Aquemini

Infobox Album
Name = Aquemini
Type = studio
Artist = OutKast


Released = September 29, 1998
Recorded = 1996-1998
Genre = Alternative hip hop
Southern hip hop
Length = 74:47 (Explicit)
62:35 (Clean)
Label = LaFace/Arista
26053
Producer = Babyface (exec.)
Donny Mathis
Organized Noize
OutKast
Antonio M. Reid (exec.)
David "Mr. DJ" Sheats
Reviews =
*Allmusic rating|5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=A5vsyxddb1old link]
*Robert Christgau (A-) [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Outkast link]
*"Entertainment Weekly" (A) [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,285574,00.html link]
*"Los Angeles Times" rating|4|4 [http://www.urbnet.com/urban-editorial.asp?ueid=207 link]
*PopMatters (favorable) [http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/o/outkast-aquemini.shtml link]
*"Q" rating|5|5 [http://www.tower.com/aquemini-outkast-cd/wapi/105794896 link]
*"Rap Pages" Rating|5|5 [http://www.tower.com/aquemini-outkast-cd/wapi/105794896 link]
*RapReviews Rating|10|10 [http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/1998_10_aquemini.html link]
*"Rolling Stone" rating|4.5|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/outkast/albums/album/193280/review/6067995/aquemini link]
*The Source rating|5|5 [http://www.tower.com/aquemini-outkast-cd/wapi/105794896 link]
*"Spin" Rating|10|10 [http://www.tower.com/aquemini-outkast-cd/wapi/105794896 link]
*"VIBE" (favorable) [http://www.tower.com/aquemini-outkast-cd/wapi/105794896 link]
Last album = "ATLiens"
(1996)
This album = "Aquemini"
(1998)
Next album = "Stankonia"
(2000)Singles
Name = Aquemini
Type = studio
single 1 = Rosa Parks
single 1 date = 1998
single 2 = Skew It on the Bar-B
single 2 date = 1998
single 3 = Da Art of Storytellin' (Pt. 1)
single 3 date = 1998

"Aquemini" is the third studio album by hip hop duo OutKast, released September 29, 1998 on LaFace Records. [ [http://www.discogs.com/release/363625 Discogs - Aquemini] ] The title is a portmanteau of the two performers' Zodiac signs: Aquarius (Big Boi) and Gemini (André 3000). [ [http://www.epinions.com/content_5133738116 Epinions - Aquemini] ] The album was certified platinum in November of 1998, only two months after its release, and was certified double platinum on July 2, 1999 by the Recording Industry Association of America. [ [http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH RIAA searchable database] ] "Aquemini" peaked at #2 on both the Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop charts. [ [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:kbfyxqtjldte~T3 allmusic { Aquemini > Charts & Awards }] ] Four of the album's tracks had already or would later become singles. [ [http://www.discogs.com/artist/Outkast OutKast discography] ]

Music

Content

A vaguely futuristic, synthesizer-drenched album punctuated with anthemic choruses and bluesy beats, "Aquemini" tackles many topics such as emancipation, drug addiction and problematic relationships, while exploring the bleakest aspects of humanity. In contrast to much of hip hop music in the late 1990s, OutKast did not tone down the regional qualities, like the harmonica break on "Rosa Parks" and distinctive Atlanta slang and diction throughout. The song led to much controversy with Rosa Parks filing a defamation suit against OutKast. [ [http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/12/08/scotus.parks.ap/index.html CNN.com - Supreme Court allows Rosa Parks to sue OutKast - Dec. 8, 2003 ] ] "Rosa Parks" was later nominated for the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. [ [http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1041876/a/Aquemini.htm CDuniverse.com product notes - Aquemini] ] "Aquemini" also featured live instrumentation and poetic lyricism, such as the reggae horns on the seven-minute long "SpottieOttieDopaliscious" and wah-wah guitar on the closing track "Chonkyfire". The album also included West Savannah, which was an outtake from Outkast's debut album "Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik". The track was also featured as an intro to the "Benz Or Beamer" video, but was held off "Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik" and not used on the duo's follow-up album "ATLiens", finally to surface (admittedly as filler) on this album. The song is the original version and was not re-recorded for the album. A small intro to the song begins at the end of Slump, with Big Boi referring to the song's history.

Lyrics

Delivered by rhythmic vocal abilities and distinctive Southern rapping, the main focus of the album seemed to be on morality. With complex metaphors and dirty South slang, Andre addresses his critics in the album opener, "Return of the G". "It's the return of the gangsta/Thanks ta' them niggas that think you soft/And say, "Y'all be gospel rappin'" /But they be steady clappin'/When you talk about bitches and switches/And hoes and clothes and weed...". "Aquemini"'s catchy lyrics are a mix of street-wise and common sense. RapReviews.com noted that "Aquemini is full of small moments that make you nod your head and look forward to hearing them again." [ [http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/1998_10_aquemini.html Aquemini rapreviews qoute] RapReviews.com.] "SpottieOttieDopaliscious" featured a soulful hook by Sleepy Brown and introspective lyricism by Big Boi and Andre. In addition to the very detailed metaphors, Big Boi recited his lyrics in spoken word style for the song.

"When I first met my SpottieOttieDopalicious Angel
I can remember that damn thing like yesterday
The way she moved reminded me of a Brown Stallion
horse with skates on smooth like a hot comb on nappy ass hair
I walked up on her & was almost paralyzed
her neck was smelling sweeter than a plate of yams with extra syrup
eyes beaming like four karats apiece just blindin' a nigga
felt like I chiefed a whole O of that Presidential
My heart was beating so damn fast
never knowing this moment would bring another
life into this world"

_{—Big Boi, "SpottieOttieDopalicious"}

Reception

At the time, mainstream rap was almost entirely dominated by Puff Daddy's New York-based Bad Boy label, which was criticized for putting out music that hip-hop fans claimed was commercially watered-down both lyrically and in terms of production. OutKast's sound was hook-laden and accessible, yet distinct and fresh at a time of stagnation in the hip hop community.

The album's creative depth accompanied with its innovative, natural rhymes and funky, characteristically Southern beats was praised by many critics, including the "L.A. Times", which called "Aquemini" a "brilliant slice of hip-hop". It also received a "classic" ranking of 5 mics from The Source magazine, which later wrote of the album that it "possesses an uncanny blend of sonic beauty, poignant lyricism and spirituality that compels without commanding". [ [http://bands.rock-im-park.de/bands.asp?stageid=6&Dayid=5&artistid=50&year=2001 Aquemini review] ] In a November 1998 article, "What Magazine" praised "Aquemini", as they wrote,

Some critics appreciated the absence of a materialist focus. "Rolling Stone" declared that the album proved "that you don't have to sell out to sell records" [http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/cd/review.asp?aid=17527&cf= Rolling Stone - Music Reviews - Aquemini] , while PopMatters agreed, claiming "(i)n a year where excess was romanticized by nearly everyone, OutKast was one of the few commercial groups concerned with more than just 'the Benjamins'". [http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/o/outkast-aquemini.shtml PopMatters - Aquemini review] "Q" magazine called "Aquemini" "breathtaking in its ambition... ("Aquemini") makes most rappers seem drab and doltish in comparison", [http://www.q4music.com/nav?page=q4music.review.redirect&fixture_review=137750&resource=137750&fixture_artist=141702 "Q" magazine website] while others have identified the album as alternative hip hop or compared it to progressive rock and bands like Pink Floyd. [http://dailybeacon.utk.edu/showarticle.php?articleid=27840 Daily beacon article] The music website "Nude as the News" called "Rosa Parks" "one of the best rap songs ever crafted." [http://www.nudeasthenews.com/reviews/938 NudeastheNews review] The album was later ranked #21 on Chris Rock's list of the Top 25 Hip-Hop Albums of all time. [http://rateyourmusic.com/list/tha_flu/chris_rocks_top_25_hip_hop_albums List at rateyourmusic]

Track listing

ingles

References

External links

* [http://top40.about.com/od/discographies/a/outkastdisc.htm About.com - Outkast Discography - Aquemini]
* [http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/Current/A1044.htm Acclaimed Music - Aquemini: Lists, Ratings and Rankings]
* [http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/outkast/albums.jhtml?albumId=131657 MTV.com - Aquemini album lyrics]
* [http://www.warr.org/odd90s.html#Aquemini Warr.org - 90s odds and ends: Outkast - Aquemini review]