Aquemini

Every once in a while someone makes an album that actually means something. This time around, Outkast is that someone, and AQUEMINI is that album. With their first album, Outkast created Southern hip-hop, and with their second album, they further defined it. Then, rap groups from the South really took off, and took the sound of the South with them, far from the boundaries set by Big Boi and Dre. However, the two innovative MCs break new ground with AQUEMINI, their third album, not to reclaim their reign of the dirty South, but to establish their mark in the universal scheme of hip-hop. more...

Rap music needs AQUEMINI for its lyrical consciousness, its musical creativity, and its accessibility. One of the album's most impressive qualities is its ability to keep it real without self-consciousness. Outkast takes an everyday situation and turns it into an amazing storytelling journey into outer space. Songs such as the seven-minute "SpottieOttieDopaliscious" that feature live instruments and poetic lyrics are Outkast at their best.

Vibe (6/02, p.109)
- Ranked #9 in Vibe's "Top 10 rap albums" - "...Their crowning achievement (so far)
..."

Spin (1/99, p.91)
- Ranked #3 on Spin's list of "Top 20 Albums of '98."

The Source (11/98, p.189)
- 5 Mics (out of 5)
- "...Aquemini is a brilliant record....Throughout the record Dre and Big Boi showcase their verbal trademark--cool, staccato flows steeped in the everyday slanguage of the Deep South..."

Rap Pages (12/98, p.139)
- 5 (out of 5)
- "...The beauty of Outkast is that they constantly reinvent themselves....AQUEMINI continues Outkast's pied piper effect on society's outcasts...appealing to their commonalities and uniting them under one umbrella..."

Rolling Stone (10/1/98, p.66)
- 4 Stars (out of 5)
- "...Anything OutKast touch...sounds as though they took it for a spin through the cotton fields in their Caddy. Sporting plenty of live chops...and soulful harmonies, AQUEMINI's fresh, original feel defies rap's coastal cliches..."

Spin (12/98, p.178)
- 9 (out of 10)
- "...OutKast understand the power of sound the way, say, Sly understood it on THERE'S A RIOT GOIN' ON or P-Funk did on `The Motor-Booty Affair,' and so they've crafrted some of the most seductive and dreamadelic textures this side of, well, the last OutKast album..."

Q (4/01, p.124)
- 5 stars out of 5 - "...Their 3rd and best offering....Breathtaking in its ambition, it makes most rappers seem drab and doltish in comparison..."

Muzik (12/98, p.70)
- 4 stars out of 5 - "...Sweet, soul-soaked samples, a whole heap of bottom and quicksilver staccato rhyming....There's some fantastic material here but hwta makes it even more impressive is the way it's worked together..."

Entertainment Weekly (11/6/98, p.88)
- "Spotlighting equally the talents of Dre and Big Boi may be the key to their artistic transcendence. They also rip the rap envelope by trading samples for distinctive instruments like Kalimba and harmonica (a la Earth, Wind & Fire and Curtis Mayfield)
..." - Rating: A

Mixmag (1/99, p.113)
- 4 out of 5 - "...Infused with laid-back soul and a slow regional drawl....Thick with molasses-rich funk....hip hop for the heart, mind and soul..."

Uncut (3/03, p.120)
- 4 stars out of 5 - "...An entirely convincing hip hop continuation of Parliament's prime late-'60s/early-'70s LPs....Cosmic and encompassing; sprawling and superb..."