. Hey Ya is a slammer though.

Outkast's fifth studio album might be their best, even though it was always intended to be two solo records. I think that concept is what makes it so strong. Speakerboxxx envokes a constantly moving, thumping, funky/jam feeling. It sticks mostly to hip-hop, but jumps all over the place under that umbrella. There are some club, electro-dance, and early trap beats, and it never feels like any time is wasted. Each performance and feature adds something interesting, and there are some real classic Outkast songs on this side like GhettoMusick, Bowtie, and The Way You Move. Side one is well-rounded and balanced perfectly. Side two is where things get truly genre-bending, with tracks equally at home in pop, R&B, jazz, soul, and funk as they are in hip-hop. Just look at the three most popular tracks - Roses, Prototype, and Hey Ya! There are fewer features here, and Andre 3000 chooses to sing more than rap, which really makes it stand out. The production itself is also more experimental than expected, playing with all sorts of different sonic textures, sampling, and live instruments. Each side of Speakerboxxx/The Love Below explores interesting lyrical themes like parenthood, politics, religion, fame, war, sex, relationships, and philosophy. They're strokes of genius respectively. All in all, this album feels like 2 separate records, but that's what makes it work. Listening to the whole things feels like a testament to why the duo worked so well together. You get the sense that Andre 3000 was always pushing boundaries, while Big Boi kept things grounded and consistent. it's a yin and tang of diverse cohesion and eclectic eccentricity. This is one of the greatest hip hop albums of the 2000s, one of the greatest hip hop albums ever, and possibly the greatest Outkast record (though I still think I prefer ATLiens, somehow). 10/10

Man undrar lite om de någonsin gjorde en annan platta? Alla bangers samlade på en!

Before going in I thought I'd enjoy The Love Below more but it is in fact the opposite!

I played the hell out of these albums when they came out, so much hoping that Outkast would once again rise to the heights they had with Aquemini, and wanting to like them more than I did. I do like it for how much it highlights the differences in Big Boi's and Andre's production styles, but I think ultimately they are better as a duo. Speakerboxxx (3/5) is a little too maximalist to enjoyably listen to the whole thing in one sitting, so I tend to replay Love Below (3.5/5) more often. 3.25/5

I wasn't totally sold on this initially, but it grew on me. I like The Love Below more than Speakerboxxx but both halves are really good. I can't give this a higher rating because it's so long, but it is very good. 3.75/5

An aughts classic

so hype so fun

The production on this album is absolutely stellar. Blends different genres and sounds. Some of my fave tracks: DISC 1 - GhettoMusick - The Way You Move - Bust with Killer Mike's amazing verse - War - Church (mostly for the instrumentals) - Knowing - Flip Flop Rock (love the way Andre goes off) - Reset DISC 2 - The Love Below (Intro) (what a fucking fantastic intro onggggg) - Love Hater - Happy Valentine's Day (the bridge is immaculate) - Prototype - She Lives In My Lap - Roses (banger) - Pink & Blue (holy shit) - Love In War - Dracula's Wedding The features are also sublime; it elevates the features to be on this record rather than them elevating the record... if that makes sense.

First disc - liked 6 songs. GhettoMusick is a banger. Second disc - liked 6 songs but wasn't paying attention in the middle section.

Real cool

Thought I liked their other albums better I was wrong

Long ass album, 40 songs jesus christ. Not 2pac-nas level but damn was impressive

Muy sorprendido. Pensé que escuchando casi dos horas y media de rap iba a hacer que me quisiera matar, pero nada de eso. Lo disfruté muchísimo y trae unos arreglazos espectaculares.

Lo siento, eso no está al nivel que mínimamente puede dedicarse un segundo de mi vida, se lo dejo a otros...

if you like speakerboxxx check out big boi's first proper solo album.

So. Long.

Ok.

Good album if it’s what you like

This album was too long and I think that if you want me to listen to a 2 hour long album it should be perfect. The good songs were great from this album but there were also a lot of duds.

Hip hop so good even white people can bop to it

Very enjoyable album, or really two albums because the two discs are completely different. The length is tricky but not too tedious because the second disc is so different than the first. I heard this album once many years ago and I didn't remember that Andre's part (The Love Below) isn't even a rap album, like at all. Speakerboxxx is a good solid rap record but I really enjoyed the variety and creativity on Love Below, and of course it has the biggest highlight in Hey Ya! Favorites: Bowtie, Hey Ya!, Roses, Love in War

Solid 3.5. loved the music, but I just can't get into calling women bitches.

É um classico porem acho bem cansativo e muito longo

Love OutKast but this album is extremely mid

Great album. I loved the disc 2 better than the 1st disc though.

Hella long

Pretty amazing

One of the best rap albums ever. Double album, one is Big Boi solo and the other is Andre 3000 solo. Both are fantastic, Roses is one of the greatest songs of all time. There’s a reason this won album of the year

Great album. Not hip-hop fan but loved it !!!

Really fun, great vibes, will listen again!

Two and a quarter hours and all I got from it was Hey Ya! I admit there are good ideas and good songs buried in here but it's self-indulgent to the very edge of reason.

This is a 2 for one artistic special. I would give 4 stars but having 2 albums is just so long for one sitting. I liked having both Rap flavor and then artistic exploration with Andre 3000. I also wasn't expecting Andre’s portion to be a love centered album.

Enjoyed this.

I'd give this double-album a 4.5 stars if I could, because I do not feel it reaches its full potential, but it mostly achieves what it seeks out to do, and that is very impressive given the audacity Outkast had to release a double-album with two different approaches on each album from each artist in the group. I am a bigger fan of ATLiens and Aquemini, but their scope was smaller, and they are impressive because of the unique style and the way Outkast created something new and original in the hip-hop space that connected with so many. Stankonia is hard-hitting and has amazing songs on it, as well, but we saw a different side of Outkast with Speakerboxxx and The Love Below that could have been a disaster but instead was something special - and turned out to be a record of their falling apart, as a group. All-in-All I think both of the discs can stand as albums on their own, but they wouldn't be as impressive without the other on the other side.

Despite having owned this on CD when it released in 2003, I never listened to the whole double album in its entirety. I’ll say right off the bat that albums like this make me wish I had more time to listen. This one is large enough and interesting enough that it could definitely benefit from multiple listens. There’s a lot to digest here. There are quite a few musically and lyrically interesting ideas to parse, and I’d love to spend some more time with it. This is definitely outside the realm of my usual favorites, but there was a lot that I enjoyed. Very progressive and jazzy, blending elements of numerous genres in a unique and groundbreaking way.

After only knowing "Hey ya", my expectation were really, really low for this album. Gladly, I was wrong and there are a few songs that are solid, but 2.25h was too long! it took me a while to be able to sit through the whole thing, and while I liked a couple of songs, I'll never get back to this album :)

i’m gonna be so honest that i didn’t listen to all of it but hope to at some point. it’s just such a long album and feels not particularly inspired like so much of their other stuff does

You can follow, or lead like Commander Picard etc. I loved the love below, would listen again.

High Quality

Just try not to vibe to it

In addition to the bangers, I loved all the songs I hadn’t heard before. Lots of hard work and genius in this group. Love the unique flow style, especially the frenetic energy.

Some really good songs on here but would’ve enjoyed it a lot more if they edited it down to one single album

Basically two distinct albums. Speakerboxxx is consistently very good, but mostly didn't stand out to me to be honest. The Love Below isn't a hip hop album -- it's also probably got the record's highest highs and lowest lows. Overall, I'd say the album is like a 7/10... but Outkast has better.

Could have made one sweet album instead of two decent ones

Speakerboxxx was somewhat disappointing, but I enjoyed The Love Below. The mixes are better and it kept me more interested in the marathon of an album that this is.

Not for me...

Here’s the thing; I appreciate Andre3000 was a big deal in hip hop and he changed things in a big way, but this music just isn’t for me. I don’t think Andre had white women in their 30s in mind when he made this, and that’s okay! I like his Jazz flute stuff better.

Amazing

There’s some wonderfully produced songs on here I.e the way you move but I have to be honest and say this kind of rap really just doesn’t do it for me. There’s probably a sleuth of lyrics in here I’m missing out on, but the style is off putting and largely unenjoyable. Disc 2 is a stark contrast in a lot of ways. Musically it feels more sophisticated at times even though the motifs tend to be quite bizarre and don’t age well. But in general, it’s not just rap all around that I’m hating on! I’ve listened to some great fucking rap. Take roses, it’s a jam but then you remember it’s about some girls fucking pu$$y… like what. My favorite things remix from sound of music was kinda fun.

Did Outkast ever make an album without a ridiculously fucking long runtime? What is this shit? I get it's a double album and the record label forced them to drop it as a single album, but what were they thinking? Surely you'd cut a bit of the fat off before releasing. This was painful. I always thought I was a fan of OutKast, but their deep cuts suck man. OutKast is just popular because of their hits (which are bangers, no refuting that). Let's be mathematical about this. The Way You Move, Hey Ya!, and Roses, total to 13 minutes and 18 seconds. The entire album is 134 minutes and 49 seconds. That means that 9.7% of the entire record is listenable and genuinely good music, and the other 90.3% is borderline unlistenable slop. Don't even get me started on the interludes and intros. Fuck me, what a slog. I feel bad giving this a 1, because ~10% of this album is great. Ten percent is not a big enough margin to save this album from a 1. If this album was maybe half the length it would save it, but fuck me. I thought I was going to enjoy this more than Stankonia, but that album sucks for other reasons, though length and interludes play a massive factor in my rating here, too. I genuinely struggled with this one, in fact I couldn't even finish it after 6 seperate attempts, with massive breaks in between. Hopefully this is the last OutKast album I have to listen to, because as I've discovered, I am NOT a fan. tldr; insanely overrated early 2000's hits album with runtimes too long and pre/interludes that are either extremely uncomfortable or a complete waste of time and exist for no purpose other than to annoy you

As a 2 and a quarter hour long double album this one is more of a colossal task compared to a lot of albums on this list. Thank goodness Nintendo never got into the record label scene because they’d be splitting this shit in half and selling it off as two like a Pokemon game. That double-sided nature does make this a bit harder to grade, while you could argue it is weighed down in length and by some of its less than stellar tracks you could just as easily say that the amount of quality and quantity here is what solidifies itself as an incredible album in spite of its feature film runtime. I would say for the sake of this review that I lean more towards the latter side of thinking. Speakerboxx is definitely the more traditional hip hop album half with a more cohesive sound while The Love Below is the more experimental (and much hornier, though I guess that comes with the premise) 2nd half which had me worried was going to start missing more than it hit around halfway into its runtime before landing back on its feet near the end. I enjoy both sides for different reasons

Make sure you listen to this as two albums. It’s over two hours long if you go back to back and you WILL wear yourself out. Treating it on that criteria though I would say Speakerboxxx is the stronger album of the two, my personal favourite track being ‘Church’. Seemingly a funkier side with a more upbeat groove. The Love below I enjoyed less, and I found it’s interludes less amusing and more grating. This has the BIG Outkast hits that everyone had heard and it obviously gets points for that, but as an album it is the weaker of the two.

Speakerbox is unironically a 10 but the love below falls off. Still a great album overall 8/10

TWO AND A QUARTER HOURS? I enjoyed Stankonia more than I thought I would but I thought it was overly long Liked the first few songs and perked up when I heard The Way You Move. As the album continued I enjoy myself but I got to thinking, a lot of albums deal with one or two major themes and have a line they stick to. This album feels very much like a big melting pot or mosaic of ideas, themes and styles. The interludes are fun and creative, but after a while this just became a bit full on for me. There are songs here I would return to without a doubt (it's got Hey Ya! and Roses for fuck's sake) but as an album it's a bit much. Probably great to put on at a party or hangout, but who is putting on a whole album at a party instead of a collaborative playlist/jam where the vibe is 'improved' by some really funny, original and tolerable person who puts on Ram Ranch? Also just to reiterate, this album is really fuckin long Highlights: The Way You Move, Bust, War, Tomb of the Boom, The Love Below, Love Hater, Hey Ya!, Roses, My Favorite Things

3 sterne

Somewhere lurking within the two hours of music here, is the basis for a probably half-decent 40 minute album. The basis of one anyway; I’m not sure it’s all there, but there’s at least 20 minutes worth. Clearly an independent producer who could have turned round to the musicians and told them to stop the vanity project would be necessary. And that would be painful and involve hurt egos and tantrums. But the end result might just get 3 stars. As it is, this is full of filler and, at times, excruciatingly bad. Quite how tripe like My Favourite Things was ever allowed to make it on to a final release I have no idea. Whichever record company executive signed off on that deserves shooting. So, other than being far, far too long, painfully bad in quite a few places, what else? Oh yes, lyrics that seem to come from a year 8 music class at times, salted with some fairly unreconstructed misogyny. I almost forgot about that. So, yeah, this is getting a one. There are some OM moments, but as an album it’s honestly one of the worst out together I’ve ever come across.

Okay - a couple of hits that I think are okay. But I just don’t like hiphop enough to want to listen by free will. The Music never touches me the way that other genres do

Favorite Track: Roses

2 étoiles pour le premier album, 4 pour le second, un 3 bien tassé.

album duplo de big boi e andre 3000 hey ya faz parte do album album de hiphop mais vendido dos eua nao eh muito meu estilo de musica mas gostei bastante 4/5

6/10 Too long. No shortage of ideas at least. Speakerboxx was easily the more interesting half, despite Hey Ya. Highlights: Hey Ya Roses Unhappy GhettoMusick Church

This is just too long. Definitely preferred The Love Below over Speakerboxxx. Favourites: The Rooster, Church, Reset // Love Hater, Spread, Prototype, Hey Ya!, Roses

Not my thing

Sie sind auch gut, weil sie selbstironisch bleiben.

Such a cool and diverse album. Really should have listened to it sooner! Andre took more chances musically but big boi was more consistent.

I'm really not sure what this is... Very strange. Although there are several familiar songs that I did enjoy.

It was good to give Speakerboxxx a shot. I always stuck with The Love Below but Speakerboxxx seems to be a solid Atlanta hip hop record and I liked it. The Love Below was, as ever, marvellous. Soulful and weird and also holding a few bangers. Too many tracks across the two though.

Very interesting album, delivering a massive variety of musical elements like synths, bitty sound and even a fking kid xd. A lot of tracks with geilo vibes!

Damn Killer Mike apearing out of nowhere was a welcome suprise 😳 Really good shit very varied aaaand funny. This shit goated fr fr. Idk what happened on "Bamboo" tho 🤔 also "Tomb of the boom" is lyrically questionable to say the least 😂

Vibed thru most of it, kinda lost me at some points tho(mostly speakerboxx), can tell they were experimenting which is cool but some of them were unfortunately misses. Definitely liked The Love Below more than Speakerboxxx, surprised to see more people prefer Speakerboxxx, but hey different strokes ig…🤷‍♀️ 3.5/5

The Good: Andres 3000! The Bad: a double album… The Ugly: still not sure if the triple x on Speakerboxxx has additional connotations that would ensure for a rated X album. Though I am one who does not like rap… this album was something worth my time. Big Boi surprises with his first couple of tracks, laying down some great sampling, and bringing us rap that excludes the usual references to dicks et al Andre 3000 is just the perfect party host to make you wanna have some fun! Though this is not a double album experience that I will be repeating with frequency, I had a good time listening to it and will, when I remember, repeat it at least one more time the next 12 months 3*

I like mellow music, soulful music and folk music and artist like the limiters and Damian rice and Michael Kiwanuka and Celeste

Love it. Brought back so many memories of my formative years and so many great lyrics.

still kicks ass.. too long tho. from the era of lots of rap "skits"

a outkast damelo siempre

In flip flop rock, he mentioned Commander Picard. At the time the song was released, Picard was a captain. Otherwise, no notes. Also, these guys be horny as hell.

should be a 5 but there are swings and misses and things that pull you out of it could i write poetry to this? y

Another otherwise great (mostly) Hip-Hop album dragged down by skits. Clocking in at over two hours, this is a serious time commitment. Some judicious editing would keep the listener from feeling that the time wasn't wasted on pointless interludes. Otherwise, it's pretty awesome.

This would easily be a 5 star album if all the filler and half of Andre's experiments were cut. As it's presented, I can't go higher than a 3.

Not my genre and I don't get it. What is the purpose of having a duo release two single albums, mash them together into a single "double" album? It's 2 hours long and I want my 2 hours back because it wasn't very good.

Now behind on other albums this is so long, BUT bold move to basically do 2 solo albums, and full of corkers

Some hits, but a bunch of chaff as well

hey ya is an instant classic but the rest is just ok 3/5

Right in the nostalgia. So much creativity across this thing. Only gripes are the numerous interludes and overall length could have used some trimming. Still, some great tracks throughout.

downloaded 3,4,5,7,8,11,16,18&19.

Esta ha sido una escucha exigente, un doble álbum con una duración total de más de dos horas. La verdad es que no le he podido prestar mucha atención a las letras, aunque en general me han parecido buenas. Sobre todo, el famoso tema "Hey Ya!" tiene una letra más profunda de lo que podría parecer, sobre la inevitable caducidad del amor. Musicalmente, tiene momentos muy buenos. El primer álbum es un rap más tradicional, con toques soul y R&B, mientras que el segundo es más pop y experimental. En general, un álbum muy interesante, que me ha hecho apreciar a Outkast más allá de sus temas más populares. Le resto puntuación por su duración excesiva, ya que creo que me podría haber ahorrado la escucha de la mitad de los temas.

Thank God I got this on a Friday. A 2hrs 14min running time is long for a movie. I chopped it in two. There is undeniable brilliance on both sides. I personally liked The Love Below, despite its lurches towards novelty/comedy, more because rhythmic chattering over robot beats just isn't my thing. The problem - with both "albums" - is the lack of editing. Speakerboxxx falls off at Flip Flop Rock; The Love Below around Love in War. Honestly as impressed as I was by Andre 3000's imagination, I found myself praying that the album was over after each track from there to the end. There may be a five-star album among these 40 tracks, but no matter how great some of the material is, if you end up hoping it will end, it ain't a classic.

Just the purest hip-hop good old days

Too long. Knew 3-4 of the songs but too long

Don't like rap music

Speakerboxxx >>> The Love Below

я хорошо отношусь к ауткаст, но идея двойного альбома - по сольнику каждому - хуевая. овер 2часа перенасыщенного музла. все таки ребята заебись дают баланс друг другу. я просто заебался это слушать

I didn't listen the whole album XD it ain't my style, but I think it's pretty good,

Too long

Cool instrumentals and food for thought messages. Liked second half more

I was in middle school when this album came out. Banger then. It just doesn’t hit the same now.

back in my day, this would have been considered a quadruple album. hell, the album itself is divided into two parts… “speakerboxxx” and “the love below”. each part is the length of what would be a traditional double album. it was a slog to get through, being over 130 minutes long. but enjoyable nonetheless the less. could do without the moments of misogyny though. it does seem that they missed an opportunity, though. when guns n’ roses put out use your illusion, they buy it out in two parts because each part was long enough to be a double album. outkast could have gone with this strategy and had way more album sales.

Listened to whole thing and kinda dug it. Needed to be edited down or split into an extra album or two but I guess their way worked well enough.

Great, good mood music

I love both of these albums (more on that in a sec). I love Big Boi's traditional hip-hop (but still with amazing beats and bars) on Speakerboxx, and Andre 3000's funky/soul-y/who-can-even-describe-some-of-it-y of The Love Below. We get hits, we get fantastic B-sides, and we get some of the best stuff from one of the best musical acts that we've ever seen. But if I have one criticism, it's that this was released as a double-album. It's HUGE. It's unwieldy at times. Each disc itself is enormous (19 tracks on Speakerboxxx, 21 on The Love Below). Smashing them both together is not only a long endeavor - over 2 hours, according to Spotify - but it's also jarring when making the transition between them. Playing this on random is a nonstarter. It's a minor quibble though. These albums are both classics.

God is a woman, Andre3000 said it himself. This being essentially 2 albums, one by Big Boi and one by Andre3000 was really interesting. The first half is very much of the more traditional Hip Hop whereas the second half is a little bit more experimental but thats just how their styles were. The songs were great, the interludes were fun, and of course the two huge songs off of this album are classics. But it did leave me with a question (that I did zero research to find the answer) how did they do this album live? did they do it in its entirety? was their portion of their concerts over 2 hours long? many questions

Started out pretty eh for me, but around when The Rooster came on I realized I was bopping to it without even thinking about it. Killer Mike's entry on Bust was a delight. However, but the time I had made it into disc 2 I was getting bored, redeemed to some degree by Hey Ya! both otherwise I was fully "done" with this before its substantial play length had finished and had to start skipping.

Classic

Not for me

Love em. Hate em.

- Right, so it's a double album, the first made by Big Boi, and the second by Andre 3000 - I can't say it was the easiest album to listen to, because it was so long, I really needed 2 sessions to get through it, listening to each one - Speakerboxxx was a good hip-hop album, I really did enjoy the themes he was illustrating throughout the record, and the beats were pretty dope, though I wasn't as moved by the sampling, which for me has always been an issue with Outkast - The Love Below was slightly unexpected, it was more of a funk, soul, jazz album, and shows Andre 3000's artistry and daring to move outside of his comfort zone - Roses really smell like poo-oo-oo.

A bloated journey. There are some incredible moments in here but my god it's just so much to package together. Some of the most genre defying and iconic songs ever composed, sandwiched between musical waste. 3/5

This album is frustrating because it really highlights why these two people need each other. Can't help but feel that there is a good to Great single album stretched out over a double album

I liked this a lot more than I thought I would!

This is one of the records I only got to know because of the project. 'Hey Ya!' and 'Prototype' were the ones I knew before, and because of that, I always wanted to know what else OutKast had to offer. I'm glad to see my expectations were met.

The final OutKast moment. The cool thing is to tell you how Speakerboxxx is the better of the two. They're both great. A modern classic.

Speakerboxxx/The Love Below is longer than most films these days. Each disc could be its own independent album--and in fact, I treated this as such because each had their distinct styles. I was concerned because, well, can Outkast have an original, unrepetitive 2 hours and 15 minutes? I'm happy to report that Speakerboxxx and The Love Below are varied despite their long length. And damn so many of these songs SLAP 21 years later! I think what makes this album so different is the variety of genres. It's hip hop, but it's soul and jazz and a hell of a lot of fun. Also, I noticed a lot of Prince inspiration, and that should mean a lot coming from a Prince aficionado. At times André 3000 used a very Prince-esque voice, and I knew it had to be intentional.

I found it fascinating that this double album from Outkast was initially conceptualized as a separate album for each part of the duo, before ultimately being reworked into a double album for the duo. Speakerboxxx is comprised mostly of Big Boi's material, where The Love Below is predominantly Andre 3000's work. They individually bring different things to the table and it's interesting and fun to hear those at play on separate ends of this double album. While I feel like the individual stylings of both Big Boi and Andre 3000 are able to shine on their respective parts of the double album, they and their production team also managed to find a way to marry all of the stylings together in order to create a cohesive Outkast double album experience. The balancing act that is struck between showing Outkast individually AND as a funky hip-hop duo is quite impressive. While I would say all of the genres blend pretty well in this double album, if I had to try to distinguish between the main sounds on each part, Speakerboxxx seems to lean more in the direction of hip-hop where The Love Below leans toward funk/jazz/soul. I liked this album okay, maybe not quite as much as I thought I would. But I definitely feel like its a worthy inclusion. Outkast redefined the musical spaces that they touched, and their work is excellent and provocative.

Not my genre

7/10

the second album was so much better. both grrovy doe. loved da interludes and such

Pretty good. Lots of hits but hate the dumb skits.

To call this album bloated would be an understatement. Okay technically it’s two solo albums under the Outkast moniker, but still. This thing is two hours and fifteen minutes long! I am an Outkast fan but even for me it was too much. Don’t get me wrong there’s a lot of great stuff on here, Hey Ya is one of my all time favorite songs. There’s also a thousand skits, and a lot of songs that could’ve gone on some sort of special edition rerelease. What I’m saying is a lot of these songs should have been B-Sides and outtakes. If they cut a lot of it, got it don to an hour of the best songs this could be a classic five star album. As it is I’m giving it three, there are songs I’ll return to but I don’t see myself listening to it in full ever again.

Andre 3000 is up there with Prince, McCartney, Bush, Byrne, Simone etc. Proper genius. Big Boi does his best.

Awesome album. It carries real nostalgia with me and the better parts of school days.

Difficult to review this "double album" in a summary as the style of each one is very contrasting. Speakerbox is typical southern Hip Hop and despite its age now being 25 years old (wow!) still sounds fresh with many stand out's. - The Way You Move" an absolute classic hip hop tune with a real sweet jazzy chorus. Meanwhile The Love Below "part" of the album oozes funky vibes and of course "Hey Ya" going on to massive commercial success - now listen to Take of Your Cool featuring Nora Jones- big shift in style, "Prototype" released as a single is an excellent song, yet strangely flopped. Happy Valentines Day is absolutely riddled with funk! Both Big Boi and Andre 3000 excellent artists in their own individual rights. Just be wary of playing The Love Below at a dinner party with folk you might not be familiar with, could be awkward when tracks 22, & 25 come on!

While this record is very long, the diversity between Big Boi and Andre 3k's sides of the record keep it from dragging or getting stale. This is a stellar album.

3.5

9/10

i wonder if interlude #6167475 will make this album more interesting

When I first got this album, I listened to The Love Below far more than Speakerboxxx-it feels more coherent and has a better arc as a (stand alone) album. It was nice to do a deeper dive into Speakerboxxx. Both albums have a lot of great stuff on them, but also filler that could be trimmed-I feel like it’s a good example of why these two work so well together (and not as well as stand alone artists). Still, the tracks that are good are really really good, and the filler has good stuff in it.

Love OutKast, but this isn’t their best

This was a tough one to decide on, but I’ve settled on rating this album five stars with an asterisk. The asterisk being this album is too long. The strongest songs on here are so good and so plentiful. It’s bonkers. Is Hey Ya the greatest song released in the 21st century so far?

I had forgotten how fun and ultimately weird this album is. Kinda like the White Album, I’m conflicted about how it should be shorter or if it’s just right. I do think it could be shorter but I also wouldn’t cut anything. Pretty great.

Hey Ya is a masterpiece. I remember the first time I heard the song (on the radio in my mother’s van with her and my sister). I remember how huge it was. It was a topic of conversation for at least a couple of weeks while it was growing in popularity. I remember a friend of mine not knowing what it was, going out to his car to listen in a restaurant parking lot (ah, the good ol’ days), and liking it. OutKast is a great group. Andre has always seemed like the most interesting one. With his flute playing? I listened to that album. It was pretty good. I actually think, overall, Speakerboxxx is the stronger album here. Who knew! I was tempted to knock this down a star for being two hours long, but I think an overall 4 is fair. There’s some filler I could do without, but a ton of great stuff.

Solid listen, many interesting tracks with samples, or jazz melodies. I don’t like his voice too much actually now that I think of it, but hey it’s only a 2 hour 15 min long album. 3.5

Love Below is creativity pushed to the max, and Speakerboxx is a fun time

Maybe it’s good, or maybe not, but I do not like hip hop. Tried listening, but no way can I tolerate over 2 hours of this.

Wow that was long

De Basül hets ahgseit: 2 Stunde album - big boss. Und wills so lang gange isch bini ned konstant vom Ahfang bis am Schluss konzentriert drah blibe. Aber das woni ghört han het mer richtig guet gfalle und han das Album schomal zwüsche-glaageret zums mal nomal fürezhole und nomal inezlose. Für Jede Advent gits en puento rapido Schöne J.C. Geburi eu allne <3

Heeeey heya heeeyaaa Leider keis vo dene albe wo ich mag vu outcast. Han hüt mal usnahmswiis frei gha, und ha mich gar nöd chöne demit abfinde das albummm z lose. Weder zum chille, nah zum staubsuugeee.

uiuiui jetzt packeds eifach d'hip hop perlene us eis vo de wenige outkast albe woni noni glost han… intressants konzept mit de kombi vo 2 soloalbe, en wildi und fast chli langi achterbahn wo eim zwüscheziitlich fast chli trümmlig wird (wüki nume fast) aber ah vereinzelte kurve trifft mer en bekannte banger ah, judihui da hebi gern d'händ id luft de big boi hed mi usnahmswiis mal meh überzügt als de andré 3k, bravo grosse bueb und bravo andré drüütusig für s'lustigste interlude woni jemals ghört ha (good day, good sir) chund minere meinig allerdings nöd ah "ATLiens", "Aquemini" und "Stankonia" ane (alli 5*) und bechund daher nur vier gschüttleti polaroids über aber cha mer öpper glich chli zucker uslehne?

Listened to this hundred of times in high school and college. Still just as good as it was then.

Disliked the skits and a lot of the interludes. I went into it only knowing the singles that came from this album, but I've found another couple bangers. However, once I realized that the album was over two hours long, I checked out.

Somehow this album doesn’t really get boring over its 2+ hour runtime. Part of that is the fact it’s actually 2 albums combined, but also it’s just insanely inventive and unique. Speakerboxxx is a really solid hip hop album with some amazing instrumentation. The Love Below is hard to define and kinda fucking weird, but enjoyable. Definitely the less consistent of the 2 but has the best single tracks. Hey Ya is probably up there with my all time fave songs.

Very surprised how much I liked it. Went in thinking I wouldn’t like it cause of the genre, but it was very good. And I’ve heard “Hey Ya!” in the past, but never knew the song name and artist.

Rap’s White Album, arguably. Sprawling, silly, sly—an incredible listen.

First and foremost, this album is too long. But it is really good. I think i like Speakerboxx more than The Love Below. That southern hip hop style from big boy is so good. And Andres jazzy side is good too, just a different mood to listen to

Not for me thanks

Playing this from CD is so superior to streaming on sonos. Super funky - slightly lyrically dubious and not to be played in front of the kids.

Amazing in many parts but really two albums, not one. There is one five star album in here and two 3.75 albums.

Well, much like "69 Love Songs" this "album" definitely pushes the boundaries of my tolerance and willingness to listen through without giving up. And a shame, too, given that this is really two very different albums, with "The Love Below" more interesting musically and "Speakerboxxx" *much* more interesting lyrically. But I'm sure there are going to be more of these outliers, so at least this one's behind me. I'm not really familiar with Outkast or their solo artists (although I've definitely heard both "The way you move" and "Hey ya!" a *lot* on the radio long ago), so I don't have a sense how different this is than their previous music (and interesting that it seems this was effectively their last album given all the accolades). "Speakerboxxx" is an intriguing album, largely because it becomes more interesting as you get further into it. It's well-produced, and an impressive range of topics that extend well beyond sex, drugs, violence and self-promotion. After hearing the whole "album", though, I'm not sure I could really identify a lot of specific tracks to call out. I did enjoy the FedUp-driver video for "GhettoMusick" (and kind of wondered just how boring that song would be without the video playing too), as well the Stevie-Wonder-esque "Church" and "Knowing". I can certainly see why some people describe "The Love Below" as a long-lost Prince album (although there are aspects of Parliament too). It's definitely a weird contrast to "Speakerboxxx", and entertaining in its own offbeat way, although I'm not sure it would have fared all that well as its own album. But then of course there's those somewhat few and far between hits on the album that seem almost out of place, like "Hey ya!" (and its incredible flamboyant video) and "Prototype" (although I'm not sure it made it far as a single), and a few other songs that are entertaining in a somewhat superficial way (like "Happy Valentine's Day" and "Behold a lady" and "Dracula's wedding" (with a great lyric video)). But you have to give him credit for putting it all out there. If this "album" was under an hour, I might have boosted its rating. But 2-1/4 hours is *way* too much for anyone but a rabid fan.

There's a really good album buried in here somewhere, as well as a really bad album. Best tracks are Hey Ya and Favorite Things.

Not really my genre of music but it had some pretty enjoyable songs. Or at least the songs did have whole sections I liked

I’ve heard Speakerboxxx/The Love Below before, but this listen gave me a new appreciation for it, especially Speakerboxxx. The songs are expertly crafted, and Big Boi’s performance is a masterclass in rhythm. His delivery is sharp, percussive, and almost instrument-like in its precision, blending seamlessly with the vibrant, groove-heavy production. The tracks on Speakerboxxx exude energy and confidence, making for a consistently engaging and fun listen. This is the kind of hip hop that really resonates with me—clever, dynamic, and endlessly enjoyable. The Love Below, however, feels more hit-and-miss. Andre 3000’s willingness to experiment is admirable, but it comes at the expense of the sharp lyricism and intricate rapping that made him a legend. It’s like watching Michael Jordan play baseball—while he’s undeniably talented, you can’t help but wish he’d stick to what he does best. That said, Andre is incredibly versatile, and when his experiments work, they shine. Tracks like Hey Ya are undeniable pop masterpieces that showcase his creativity and charisma. Ultimately, while I admire the ambition of The Love Below, it doesn’t connect with me as consistently as Speakerboxxx. Even so, I appreciate the boundary-pushing nature of the album as a whole. Standout Tracks: The Rooster / Hey Ya Score: 3/5

Me no like

So similar to Houmous & Chutney’s double album, Houmous/Chutney. Equally as long. Equally as anxiety inducing but with some absolute bangers here and there. The most tracks from any of our albums that ended up on our best of. The Best of Houmous & Chutney. 3.1

There are some songs on this album (albums?) that I really, really enjoy. And then the rest of it I don't care much at all. The skits feel like a huge waste of time and take you out of the mood. Overall a 3, because the great songs are still great. Seriously, how is Hey Ya! so catchy still?

It was alright

Five stars for Speakerboxx, which is a dang near perfect piece of art. Two and a half stars for The Love Below, which is a tedious slog with a couple of gems on it. Rounding up to four stars because it's Outkast, and their classic Stankonia (an easy five star album) isn't on this list.

My second time listening to this record. First was when I listened to the Rolling Stone 500. Form my memory I enjoyed it more the first go around. There is a lot of interesting stuff on there. I just didn’t connect with it this go around.

kind of brain-altering! speakerboxxx in particular is almost more impressive because despite hewing so much closer to the then-current popular vision of hiphop but still sneaking in all these wild structural ideas and cool production...really meaty glitzy wonderful stuff. still i wont pretend i dont understand why love below tends to be most people's big takeaway...the prince comparisons are more then earned across all the deeply felt eclecticism , certainly proves andre beyond being an all-time rapper is just an overall Artistic Visionary. kind of crazy to pair these records up not just for their differences but for how dense and rich they both are...kind of impossible to take all at once lol but clearly loaded with treasure, and honestly even the overwhelmed feeling of Drowning in the tracklist is its own interesting experience

Not my cup of tea

Has the potential to be a great album, with lots of variety and great tracks. However there's a ton of filler and unnecessary interludes, and, at well over two hours in length, the album is far too long to thoroughly enjoy. 3 stars.

this was interesting. two solo albums smashed together under the outkast brand. both were enjoyable but the format really detracted here. the transition between big boi's album and andre's album was jarring even though i knew to expect it. it was also incredibly long, coming in at just under 2 hours 15 minutes.

Perushyvä ja aivan liian pitkä levy yhdeltä istumalta kuunteluun.

Keskiverron rapalbumi

Amazing

I know you like to think your shit done stink and this doesn’t

Skipped through this one in a hurry. Life is too short to listen to bad music.

Hey Ya! Listen to this!

Love this album though it is incredibly long. Funny, hardcore at times, groovy, gentle. Incredibly creative with amazing guests. God is probably my favorite track.

On its surface and from a musical perspective, I found each track to be uniquely disjointed and not always in a good way. Some tracks switch tempos at awkward intervals while others play straight through swapping vocals. I found Speakerboxxx to be be much too long. Each song plays like a novel within itself and true appreciations of the deeper meanings within the album require multiple listens. I'm talking days, not hours. (Also, Rosario Dawson?) Based on the length of this album and the time it was released, I think this was perfect for the time it existed. These days, we're overwhelmed with information and choices, we're spread thin more individualized and opinionated and have short attention spans. Though there's some good stuff but there's nothing that makes me want to pay attention to it. For this album to exist today, it would need to slap me in the face and irritate me or someone I decided I don't like. It would have to take sides, make some egregious declaration and alienate someone. But mostly it would need to be much (much) shorter.

“Aquemini” should have been the second Outkast album on the list. That said, “The Way You Move” and “Hey Ya!” are hot yet approachable jams, and I understand why they are probably Outkast’s most famous and enduring songs. But there were 22 tracks between those 2! And another 12 after. This massive double album is fine as a concept, but just overkill in execution no matter how many interludes you have.

I know it's long but more of a good thing is a good thing.

“Skimming” the album to solidify my opinions took 30 min and there in lies the key issue keeping this album from the top. It’s really long. Is that a deal breaker? No, but the lengthier the album, the higher the level must be raised to keep a higher rating. I have rated a 3+ hour album (Ella Fitzgerald’s The Gershwin Songbook) five stars. But the level for that length has to be consistently elite. 40 songs are a bunch and not enough are elite. I like every song on this double album at least. That’s an accomplishment right there. Big Boi and Andre 3000 are both very talented. I think there are more excellent songs than just Hey Ya! and The Way You Move. Compared against hip hop, this album is as precedent setting as any other. It deserves to be held high.

It’s overstuffed and definitely bloated, but the sheer creativity and ideas explored make it an interesting sound album

I'm not a fan of hip hop or rap so it was destined to fail for me

Some killer, too much filler.

Speakerboxxx: 3/5. All around solid, not very exciting hip hop tracks, with two or three notable exceptions. But even the many prominent features can't really elevate the album. The Love Below: Definitely more experimental and artsy, leading to more surprises and standout tracks. In positive and negative. Though, the positives clearly outweigh the negatives. "Prototype" to "Good Day, Good Sir" is a joyride. The rest is somewhere in between okay, forgettable, and annoying. 3.5/5

Closest to a 5 star album I’ve listened to so far on this list.

Two solo albums as a double album. The second disc is the better one.

This is a tough one - I liked Speakerboxxx more, although there’s a lot of misogyny throughout it. The Love Below got better as it went along - but it was a bear to get through. Hard to see me going back to do a relisten to this entire double album again.

This album is incredibly long. That being said, I never really got tired of it. Even after almost 40 tracks. There were lots of great songs on here and just overall well produced and created.

Meh

erm... where's the flutes????/? 40 track long testament to the talent of outkast. each member can stand on their own and make captivating hour+ long albums. This album is such a feat and its fucking crazy to listen too. I don't love every songs but its still and impressive body of work nonetheless. Speakerboxxx is super good, feels like standard outkast album. The love below is so fucking crazy, i wish andre 3000 would make another experimental soul funk album its so damn good. Hey Ya still gives me chills to this day, 11/10 song. saw a review on here that says "very bad, black music lost its way a long time ago" fucking crazy. i feel like ppl are really harsh on rap album on this site tbh. the reviews on this album in general are strange when comparing them to rym. ig these are just regular music listener takes rather than chronically online music snobs. either way THIS being the fall of black music is a crazy take. that guy would disintegrate if he ever heard a hi-c song (not that hi-c is fall of black music fucking love hi-c, praying High the Lon35tarr gets added to the 1001 albums in the next edition).

Desperately needed some editing, would make a great single album

Modern classic!

I liked the music, no dull moments. It is long though.

Preferred Speakerbox

Double albums need to be good for this list because the time commitment can be hard, but this was well worth the time. I've only heard a couple of these songs, specifically Hey Ya and The Way You Move, but there was so much here I liked. It's funky, musically adventerous, and the raps are fast and furious. Also a ton of guest appearances. I liked Speakerboxx more than The Love Below, with my favorite track being The Rooster, it's just such an addictive backing track. Also, Outkast might be one of the best hook writers out there, so many great ones.

Not for me… not at all.

If you have an album with 40 tracks, there’s something wrong with you. I don’t care if it’s two albums. Release them seperately 😭

Some of this is okay but it is just too long to keep me interested. 2 stars or D+.

Most of the deep cuts in Disc 1 were forgettable except for Reset and Last Call. The album only really starts to pick up (and become steamier) in Disc 2. I loved Love Hater and Love in War. Hey Ya is always a bop.

Fun in sections but goes on way too long.

## In-Depth Review of *Speakerboxxx/The Love Below* by OutKast *Speakerboxxx/The Love Below*, released in 2003, is a landmark double album by the hip-hop duo OutKast, consisting of two distinct solo projects: Big Boi's *Speakerboxxx* and André 3000's *The Love Below*. This ambitious work showcases their individual artistic visions while maintaining the innovative spirit that has defined their career. The album not only achieved commercial success but also left a lasting impact on music, influencing countless artists across genres. This review delves into the lyrics, music, production, themes, and influence of the album, alongside its pros and cons. ### Lyrics ****Big Boi's *Speakerboxxx*** Big Boi's lyrics in *Speakerboxxx* are characterized by their sharp wit and social commentary. He explores themes such as: - **Social Issues**: Tracks like "GhettoMusick" address urban life and struggle, reflecting on the realities faced by those in disadvantaged communities. - **Personal Experiences**: Songs such as "Unhappy" delve into personal struggles and relationships, showcasing vulnerability alongside bravado. - **Philosophical Undertones**: Big Boi often infuses his verses with philosophical musings, particularly evident in tracks like "War," where he contemplates societal conflicts. ****André 3000's *The Love Below*** Conversely, André 3000's *The Love Below* presents a more introspective and experimental lyrical approach. Key themes include: - **Love and Relationships**: The album is replete with explorations of love's complexities, as seen in tracks like "Hey Ya!" and "Prototype," where he navigates both romantic highs and lows. - **Self-Reflection**: André's lyrics often reflect on his identity and personal growth, particularly in songs like "Love Hater," where he grapples with fame and self-worth. - **Humor and Quirkiness**: His unique style incorporates humor and whimsy, making tracks like "Happy Valentine's Day" memorable for their playful yet poignant observations. ### Music ****Musical Styles**** *Speakerboxxx* is rooted in Southern hip-hop with influences from funk and soul. Big Boi’s side features: - **Heavy Bass Lines**: Tracks like "GhettoMusick" exemplify the bass-heavy production typical of Southern rap. - **Funky Horn Arrangements**: Songs such as "Bowtie" incorporate vibrant horn sections that add depth to the sound. In contrast, *The Love Below* ventures into diverse genres: - **Eclectic Fusion**: André blends elements of jazz, funk, pop, and rock. For example, "Hey Ya!" combines a catchy pop sensibility with funk grooves. - **Experimental Soundscapes**: The production features unconventional sounds and arrangements, particularly in tracks like "Take Off Your Cool," which showcases a smooth jazz influence. ### Production ****Production Techniques**** Both albums exhibit high production quality but differ significantly in style: - **Big Boi’s Production on *Speakerboxxx***: Big Boi collaborated with multiple producers (including Mr. DJ) to create a cohesive sound that emphasizes rhythm and lyrical delivery. The production is characterized by its energetic beats and melodic hooks. - **André 3000’s Production on *The Love Below***: André took full creative control over his disc, crafting a sound that is more experimental. He employs a wide range of instruments and effects, creating lush soundscapes that complement his lyrical themes. ### Themes ****Exploration of Duality**** The overarching theme of *Speakerboxxx/The Love Below* is duality—reflecting the contrasting styles and perspectives of Big Boi and André 3000. This duality manifests in several ways: - **Artistic Expression**: The album serves as a showcase for both artists’ unique talents—Big Boi’s grounded approach versus André’s avant-garde tendencies. - **Cultural Commentary**: Both discs comment on different aspects of life—Big Boi focuses on societal issues while André delves into personal relationships. ### Influence *Speakerboxxx/The Love Below* has had a profound influence on music since its release: - **Genre-Blending**: The album’s success paved the way for future artists to experiment across genres. It has been cited as an influence on works by artists such as Frank Ocean, Tyler, The Creator, and Childish Gambino. - **Mainstream Acceptance of Experimental Hip-Hop**: By achieving commercial success while pushing musical boundaries, OutKast challenged the norms of hip-hop at the time, encouraging other artists to explore their creativity without fear of commercial backlash. ### Pros and Cons ****Pros**** - **Innovative Sound**: The album breaks new ground by blending various genres, making it accessible to a wider audience while retaining artistic integrity. - **Lyrical Depth**: Both Big Boi and André 3000 deliver thought-provoking lyrics that resonate with listeners on multiple levels. - **Cultural Impact**: The album redefined expectations for hip-hop albums and influenced a generation of musicians across genres. ****Cons**** - **Divergent Styles May Alienate Some Fans**: While the duality is a strength for many listeners, some fans may prefer one artist's style over the other, leading to mixed feelings about the overall cohesion of the album. - **Lengthy Runtime**: At 135 minutes with 40 tracks (including interludes), some listeners may find the album overwhelming or feel that it could have benefited from tighter editing. ### Conclusion In summary, *Speakerboxxx/The Love Below* stands as a monumental achievement in hip-hop history. Its innovative approach to music production, lyrical depth, thematic exploration of love and society, and significant cultural impact solidify its status as a classic. While it may not be universally appealing due to its length and divergent styles, its influence on subsequent generations of artists cannot be overstated. OutKast’s willingness to push boundaries has left an indelible mark on music that continues to inspire creativity today.

No, I don't get it. Again just absolutely annoying. A couple good songs but listening to this as whole makes me want to jam pencils in my ears. And it's about an hour and a half too long

It’s ok, not a must listen in my opinion

I’m not a fan of most of the lyrics.

Never saw the allure. I like it and all. But I dunno.

Oh hells yeah!

A revolutionary concept for an album at its time, and could only be pulled off by this eclectic duo known as Outkast. Before this record, we knew Outkast as a funky, smooth southern Hip Hop feel, but this release allowed them to showcase their individuality while retaining their harmony as a duo. The sounds are, to this day, distinct and sets itself apart. The cadence of both Big Boi and Andre will never be replicated and they know how to keep the attention of the listener. This record is an absolute classic in the timeline of Hip Hop and it's no surprise that it has stood the test of time after two decades.

Great groupd and great album. This came out when I was 15 and I still remember a lot of the music videos on MTV. Multiple songs are on my playlists to this day. Seeing it as todays album make me smile widely and listen through it yet again.

Another one I've heard before! This is an odd album, because it's basically two solo albums combined into a double album, with each member taking creative control of one half. It's not bad. I tend to prefer the Andre 3000 half, especially musically, but Big Boi has some good lyricism and beats on his end, too.

01) Intro - / 02) GhettoMusick - 8,0 03) Unhappy - 9,0 04) Bowtie - 8,0 05) The Way You Move - 10,0 06) The Rooster - 8,5 07) Bust - 8,0 08) War - 7,5 09) Church - 8,0 10) Bamboo (Interlude) - / 11) Tomb of the Boom - 7,5 12) E-Mac (Interlude) - / 13) Knowing - 7,5 14) Flip Flop Rock - 8,0 15) Interlude - / 16) Reset - 8,5 17) D-Boi (Interlude) - / 18) Last Call - 8,0 19) Bowtie (Postlude) - / 20) The Love Below (Intro) - / 21) Love Hater - 7,5 22) God (Interlude) - / 23) Happy Valentine's Day - 7,0 24) Spread - 7,0 25) Where Are My Panties? (Interlude) - / 26) Prototype - 8,5 27) She Lives in My Lap - 8,0 28) Hey Ya! - 10,0 29) Roses - 10,0 30) Good Day, Good Sir (Interlude) - / 31) Behold a Lady - 7,5 32) Pink & Blue - 7,0 33) Love in War - 7,5 34) She's Alive - 7,0 35) Dracula's Wedding - 7,5 36) The Letter - / 37) My Favorite Things - 6,5 38) Take Off Your Cool - 7,0 39) Vibrate - 7,5 40) A Life in the Day of Benjamin André (Incomplete) - 7,5 TOTAL: 7,91 (79/100) Current ranking: 139/368 Although "The Love Below" has two of my favorite songs on this double album, I ended up liking "Speakerboxxx" a lot more. For me, "Roses" is definitely the best out of the 40 songs on the album(s). Even though I hate double albums, knowing that these are essentially two solo albums justifies that fact. Although it was not easy to listen to OutKast for 135 minutes, this is a solid four stars.

Tough one to rate. It's a double album and it's LONG (2 hours 15 minutes). I think consolidating some of the filler down and just having one album would've been a great idea. There are some awesome songs on here (including maybe the best song of the 2000s in Hey Ya!) but there are 40 to choose from. 7/10 (3.5/5)

Good album with lots of different sounds. I see there's a strong jazz influence along with soul and r&b. Favorites were Unhappy and Reset. Probably didn't need to be a 2 disc album but good nonetheless.

Some good ones in there.

Truth be told, I've always preferred Speakerboxxx to The Love Below, which despite having the the hit singles and some truly great moments, is way too long, pretentious, and with plenty of mediocre filler. The world did not need to hear "Where Are My Panties?" or "She's Alive". If Aquemini or Stankonia is a 5, then Speakerboxxx is a 4 and Love Below a 3.

It's nice to have some rap/pop after all that rock, but I don't know if I ever gonna hear that again.

Yes every time

Unlistenable

love some of the hits but this is no aqemini or stankonia or even ATLiens. good tho

Two solo albums in a OutKast trenchcoat masquerading (unsuccessfully) as a single cohesive mass. It's a very long album, but ultimately it's pretty good still Standouts Bowtie Hey Ya! Roses ?/5

too long

A very funny first album (along with busted) for a 9 year old who thought every track would be like hey ya to have. But it is very solid, Speakerboxxx is better but TLB has the better tracks.

Surprisingly well produced and some funny skits. I feel like rap album skits are of a bygone era.

Shockingly good. Weird formatting choices aside, each very different album is worth your time. It won’t be hard to guess which album is by the guy who only does flute material these days.

Speakerboxxx: absolutely slaps. So many bangers, love the brass, the trap drums, the features. It's a bouncing, bopping, fun, and unapologetically Southern rap album. Best Track: Flip Flop Rock Worst Track: Reset The Love Below: I think a great example of when 'concept' takes precedence over 'album', and when trying to make an album into a narrative can actually harm the flow of it as a musical artefact. There are some banger tunes on this, but it's a shame that it doesn't come together all that well. Hey Ya is a miracle of a song, truly earth-shattering - the rest of the album, not so much. Best Track: Hey Ya! Worst Track: Where Are My Panties?

Best Song: Hey Ya! Worst Song: Am I allowed to say every single interlude on The Love Below half

Quite a bit of filler tracks, but the good ones are truly great

Surprisingly very nice with its different types of songs. Really good.

A lot of good music here but just too much filler. They should have pruned some of these songs and skits to make it one solid Outkast album instead of two solo albums. I like The Love Below better than Speakerboxxx and I lean more towards Andre 3000 over Big Boi, but I think they compliment each other well. Outkast keeps Andre from going too flutey and Big Boi from going too Ludacrissy.

Came to this with a bad outlook but its better than expected. Everytime they sang ~speakerbox~ was fun. Ok the vibe change between sides? Oh yea we know Hey Ya!

Real groovy, I like. It was pretty long but didn't get bored

Way, way, way, way too long. They are not good enough to give themselves 2 hours. Some bangers but lucky to get a 3 on balance.

It’s a project that’s a little too long for my liking, but it doesn’t disappoint. Both records are pretty solid and I had an equal enjoyment for both of them. Speakerboxxx - Favorite track: The Way You Move || The Love Below - Favorite track: Hey Ya

It's ok, not my kinda thing but ok. High 2.

Nice but bit weird. Some bangers, some flops

===< PART 1/2: SPEAKERBOXXX >=== It's hard to not feel bad for the Garfunkels of the world. You know what I mean: the second bananas. The other half of the duo that just don't get no respect — or at least not as much as the guy up front. Of course there's Art Garfunkel, but there's also John Oates, Kyle Gass, Meg White, Luigi Mario, TV's Frank... And lots more I can't even think of right now. They're people whose impact and importance to the group isn't to be undervalued, don't get me wrong. It's just that it's hard to escape shadows as large as the ones they live in. Big Boi is another such person who finds himself in this situation, and it's not hard to see why. Like, Andre 3000 is just... Out there. So much wilder in the stuff he releases. I mean, goodness, just the other year he released an instrumental flute album and everyone went nuts over it. Simply, his stuff is just generally more interesting than Big Boi's, who I've always viewed as the more "traditional rapper" of the group. The guy who brings Andre's energy down to a more reasonable level. An important role, naturally, but not one that's gonna get many eyes on you. So when Big Boi and Andre 3000 dropped their debut solo albums on the same day, I don't think it was a surprise that Big Boi's went pretty overshadowed. His didn't have a pop hit like "Hey Ya!" or "Roses", after all. But, still, let's put that aside and take this thing seriously. On his own, what did Big Boi create? As it turns out: I think calling Big Boi the "traditional rapper of the group" kind of undersells him a little. I don't believe that assessment is entirely wrong; it's certainly way more straight hip hop than I imagine Andre's would be. But this album, if nothing else, makes it clear to me that Big Boi is not just the "grounding factor" of OutKast. At every turn on this album, there's always something interesting going on. The hooks, the beats, the flows, the lyrics... No song sounds too similar to each other, and they're all a blast. All these groovy, funky-ass tunes... Seriously, I can't think of a track here I can say I didn't like. Not all of it blew me away, but more than a fair share of it did, particularly "The Rooster", "War" and "Church". Like, damn. This is some good-ass shit. And it was actually between "The Rooster" and "War" that I realized: this doesn't sound too terribly off from an OutKast record. Some of the odder edges that a true OutKast album would have aren't here, yeah, but a lot of the time I didn't think any of this would sound out of place on one, even with Andre largely being absent. On an initial listen, I'm really feeling a 5 here. Sure, I imagine on subsequent listens, as I get more familiar with it, I'll think I was being too generous and that I shoulda given it a 4, but I'unno, I'm just really impressed here. Without a doubt, it proves my line of thought that Big Boi is just as important to the duo as his partner. Which, I probably didn't really **need** proof of this, and I could've just always assumed this from the beginning, but... Yeah. It's just nice to have proof anyway. And what fine proof it is, goodness. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ( * ) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ===< PART 1/2: THE LOVE BELOW >=== If there's any reason I feel like I keep coming back to OutKast, it's Andre 3000. For some reason, I've always subconsciously attributed everything I like about the group's music to him. To the point where, honestly, in my mind Big Boi can kinda come off like a feature on his own group's songs. Just take "B.O.B." for instance. Andre's verse is masterful, front to back. Flow, energy, wordplay... Mmm, it's so good. Compared to Big Boi's verse, which, like, still has a lot of the flow, but I also consider, like... Kind of weaker overall? Y'know? And I can't even remember what Big Boi did on "Ms. Jackson", to bring up another hit from the same album. And it doesn't help that I also attribute the beats to Andre, too, even if I'm sure someone else actually produced them (as I'm writing this I don't feel like looking it up). Y'know, in short: Andre's the pop maverick; the auteur. And Big Boi's also there. Like, I don't wanna completely undermine him; I get what he adds to the duo. He's the grounding factor that keeps Andre from going fully off the rails. I mean, goodness, you leave him to his own devices for long enough and eventually he'll put out an instrumental flute album after years of nothing. But that's **compelling**, y'know? That's the kinda stuff that really grabs my attention. So, an album that's strictly Andre 3000 should be right up my alley, right? He dropped his solo debut on the same day as Big Boi, and of course Andre's was the bigger hit. It had "Hey Ya!" after all, with all of its wackadoo pop stylings. A pretty depressing song masked as one of the grooviest things of the summer — "Y'all don't wanna hear, you jus' wanna dance" and so on. But I've actually never heard the album in full before now. Like, as much as I like "Hey Ya!" and the stuff he did with OutKast, I guess I was just never enough of a fan to actually wanna check it out in full. Of course, though, that changes today. Let's see what Andre put together when left entirely to his own devices. As it turns out: Prince. I saw a review mentioning that this album sounds a lot like Prince and... I don't think it's 100% accurate (it goes back and forth a bit if I could hear him play it or not), but, yeah, I think that's the quickest way to put it. The album is all of these excursions into psychedelia, progressive soul, jazz, funk... Sometimes multiple at the same time. Sometimes it's smooth, sometimes it's sensual, sometimes it's dance-y, sometimes it's beautiful... It's fascinating. Every new track that comes on is like, "What's he gonna do next?" (I know **I** wasn't expecting a breakbeat take on "My Favorite Things".) It's a selection of songs and sounds where if you're not down to follow Andre wherever he wants to go, you're probably not gonna have a good time. Especially with how some of these run on maybe a bit more than they should? But, hey, I'm happy to let the beat ride sometimes if I'm enjoying myself. And believe me: I was. Y'know, going into this album, I had the thought I'd come out the other side thinking Andre 3000 was a self-indulgent jerk. It seems like having him knocked down a peg would have been a natural arc ending given what I was coming into this with. I mean, I try not to think too highly of "auteurs" these days... But no, no. If anything, my preconceptions are reaffirmed. I don't think I'd go so far as to call him an out-and-out "genius," but damn, if he don't make some good and interesting shit. It's an absolute 5 from me. Downright ice cold music — y'feel me, right? Right? Alright. Alright. Alright. Alright alright alri— ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ( * ) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ===< EPILOGUE >=== Of all of the reviews I'm gonna write for this website, I can't imagine any of them are going to be harder than this one. Which, yeah, it's largely my fault for taking the angle I did: writing reviews of both halves of the album as if they weren't released together and I hadn't heard the other. That's for sure way more work than I really **needed** to put in. Besides, I can just imagine someone going through these reviews and thinking to themselves, "Both of these reviews bring up and repeat points between each other. Like, why did you even bother if they both weren't going to be more different?" And I'm not gonna act like I'm a master writer who pulled this off flawlessly, but simply put: I'm interested in how those points change depending on the perspective they're viewed from. On the one, you got Big Boi and SPEAKERBOXXX as "the other guy in the group"; and on the other, you have Andre 3000 and THE LOVE BELOW as "the maverick auteur." I took this album as a chance for me to hear what each member brings to the duo by listening to what they made when largely separated from each other. On that front, for sure I succeeded. I've a much greater appreciation now for what Big Boi brings to the table, and... Well, jeez, I might actually check out Andre 3000's flute album, let's put it like that. As for if I succeeded in writing good reviews of each album... That's up for you to decide. Either way, the whole album package gets a 5, honestly. I can completely see how, like... These two maybe didn't need to be released together like this? But in pairing them up, it leads to such an engaging and iconic two hours of music that I can't even really complain. I don't think I'd really say it's a better album than STANKONIA — but then, that's an OutKast album. This release is a Big Boi album and an Andre 3000 album. And on that front, as showcases of what they can do... Goodness, I can't imagine it getting better than this.

Speakerboxxx: Some absolutely killer beats and raps from Big Boi and company. 4.5 bumped up to 5. The Love Below: An examination of love and how it can screw with the rest of our emotions almost every time that just so happens to be peak. Solid 5 Stars. Overall, while it is over 2 hours, that time just seems to fly on by while listening, and that's the best compliment you can give for a double album. Solid 5 Stars.

This whole thing is a 5. I’ve always been a little scared to tackle this album; obviously, Hey Ya is the monster hit, but even past that, these are basically just two albums thrown together like a Sonic & Garfield pack for the Sega Genesis. They’re entirely unrelated, and they’re clearly put together just to keep the “OutKast” brand name alive. I wrote down two individual reviews for both Speakerboxx & The Love Below as I was listening; I’ll just copy/paste them both here, and then give a sort of epilogue to the whole thing. For Speakerboxx, that half easily gets a 5. Big Boi is flowing on this half of the record – this could’ve easily stood on its own without being attached to The Love Below, I think. Fantastic production across the board, great verses from everyone involved, and a really fun mix of like, Funkadelic-esque production stylizations with a bit of Outkast flair, naturally evolved from Stankonia, and still feeling extremely modern for 2003. A lot of these beats still go hard as hell in 2024, and any modern rapper could probably flow on a lot of them. I’ve always liked Big Boi’s verses just a little more than Andre’s, and so far, this part of the album is confirming my bias – he is on fire on a lot of these tracks, with his faster flow just more attuned to the upbeat tempo and nature of this part of the album. A lot of these are really fun tracks in terms of subject matter. Of course, there’s not a lot of “serious” moments here, but he does know when to reel it in when the time comes. I’ll say this; it’s a tough fucking act to follow. Andre’s got a lot to beat here – I think this perfectly lined up with my tastes. That’s a stellar album in its own right; I do wish it sort of landed its “ending” a little better, but this is a double package, so hopefully the last track on The Love Below satiates my thirst. When it comes to Speakerboxx, that’s a 5 by itself. I’ve got high, high hopes for Andre, and I hope he doesn’t let me down. For The Love Below, I’m at a 4.5. It’s oh so very close to being a 5 for me, but I just think this album doesn’t do quite enough to hit a fully authentic vibe that he’s trying to capture – he succeeds at hitting the vibe, but there’s a few tracks that go a bit long, a few tracks with some weird production choices, and honestly, just not enough features. If you’re gonna do this sort of Prince throwback style, or try to evoke old Bootsy Collins / Funkadelic type of production at times, bring in some of the people that made it work. With that said, I loved it when he stepped out of that box and did some super unique stuff – there are production tricks on this album that I don’t think mainstream rap & hip-hop really caught up to for at least another 5 or 6 years, unless I’m just deeply ignorant to the early 2000s (and I probably am). Those tracks easily stood out the most to me. Maybe I’m just a little salty because I wanted to hear Andre rap more, but his presence as a rapper is seriously underutilized on this album. That’s not to say his singing is bad; I think his voice contortions are really good, and he's pretty well trained. Sometimes the production covers up any perceived “flaws”, but if there are any, I barely caught them. I think this is a good front to back album, and it certainly has more of a plotline and a sort of A to Z structure than Speakerboxx did. I do think I enjoyed Speakerboxx more, just because Big Boi was flowing and it felt more fun, but this also could have stood on its own as a solo album. It’s a nice high 4.5. So, what does that mean for the entire package? Well, obviously, it’s a 4.75 if you average those out, but it’s an easy, easy roundup to a 5. I don’t think that part was ever in question – what I’m most surprised by, in terms of this double album, is how oddly cohesive it feels even with the blatant split. They complement each other well, and they both bring an individual vibe; the usual ATL bounce from Speakerboxx, and the more thoughtful and introspective stuff from The Love Below. Those vibes together do evoke OutKast to me. In a way, this feels better as a double album under the OutKast branding, if only because I think they would’ve been pigeonholed into these styles if these were released as solo albums. As a whole package though, it does feel like it’s OutKast, and a more individual showcase of the best of their own work. I do wish there was a bit more overlap between Andre and Big Boi across both albums, to keep that cohesion a bit more intact, but I’m just sort of nitpicking at this point. These are two very good solo albums; one gets a 5, the other gets a 4.5, but as a whole package, it’s very easily a 5. Ghettomusick > Hey Ya!, by the way. Fight me.

I mean, Hey Ya can't make an entire Album.

# Playlist Track - Hey Ya # Notes - There are some amazing moments in this! Examples: - The synths in "GhettoMusick" - The jazzy bass in "My Favorite Things" - The groovy guitars in "Happy Valentine's Day" - That being said, the album is way too long and those moments end up spread too thin. - Kinda cool, happy to pick some tracks for my playlists, but not coming back for the entire thing.

Why can’t a single song on this record decide which genre it is?

can't listen to all of it. got enough of it to get a grasp of them. they got a few hits i know but apart from those, there's nothing that would keep me from skipping that band

Great rap album, Quite long but had great variety, definately had some lowlights but the highs make up for it

Aside from the long runtime, which can be a downside, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below hits some incredible highs, even if there are a few lows. The lyricism is on point, as you’d expect from OutKast, and the R&B elements are especially well done. The album covers some strong, engaging themes, making it an interesting listen overall.

Hey Ya and Caroline are still great songs, but the rest of this album was very much not

This is low key just two full albums that are more or less unrelated. This is the 5th of 6 OutKast albums, and clearly they were going separate ways at this point. It sounds like they wanted to release separate solo albums, but their management wanted to capitalize on their recent Grammy win so they did this instead. Fine, but it's two solo albums (with a few songs on each that the other is involved in). As such, it's super long (2 hours 15 minutes total). The first album is Big Boi's Speakerboxxx. This is the more traditional rap album of the two, and it's generally very consistent and enjoyable. I'm into the Southern hip hop things, it's a bit more fun while still hitting on fairly serious themes throughout. "The Way You Move" is the standout for sure, but overall it's really consistent top-to-bottom. The second album is Andre 3000's The Love Below. After hearing the intro song on here I expected to like it much better, but it's a lot more inconsistent. It has two of the most iconic songs of the time period ("Hey Ya!", and "Roses"), but it has some pretty mediocre songs too. The musical style is a bit of a mix of funk, jazz, pop, etc. and it's enjoyable on the whole. It's thematically mostly a love song album, and definitely a bit graphic at times (looking at you "Spread"). Anyway, the back half has the better singles, but the Speakerboxxx half is definitely more of a consistent piece of work. I honestly think I'd give them both 3.5-4 rating, so easy enough. The three iconic songs on here (plus "Take Off Your Cool" which is new to me but great) are enough to round up. This thing sounds pretty "modern" at least compared to other '90s and early '00s rap, but one trap it still falls into is the interludes. I really don't quite get why this was such a big thing, it just basically never does anything for me. Both albums here have it, meh. I also really didn't like the choice of song to end The Love Below, it felt like a bit of a harsh sound to end what was otherwise a pretty fun album. Favorite song: Hey Ya! Other: Unhappy, Bowtie, The Way You Move, The Rooster, Church, Flip Flop Rock, Reset, Last Call, The Love Below (Intro), Love Hater, Prototype, She Lives in My Lap, Roses, Pink & Blue, Dracula's Wedding, Take Off Your Cool, Vibrate 10/30/24

Reminds me of high school

++*: Spread, A Life in the Day of Benjamin André (Incomplete) ++: Intro, GhettoMusick, Unhappy, Bowtie, The Rooster, Church, Flip Flop Rock, Bowtie, The Love Below, Love Hater, God, Happy Valentine's Day, Where Are My Panties, Prototype, She Lives in My Lap, Pink & Blue, She's Alive, Dracula's Wedding, The Letter, My Favorite Things, Take Off Your Cool +: The Way You Move, Bamboo, Tomb of the Boom, Knowing, Reset, D-Boi, Last Call, Roses, Love in War, Vibrate +-: Bust, War, E-Mac, Interlude, Hey Ya!, Behold a Lady -: Good Day, Good Sir 8,2/10

This is one of those albums I never owned but became really familiar with over time since it always seemed like someone nearby was playing it. Overall, it’s a cool album with an interesting concept—each MC takes their own disc in a unique direction, giving a taste of their individual styles. Unfortunately, like a lot of albums I’ve heard over the years, this one has lost some of its appeal just from being overplayed in the past.

DOPE

Not so much an OutKast album as two solo albums packaged as a double album. The division is quite obvious, Big Boi's Speakerboxxx has big beats and solid bars and guests to die for while Andre's The Love Below is mega overindulgence and the first stop on the road that leads to jazz flute albums. Can the two halves equal a whole? For the most part yes, but the amount of skittish interludes on The Love Below pulls it down for me.

Die Banger sind und bleiben natürlich Banger, sonst ganz nett, aber zu lang

Speakerboxxx/The Love Below I had this when it came out, there was a lot of critical acclaim for it, but I struggled to really get into it, aside from the big singles like I Like the Way You Move, Hey Ya! And Roses. I think that’s because It felt very dense with too much going on, particularly The Love Below. Listening now though I can really appreciate it - it still is very dense and there still is a lot going on, but I can see now it's that over the topness that makes it great. I love the feeling that on Andre 3000s disc, he’s just splurged out everything, thrown all his influences and ideas at it, and while it may not always work, the ambition and willingness to go all out is very compelling. That’s no to diminish Speakerboxx though. On the surface it may be more conventional and less schizophrenic than The Love Below, but it’s an excellently constructed, subtly subversive and brilliant sounding record. Lots of recognisable hip hop elements; breakbeats, soul and jazz etc, but imaginatively and kaleidoscopically cut up and put back together to make it a great, energetic fun listen. There are gems of songs and moments scattered throughout, with some great, interesting instrumentation on The Love Below in Particular, the synth line on GhettoMusick, the New Orleans horns and guitar on Bowtie, the cartoonish The Rooster, the vaguely ominous Bust, War, Tomb of the Boom, the organic feel of Knowing, Killer Mike’s cameo on Flip Flop Rock with its skittery percussion, Reste, Last Call, the jazzy Love Hater, Happy Valentine’s Day, the slow jam-ish Prototype She Lives in My Lap, Hey Ya, Roses, the early 80s sparseness of Pink & Blue, the fuzzing synth on Dracula’s Wedding, the country blues-ish of Take Off Your Coat. Great stuff. 135 mins is long, but Speakerboxxx is actually ‘only’ 55 mins or so and doesn’t feel that lengthy, whereas Andre’s is nearly 80 mins, which is essentially a double album itself. And while The Love Below can feel long, it doesn’t feel self indulgent, more like there’s a sense of urgency and an explosion of ideas. And while they aren’t always successful there’s always the feeling that something interesting or a great idea is just around the corner. And that sense I think is what stops the length becoming too much of an issue. Purely musically Speakerboxxx on it’s own is probably a 5 and The Love Below is closer to 4, but the widescreen, open armed, ambition and Beatles-eque sense of imagination and self expression and why not-ness is exciting and intoxicating for me, just about making it a 5 overall. 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹 Playlist submission: GhettoMusick

I kept going back and forth about whether I should do a 4 or 5 star, so I think I would give it 4.5 (rounding up to 5 bc who cares). I really didn't like the first half of The Love Below side, but the songs after the phenomenal Hey Ya were quite good. If I listened to lyrics in music, I probably would have enjoyed it even more.

Not putting myself through the pain of over 2hrs for a hip hop album

fun and wild journey with a lot of charm

Almost all killer, very little filler. But there's enough skips for it to be a 4 for me. I just get annoyed by how many interludes and preludes and outros and skits older hip hop records have, and this is over two hours long so there's a lottt of that. I prefer The Love Below to Speakerboxxx it's way weirder and it's a more cohesive record. If it was just The Love Below I'd rate this a 5, but I still just really like both.

So much here, so much content. There’s a mood for this I’d have coming back to it.

It was okay. Super long though, but good beats. Odd lyrics

At times I felt this should be a 6, but 2h 15m is a long time and not all moments hit the same high for me.

The dichotomy Splits a pair on two art arcs A near last hurrah

Some classics on here. Enjoyed listening to this album again.

Always felt a bit daunted by this album's length. A day isn't long enough to cracking that.

Very nice

4.5

Not a classic

There actually is a more iconic hip hop duo than Big Boi and André 3000. It´s hip hop albums and being waaaaay too long.

I am an Outcast fan. Love it

Largísimo pero no me convence. Supongo que hay algo de valor aquí pero siento que fue una canción muy muy larga que no pude terminar.

More love for OutKast. This album is a crazy mess of talent, momentum and vanity, but its highlights (for me, mostly in the middle of the second half) are high enough that I’ll keep going back, albeit for curated listens. I’d do 3.5 but momentum takes them to a 4

An overflowing, beautiful, messy album created by two artists at their peak. Not everything is gold but overall it is an album I keep returning to as it has aged very well.

Double albums with related but still relatively distinct overarching themes is a rarity these days and is an incredible hip hop album

Mega surprise, HipHop avantgarde bien fun

3.5/5

This is a fun, fun album.

Really good follow up to their debut masterpiece. Its awesome as its very varied and they can deliver diferent styles and tinings and rythyms. These guys way above the curve at this stage and you can tell Andre 3000 is a musical genius. Too long but the jazz and instrumental interludes and songs give you a rest and makes it very pleasing. I was gonna rate it a 3 but tje strong finish took me to the 4

Frustrating opening number with 'Speakerboxx'. Immediately sounds very reminiscent of much newer music - as in, they sound influential, but I really don't like that influence. There's some jazziness to it, though, that might be a bit charming? First impression of the first single, GhettoMusick, is that it is horrible. The genre is alienating to me.

7.5/10. Hip hop is not my cup of tea. This album is over two hours long. Yet, somehow, I did not grow tired of this album while listening to it. It managed to stay fresh throughout its two-hour time-span. I need to give it credit for that. However, I will give it four stars instead of five stars, since I didn't enjoy it the same way I enjoyed the albums that I gave 5 stars. :)

I just don't understand double albums sometimes. Separately they're good, but it makes listening to it all at once a chore. The Love Below was the better of the two. 3/5

Don’t know if I’ve ever been completely on the Gram train, but this album is a solid one. Think it’s more that I’m not the biggest country fan, and still don’t quite get why he’s so important and constantly referenced in rock crit circles.

best album so far, incredible production incredible lyricism incredible messages 10/10

I've heard a lot of Outkast but not this whole album(s). Speakerboxxx was ok but Love Below knocks out our of the park. 4 stars.

Previously rated: #131 - Stankonia (2/5) **************************** Album #565 These album(s) seem to be more mature than Stankonia, though they still have their moments (Roses smell like poo-poo??). I will say the production on this is excellent. Everything sounds really good. The rapping on the first disc isn't quite my style. It's fast without much inflection or character. The second disc is more funk/R&B, sounding more like Prince or Kool & the Gang, but still having hip-hop in it. Hey Ya! is the clear standout track to me, but I also liked what they did with Rogers & Hammerstein's My Favorite Things.

What a throwback! There were some big hits on this album that I'd not heard in so long I enjoyed it overall, but it was way too long. I wasn't a massive fan of the interludes either 4 ⭐️

One of my favourite albums EVER!!!!

Didn’t care for this.

I've never understood why this was so big. I just don't get it. 3

So many great cameos and interesting songs. Didn't realize it was 2 hours but I enjoyed it all! If you don't like this album your heart is cold. How cold? Ice cold.