I have been waiting since ‘ATLiens’ came out for a follow up. I know it was only their second but I never really listened much to their first. It seemed as if Big Boi and Dre came out with ‘Aquemini’ within minutes after I’d seen it advertised. But its been in the works for a while.

I got really annoyed because when I saw other reviews, for example the review in The Source - 5 mics? And reviews at such places at the Krib (www.krib.com) - 5 stars, I thought to myself now they’ve gone to a stage greater than anything ever. I’m not saying this album isn’t dope, no not in the slightest. But, think of it this way, 5 mics, 10/10, 100% all refers to something that cannot be improved upon. Even though I love this and even though I can’t really think of a way that it could be enhanced, I still don’t think it deserves a flawless mark.

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Outkast are the most unique and most innovative force in Southern hip-hop today. These 2 dope Atlanta boys who love Cadillacs started out with pimped out Southern hip-hop with their debut album “Southernplayaliztikcadillacmuzik” but they slowly changed and evolved through each album. While “ATliens” did show them pushing boundaries, it was not until the almost perfect classic LP “Aquemini” that their extremely unique music and styles took form. They were doing something extremely different. “Stankonia” took the experimentation even further with electronic and jungle beats that were both sloppy and tight at the same time. “B.O.B.”, “Ms. Jackson”, and “So Fresh, So Clean” were huge hits. Every album they did had major hits that earned them tons of radio play and video play. While Big Boi grew up lyrically and delivery-wise, he basically always rapped on his songs (with the exception of a couple of tracks). He always had that “guy next door” vibe. He loved cars, women, strippers, etc. He just happened to be a millionaire and a modern hip-hop legend.

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Yep. Big Boi was right. Everyone is wondering, “are you and Andre still making songs”? Well it appears not, but they do still make albums together. Idlewild is the 6th installment of the OutKast catalog and the second that allowed the artists to do their own thing. Only two songs on the whole album feature both artists, but no complaints on the polarization of OutKast. Although I would like to hear them together welding their two different sounds on a track, this album didn’t disappoint.

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Whenever conversation arises about the future of hip-hop, two extremes are brought up: that obscure avant-garde artists will expand the boundaries for all concerned, or that repetitive crass commercialism will beat the music like a dead horse. The truth is that most of the future hip-hop won’t sound like the sonic experiments of Reaching Quiet or the recycled Puffy redundancy; it will be determined by successful, creative artists. More specifically, the future of hip-hop is Outkast. As universally respected figureheads of the Southern rap renaissance, Big Boi and Andre 3000 are probably hip-hop’s most important group, and ‘Stankonia’ is a fine follow-up in their tradition of diverse and brilliant albums.

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Outkast have been in the game for beyond a decade now! Over the years, they have released five critically acclaimed LPs, including 2003’s “Speakerboxx / The Love Below”, which featured a complete solo disc from both members. Around the release of their third LP, 1998’s “Aquemini”, Dre and Big Boi decided to expand on their names with their very own recording label. Also titled Aquemini, they introduced the world to two of Atlanta’s greatest emcees in Slimm Calhoun (2000’s “Skinny”) and Killer Mike (2003’s “Monster”). They also introduced the world to Sleepy Brown. With Dre moving closer and closer to the big screens of Hollywood, Big Boi has now decided to cut all dealings end all dealings with the title Aquemini!

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ANDRE BENJAMIN SET TO RELEASE CLASS OF 3000: MUSIC VOLUME ONE SOUNDTRACK TO THE ANIMATED SERIES “CLASS OF 3000″

For Immediate Release

New York, NY - The music from the critically praised animated series Class of 3000 has jumped from the TV into your home. Executive produced by Andre “3000″ Benjamin the soundtrack Class of 3000: Music Volume One will be in-stores July 3, 2007.

On the heels of kicking off an eagerly awaited second season of Class of 3000, Andre 3000 Benjamin selected 14 of the songs he exclusively wrote and produced for the show. The songs feature the voices of the kids/characters from the innovative series, including the kids music teacher’s, Sunny Bridges, who borrows his voice from Andre 3000 himself. All the songs were heard throughout the episodes of the highly rated first season of the Cartoon Network original show. Class of 3000, which was created by executive producers Thomas W. Lynch (Romeo!) and Andre “3000″ Benjamin, premiered in November 2006 and quickly won over both critics and the masses alike garnering one of the network’s highest rated original series debut.

Set to the backdrop of Atlanta, Class of 3000 follows international music star Sunny Bridges, voiced by Benjamin, who gave up his flourishing music career to teach a group of gifted musical prodigies at his alma mater, the Westley School for the Performing Arts. New episodes of the series air Thursday at 7 p.m. (ET, PT) on Cartoon Network.

Andre “3000″ Benjamin is known world-wide as one-half of the multi-Grammy winning musical group OutKast. His acting career includes roles in the upcoming feature films Semi-Pro, starring Will Ferrell and Battle in Seattle due out later this year co-starring Charlize Theron. He has also starred in the feature films Idlewild, Four Brothers, Be Cool and Hollywood Homicide. Moxie, his Atlanta-based production company, develops original feature films as well as episodic television.

“Class of 3000 Theme Song”
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“Oh Peanut”
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UGK ft OutKast - International Players Anthem video

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