Outkast "Stankonia" (2000)
Following the good reception of their album "Aquemini", Outkast drew attention to Southern hip-hop and found themselves in a position to purchase a studio in which they could work on the follow-up. By all accounts this gave the group the freedom to work on ideas at their leisure without being 'on the clock'.
The result is some space-aged hip-hop, with interesting production throughout, good beats, and a mix of genres. Andre 3000 had taken to singing more than rapping which gave the group another string to their bow. The album opens on an explosive note with "Gasoline Dreams" it moves through slinky and soulful singles "So Fresh, So Clean" and "Miss Jackson" before hitting you with "B.O.B". That last song more than anything sums up what Outkast were capable of, with drum'n'bass, gospel, rap, and psychedelic rock all smashing together in a track that feels like it shouldn't work, but it does, and obliterates the planet!
The group would start to drift a little with their next (still brilliant) release, being put forward as a double-album that, though each disc featured collaboration from both members, was sounding more and more like two solo albums rather than a unified band release.
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