The 500 - #361 - Stankonia - Outkast

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: # 361
Album Title: Stankonia
Artist: OutKast
Genre: Southern Hip-Hop, Funk
Recorded: Stankonia Tree Studios, Atlanta, Georgia
Released: October, 2000
My age at release: 33
How familiar was I with it before this week: One Song
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: So Fresh, So Clean

When I began this journey through The 500 List, 137 albums ago, the first entry was Aquemini by the Atlanta hip-hop duo OutKast. Although unfamiliar to me two years ago, it has since become a favourite and I spin it regularly.

Curious, I went back to read that first post and found it surprisingly short. Maybe I was unsure what this blog might become and I had a feeling of hesitancy. Was I starting something I couldn't complete? So far so good. We've arrived at album #361, Stankonia.

Screen Capture of my first 500 Blog Post

The hip-hop duo formed in East Point, Georgia (a suburb of Atlanta) in 1992. They are Andre Lauren Benjamin, aka "Andre 3000" and Antwan "Big Boi" Patton. Regarded by many music critics as one of the most influential hip-hop groups of all time. Their melodies are catchy and their lyrics are intricate, clever and meaningfully introspective.

OutKast (l-r) Big Boi & Andre 3000

While researching this group, and the album Stankonia, I became fascinated by the comparison several critics made between OutKast and The Beatles. Not in their sound, but in their career trajectories.

OutKast & The Beatles

There is an easy comparison in songwriting. Big Boi and Andre 3000 are, much like Paul McCartney and John Lennon, a duo with distinct personalities and visions that work together masterfully.

Andre is, like Lennon, more avant-garde, pushing the boundaries within the hip-hop style. Also like Lennon, he is OutKast’s more gentle spirit. On Stankonia, he penned the album's biggest hit, Ms. Jackson, a song inspired by a difficult break-up Andre had with singer, songwriter and actress Erykah Badu following the birth of their son. He wrote the song in the form of an open letter to Badu's mother, explaining his side of the split and making clear his intention to fulfil his commitments as a father to her newborn grandson.

Andre, Erykah & their son Seven Sirius (r-l) in 1997

Big Boi is, akin to McCartney, a studio craftsman who dedicates hours developing the intricate machinations of their sound. He is also the primary gatekeeper of their legacy, well known for the time he has spent in the group's Atlanta Studio, which they also dubbed Stankonia. The name is a portmanteau of the words "stank", meaning funky and "Plutonia", lifted from an album title by jazz pianist Sun Ra's 1957 record The Nubians Of Plutonia.

Sun Ra's record The Nubians Of Plutonia (1957)

Much like the Beatles before them, OutKast was the catalyst for a regional explosion in music. The Beatles famously ushered in The British Invasion. Prior to 2000, Hip-Hop was almost exclusively a bi-coastal phenomenon, with legendary rap groups coming from either New York, the birthplace of the genre, or Los Angeles. OutKast broke the convention and became pioneers of the southern hip-hop scene, sometimes called "The Third Coast" by hip hop writers.

The Third Coast by Roni Sarig documents the rise of Southern Hip Hop

Finally, if you are willing to stretch the Beatles/OutKast comparison a little further, some critics, with tongues planted playfully in their cheeks. even highlight similarities between records.

ATLiens (1996) is OutKast's Rubber Soul (1965)

Aquemini (1998) is their Revolver (1966)

Stankonia (2000) is their Sgt. Pepper (1967)

Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (2003) is their White Album (1978)

Beatles Albums with their OutKast "counterparts"

There are other comparisons, some more solid than others. The bottom line for me is indifference. I've been a Beatles fan for more than 40 years and I really enjoyed discovering Stankonia and Aquemini. Interestingly, on the updated version of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, released in September, 2020, there were significant changes to the placement of both records.

Aquemini moved from 500 to 49
Stankonia moved from 361 to 64
Additionally, the fifth OutKast record, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below has been added to the updated list at position #290
Meanwhile, The Beatles lost their place at #1 on the 2012 version, with Sgt. Pepper, moving all the way down to #24.

Clearly, the current generation of music critics is recognizing the importance of OutKast on the hip hop landscape.

(Special thanks to Alec Banks and his article OutKast Is More Like The Beatles Than You Think for additional information).