Outkast’s beloved 2003 double album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below is officially the best-selling rap album of all time.
Over the weekend, it was certified 13x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). That’s more than any Eminem, Jay-Z, 2pac, Biggie, Drake, 50 Cent, Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne or Kendrick Lamar record.
Is it their best album ever? Nah, I’d give that to Aquemini. Is it their most creative and experimental album? Possibly, but Stankonia is pretty close. Are they rapping better than they ever did before? I wouldn’t say that, the way they were spitting on ATLiens and Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik was something special.
So how did it become their most popular record?
My relationship with Outkast
For the record, this is from the perspective of a young lover of hip-hop who wasn’t “there” when Outkast was at their peak. Yes, I was alive. But I wasn’t present to experience the rise and fall of the group from the early 1990s to the mid-2000s.
But since I was blessed to grow up in the age of the internet, it was very easy to learn from hip-hop experts about the most “important” rap artists and albums to listen to. So as my love for the genre materialized, I knew exactly which artists to check out.
I listened to all of the albums from legends such as Nas, Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, 2pac, and Biggie. I checked out the records from underground heroes such as MF DOOM, EL-P, Killer Mike, Roc Marciano, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Blu, Brother Ali, and Aesop Rock. I heard the projects from the most respected and revered groups in rap including Wu-Tang Clan, N.W.A., A Tribe Called Quest, The Roots, Public Enemy, Fugees, Eric B. & Rakim, and naturally, Outkast.
I was a young Black boy from Atlanta, I had no choice. They were the standard by which every Atlanta MC that came after them compared themselves.
As I delved into their discography, I fell in love with their first three albums. They were a perfect example of how a group can grow and evolve in between records. They not only became better rappers and songwriters, but they grew as humans and artists.
The content of their albums changed, and their production evolved and grew with them, almost like a third member of the group. When I got to Stankonia, it was cemented, the hype surrounding Outkast was real. As someone who did not grow up during the “Golden Age” of hip-hop, I’m hesitant to automatically put albums or artists that came from that area in the “legendary” tier just because someone else said so. Although people were saying that Outkast was one of the greatest groups of all time, I needed to hear it myself.
The uniqueness of Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
So as someone who bought into the hype of Outkast and believed they were a perfect group that displayed how two very different MCs could work together and create such beautiful music, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below was a big shock for me.
Double albums were not foreign to me, but for both artists in this group to essentially drop their first solo record and put it together to make a double album was something unique.
This wasn’t like Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx where Ghostface Killah was heavily featured, these were proper solo albums where Andre’s side did not feature Big Boi and Big Boi’s side did not feature Andre.
Initially, I was disappointed. I fell in love with this duo because of how they played off of each other. Their differing styles intrigued me. As Paul Thomspon wrote for The Ringer, one sounded like you might run into them at the club, and the other one on the moon.
Andre 3000 & Big Boi showcase their talents as individuals
But as I listened to the album, I fell in love with each MC individually and less as a group. It made me realize how much each artist was sacrificing to acquiesce to the other’s creative needs.
Andre 3000 had previously played with the idea of pushing the boundaries of what a hip-hop artist is, but on The Love Below, he became the second coming of Prince, taking his funk and experimental sounds to the max. Songs such as “She Lives in My Lap,” “Hey Ya!,” “Pink & Blue” and “She’s Alive” displayed this evolution.
Big Boi took his always-energizing and exhilarating Southern style to another level, doubling down on the sound that made him a star. Songs such as “The Way You Move,” “Bowtie,” “Tomb of the Boom” and “Flip Flop Rock” displayed his ability to not only make a club hit but also rap his ass off.
So while this album in a way signified that the end was near for these two artists as an unstoppable duo (no, I didn’t forget about Idlewild), it also represented how groundbreaking and talented they were as individuals.
It’s hard to imagine now since they haven’t put out a new record in more than a decade, but the fact that these two Atlanta legends who could’ve become stars as individuals, came together to create something even more special.