magenta321's Full Review: Stankonia [PA] by Outkast
This is the album that is taking off where DMX and Nelly left off. Hip-hop has really hit the mainstream, and this album is helping to make it stick. It first gained recognition with their first single from this album -- B.O.B. It's ok if you never heard the song as a single, because I know I didn't. I didn't hear anything from this album until the next single they released -- Ms. Jackson. Now I can't turn on the radio here without hearing that song!
Actually, Ms. Jackson is the reason I bought the album. It's really a catchy tune. The hook plays in my mind over and over again like that Tom's Diner song does. "I'm sorry Ms. Jackson, I am for real. Never meant to make your daughter cry. I apologized a trillion times." The song is an apology to a lady's mother for things not working out. Supposedly, the lady in the song is Erykah Badu, who is Andre 3000's ex-girlfriend and "baby-mamma". I really don't know enough about Big Boi to tell you who he is talking about, but he does have two kids, so it could be for one of his ex's too. Woven throughout the song is the "Wedding March" song. It's a song that accepts responsibility, but does not take on all the blame. It's one of those "hey, these things happen, get over it" songs, but it's more sensitive. It's actually kind of sweet.
While I bought the album for Ms. Jackson, one of my favorite songs on the album is Gasoline Dreams. It's kind of a Rage Against the Machine type song. "Don't everybody like the smell of gasoline? Well burn mother******, burn American dreams." It's a politically charged song about what is wrong with society today. While the song is pure hip-hop, it's got a grungy guitar riff laced through out the song. It's one of the hardest hitting songs on the album.
Shoot, you know I love the album, because the next song is also my favorite. (Yes, she has talked about three songs from the album, and they are all her favorites -- interesting). This song is So Fresh, So Clean. The hook to this song is as catchy as the hook to Ms. Jackson. This is more of a laid-back 70's-ish type song in my mind. I can see people lounging and listening to this song, getting to know one another. Its lyrics aren't overly heady, but it's a very cute song. Any song with the line "Don't you think I'm so sexy, I'm just so fresh and clean" has to be an instant classic in my mind! This is a good song to chill to.
Another great song is I'll Call Before I Come. Basically, the title says it all. It's a song about doing your own thing, and how members of the opposite sex should call before they come. It's an equal opportunity song. Usually, the guy is the only one who is "allowed" to sleep around, and expect women to call him before they come over. I'm not saying anything about the message of the song itself, but I do like the fact that the ladies in this song also expect their men to call before they come. It features Gangsta Boo and Eco. Gangsta Boo is a little over the top, in a Lil' Kim or Trina sort of way, but still somehow "cute". I really like her voice. The music sampled in this song is very "Sugar Hill Gang" or "Furious Five"-esque, but the equality expressed between the men and women is tres millennium!
As I said earlier, B.O.B. (Bombs over Baghdad) was the first single. I honestly never heard it until I bought the album, and I have yet to hear it on the radio, in a club, or on MTV. It's a great song to shake your bon-bon to. It features a gospel choir, if you can believe it, in a fast-paced song that makes you want to dance. It seems like it's a political song, but it's really just about sex, once again. But who wants to dance to a political song, anyway?
Ok, the last song I really enjoy from the album is Slum Beautiful. This is another 70's-ish sounding, "chill" song. It's a really good lazy summer song, actually. I can picture myself sitting in a beach chair, with a beer in my hand with this song on my boom box (if I had one still), just relaxing. Too bad I bought I didn't hear this album until November! This is also a song that stirs up some fond memories. It's just the word choice -- "Slum Beautiful, driving I plum cray-zay." I have never heard anyone use the word "plum" except my great aunt Ruth, who lived to be 98 years old. I don't think that she'd enjoy this song, but her screened in front porch would have been a great place to sit with a beer and listen to this song!
Ok, one of my not-favorites, which has a lot of merit is Humble Mumble. It features Erykah Badu, and I sort of wish it didn't. Well, some of it is really nice. The parts with just the guys are great. The part with just Erykah is nice too. The part with them together sounds exactly like when my precious kitty gets into a turf war. This song has a very primal rhythm, juxtaposed by very easy-going lyrics about being free. It's strange. As I said, it has merit, but it just sounds awful in parts.
Another song with a lot of merit that just doesn't make it onto my list of favorites is Toilet Tisha. It's actually a very beautiful sounding song, if the lyrics were different. It's very slow and somber, and I love Dre's voice on this song. It would be perfect, if it weren't for the subject of the song -- a young girl who gets into trouble and makes a disturbing decision. This song is just too deep.
Most of the songs have a very easy-going groove to them, almost in a P-Funk sense, but some deal with very serious subjects. I think that is the beauty of Outkast. I think they are geniuses for collecting sounds, samples, and genres and blending them together into something that is completely original. I really think that while some of the songs are less serious than others, what they do is high art.
What I also notice about Outkast is that they are just plain funny! I never enjoy skits on albums, but I find that I can't wait to listen to Kim and Cookie over and over again. It's as good as any Adam Sandler or Jerky Boys album I've ever listened to! It's a telephone conversation between two women about a guy that one of them spent the night with before, who is dubbed a "minute man." Not only are they funny, but they have back-up singers who accentuate certain key words in the conversation. Picture Tina Turner's back-up singers with their hair and their short dresses, standing behind two women having a phone conversation. It's just purely hilarious!
Outkast are everything. They are light-hearted but heady, sweet but won't let you walk over them, serious and funny. This is truly the greatest album of 2000, and if you don't have it yet, you seriously should buy it (and I never say that in my reviews!)
Feel the rush of yet another brand new direction in hip-hop where rappers can harmonize, music is actually played not sampled, musical boundaries are ...More at Buy.com
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
![Stankonia [PA] by Outkast](http://di1.shopping.com/images1/pi/2a/69/86/2002162905-177x150-0-0.jpg)
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.