Revisiting "Stankonia": Outkast's Glory Days Still Sound As Groovy As Ever

Comprised of members Andre 3000 and Big Boi, Outkast is one of hip-hop's most successful duos in both the mainstream realm as well as the underground scene.

Today, I want to revisit what I consider to be their best body of work, Stankonia. In 2000, Outkast released this project and received instant success. Ms. Jackson, the lead single off of this album ended up charting #1 on the Billboard hot 100 and is still played at damn near every social function. The longevity of this group is something that is so rare but incredible to see.

Although they have not formally worked together in over a decade now, both have gone on to have their own successful solo careers. Some even consider Andre 3000 as one of the greatest rappers of all time. However, that is a discussion for another day.

Outkast took advantage of other artists within the music industry's reluctancy to put out soft, groovy jams that could be played in a variety of settings. At the time, hip-hop was largely gangster rap all across the nation. Outkast stood out because of their willingness to infuse different sounds into the hip-hop genre. Instead of conforming to the norm, they paved their own funkadelic wave.

Take the track, So Fresh, So Clean, for example. This is still one of my favorites. It's such a simple theme of young men going out into town for a night out feeling, well, so fresh and so clean. However, a theme does not have to be complex to be enjoyable. The low synths and drumline paired with smooth saxophone in the background creates a song that just makes you wanna dance.

Andree 3000 is pictured on the right and Big Boi is pictured on the left.

Outkast breathed new life into a genre that was becoming increasingly repetitive. Twenty years later, we still see hip-hop becoming diluted with terrible artists who become famous off of one mildly catchy song then fall off the face of the earth. This is where artists like Outkast remind us that there is hope for genre-pushing music in the realm of hip-hop as opposed to the mundane redundancy we have become so accustomed to seeing.

Even now, fans of Outkast have begged for the group to get back together. Although, I would say it is not likely as much as I would love to see it. Andre 3000 and Big Boi are basically retired from the music industry at this point as both are pushing their early 50's and only pop up on occasional features.

Still, revisiting this album reminded me of the lure of Outkast. The ultimate goal of music at the end of the day is to make you feel something and Outkast does an incredible job of igniting the funk within you.