Aquemini

by OutKast

Overview

Spacey like a voyage on George Clinton's mothership and earthy like Georgia's red-clay soul, Outkast's third album Aquemini established their hometown of Atlanta as the preeminent hip hop Mecca of the late '90s. Rooting their raps in the sound pioneered by production gurus Organized Noize, rappers Andre and Big Boi dropped righteous rhymes on everyday Southern life in a deeply drawled, robo-flow that's somehow tougher than leather and smooth as silk. Cuts like "Aquemini" and "Syntheziser" found a spine-tingling middle-ground between laid-back G-funk and ominous, sci-fi futurism, but it was the rambunctious bustle and gutbucket grooves of "Rosa Parks" and "Skew It On the Bar-B" that flipped the lids of hip hop fans all over the country. Aided by live, soul instrumentation, gospel choirs, and cameos by Erykah Badu and Goodie Mob's Cee Lo, Aquemini is a rich, prideful, intelligent record and, possibly, the most inventive hip hop vision of the late '90s.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/29/1998
Label:	La Face
UPC:	0730082605328
catalogNumber:	26053
Rank:	6109

Tracks

1. Hold on, Be Strong
2. Return of the "G"
3. Rosa Parks
4. Skew It on the Bar-B
5. Aquemini
6. Synthesizer
7. Slump
8. West Savannah
9. Da Art of Storytellin', Pt. 1
10. Da Art of Storytellin', Pt. 2
11. Mamacita
12. Spottieottiedopaliscious
13. Y'All Scared
14. Nathaniel
15. Liberation
16. Chonkyfire

Album Credits

Performance Credits

OutKast   Primary Artist
Charles Veal   Concert Master
George Clinton   Background Vocals
LaMarquis Jefferson   Bass
Joi   Vocals
Debra Killings   Background Vocals
Jim Sitterly   Violin
Raekwon   Track Performer
Darian Emory   Horn
Jim Smith   Background Vocals
Erykah Badu   Vocals
C-Lo   Vocals
Kenneth Wright   Synthesizer
Craig Love   Guitar
Martin Terry   Electric Guitar
Tomi Martin   Guitar
Skinny Miracles   Bass
Whild Peach   Vocals
Witchdoctor   Vocals
DJ   scratching
Omar Phillips   Percussion
Ruben Bailey   Vocals
Jamahr Williams   Vocals
Khujo   Vocals,Track Performer
South Central Chamber Orchestra   Strings,Woodwind
Victor Alexander   Drums
Big Boi   Vocals
Big Gipp   Track Performer
Jermaine Smith   Background Vocals
Marvin "Chanz" Parkman   Synthesizer,Piano,Moog Bass
Sleepy Brown   Background Vocals
Delvida Flaherty   Vocals

Technical Credits

Babyface   Executive Producer
Charles Veal   Orchestral Arrangements
John Frye   Engineer
Organized Noize   Programming,Producer,Executive Producer
OutKast   Producer,Executive Producer
Bernasky Wall   Engineer
Nigel Sawyer   Assistant Art Director
Blake Eiseman   Engineer
D.L. Warfield   Art Direction
Ryan Williams   Engineer
DJ   Arranger,Producer
Jean B. Smit   Engineer
Greg Hawkins   Artwork
Corey Woods   Composer

Editorial Reviews

Even compared to their already excellent and forward-looking catalog, OutKast's sprawling third album, Aquemini, was a stroke of brilliance. The chilled-out space-funk of ATLiens had already thrown some fans for a loop, and Aquemini made it clear that its predecessor was no detour, but a stepping stone for even greater ambitions. Some of ATLiens' ethereal futurism is still present, but more often Aquemini plants its feet on the ground for a surprisingly down-home flavor. The music draws from a vastly eclectic palette of sources, and the live instrumentation is fuller-sounding than ATLiens. Most importantly, producers Organized Noize imbue their tracks with a Southern earthiness and simultaneous spirituality that come across regardless of what Dre and Big Boi are rapping about. Not that they shy away from rougher subject matter, but their perspective is grounded and responsible, intentionally avoiding hardcore clichés. Their distinctive vocal deliveries are now fully mature, with a recognizably Southern rhythmic bounce but loads more technique than their territorial peers. Those flows grace some of the richest and most inventive hip-hop tracks of the decade. The airy lead single "Rosa Parks" juxtaposes front-porch acoustic guitar with DJ scratches and a stomping harmonica break that could have come from nowhere but the South. Unexpected touches like that are all over the record: the live orchestra on "Return of the 'G'"; the electronic, George Clinton-guested "Synthesizer"; the reggae horns and dub-style echo of "SpottieOttieDopaliscious"; the hard-rocking wah-wah guitar of "Chonkyfire"; and on and on. What's most impressive is the way everything comes together to justify the full-CD running time, something few hip-hop epics of this scope ever accomplish. After a few listens, not even the meditative jams on the second half of the album feel all that excessive. Aquemini fulfills all its ambitions, covering more than enough territory to qualify it as a virtuosic masterpiece, and a landmark hip-hop album of the late '90s.

All Music Guide - Steve Huey