Review Summary: Brilliant, spiritual, earthy and sprawling all at once. Every rap or Hip Hop fan needs to give this album a listen. And even if you're a 'rap skeptic', you may find this album has something many rap albums don't.
My first review, and what better way to start than with the album which spurred my love for Hip Hop.
OutKast's "Aquemini", the moment where Dre and Big Boi truly found their voice, where producers Organized Noize play a diminished role, where they truly brandished their love of mellow funk, dense rhythms, meditative jams and thoughtful lyrics. It's clash of genres, from loose jazz, thick funk, screeching rock (which is acts as a sneak peek into there next album, "Stankonka"), the rich soul and of course, the hard edged hip hop. Best exemplified by the Dungeon Family posse cut "Y'all Scared" and the Raekwon featuring "Skew it on the Bar-B" (where Dre, Big Boi and Rae completely rip the P-Funk beat to pieces).
And that's the best way I can describe this album. Dense, thoughtful and funky.
Aquemini's impact is still being felt today, its production style can easily be heard on albums like "A Piece of Strange" by CunninLynguists and "good kid M.A.A.D City" by Kendrick Lamar, and of course 2015's "To Pimp a Butterfly", where its eclectic nature, sprawling musicality and ever thoughtful lyrics carry strong similarities to Aquemini.
As ever, Dre and Big Boi mix their lyrics up with biting social critique and playful sensibilities. This is best demonstrated in the single "Rosa Parks", the reference to the political activist is clear but the hook is something else entirely: 'Haha! Hush that fuss, everybody move to the back of the bus, do you wanna bump and slump with us? We the type of people make the club get crunk' Big Boi calls out, with its staggered drums and infectious guitar plucks, I'd be shocked if this track doesn't get your ass shaking.
The title track however, highlights how good things never last forever, 'Even the sun goes down heroes eventually die, Horoscopes often lie and sometimes "why" Nothin' is for sure, nothin' is for certain, nothin' lasts forever, but until they close the curtain, it's him and I Aquemini'. Dre and Big Boi take looks at themselves and the people around them, Andre raps 'is every nigga with dreads for the cause? Is every nigga with gold for the fall? Naw, so don't get caught up in appearance, OutKast Aquemini, another black experience'. And with its watery, airy beat, it almost feels like you could wave your hands through it. It's one of many moments on the album where the hairs on the back of ones neck prick straight up, you feel their doubts, thoughts and convictions like a sledgehammer to the knee.
And there are moments like this all over the album. The screeching, "Public Enemy" style closer "Chonkyfire", with its awesome fuzzy guitar riffs. The live orchestra on "Return of the G", where the strings rise as Dre raps about his anger at the Hip Hop community: 'Big Boi what's up with Andre? Is he in a cult? Is he on drugs? Is he gay? When y'all gon' break up? When y'all goin' wake up? Nigga I'm feelin' better than ever what's wrong with you You get down!' This moment hits hard and you can really feel Dre's anger. Meanwhile Big Boi expresses content, but still confesses that he's 'Still ready to rhyme, never back down, willin' to rob, steal and kill anything that threatens mine'. The cool, empathetic disaffection in 'Da Art of Storytellin' Part 1' where the boys rap about adolescent tragedies, the hook, weirdly uplifting, does a good job of masking over the grim subject matter.
I could go on for days, but there's a reason why it's in my top 10 albums. Aquemini remains one of the key Hip Hop releases of the '90s, its impact is still being felt today and OutKast never sounded quite this unified again. This is where they truly found their own.
Bonafide classic and truly worst the listen.
