It's fine for you to drop by just to say you love the album, but let's try and step it up a bit!!! This is your chance to practice being a critic. Avoid vague statements of praise or criticism. This is an open thread for you to share your thoughts on the album. Rolling Stone ranked it number 500 on its list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and number 11 on its 100 Best Albums of the Nineties list. AllMusic's Steve Huey called it "a stroke of brilliance" and “a virtuosic masterpiece” while Los Angeles Times writer Soren Baker commented that "musically, the collection supplies some of the lushest tracks ever included on a hip-hop record", noting that the music will "stimulate the mind, touch the soul and pack the dance floor." Aquemini has since been placed on several publications' best album lists, regardless of genre. Critics hailed the album as OutKast's most fully realized up to that time and one of the best of the 90s. It sold 227,000 copies in it’s first week and would later go on to be certified 2x Platinum by the RIAA. Hard Knock Life at number two on the Billboard 200, the same opening position of both ATLiens and the group's next release, Stankonia. Outkast also experimented with several delivery styles on the record, using "relaxed, hyper, distorted, speedy and conversational presentations.”Īquemini debuted behind Jay-Z's Vol. Big Boi generally covers the more conventional hip-hop topics such as his childhood in the South and women while Andre 3000 discusses more unorthodox themes. Another theme is the duality of the two members and their differing personalities, with Big Boi as "the player" and Andre 3000 as "the poet". Overarching themes addressed on the record include drug addiction, precarious relationships, and freedom from self-inflicted struggles as well as excessive reliance on technology and the Atlanta club scene. Lyrically, much of Aquemini features introspection about the desolation of the human condition while shifting between science fiction-inspired topics and the harsh realities of urban life. It was organic."īig Boi described the music on the album as "very experimental" noting that it featured live instrumentation that included horns, guitar, piano, and harmonica while taking influence from reggae, soul, gospel, jazz, funk, blues, spoken word and world music. It brought back that whole feeling of making records. It was almost like a Motown, that's what we had. Pogue would recall, "That was the beauty of making all those records - having musicians come in and out. Much of the music on Aquemini was formulated during jam sessions, which producer Neal H. For Aquemini, the duo would use live instrumentation and improvisation, bringing a baby grand piano into the studio and hiring musicians who played "everything from stoner funk to prog rock". Due to OutKast's newfound commercial success and higher budget for the album, the group enjoyed a more relaxed schedule and "could really just live" at the studio. The title is a portmanteau of the two performers' Zodiac signs: Aquarius (Big Boi) and Gemini (André 3000), which is indicative of the album's recurring theme of the differing personalities of the two members.
( ) (Slick Rick version not on the album)īackground/Description: Aquemini is the third studio album by Atlanta, Georgia hip hop duo OutKast, released on Septemthrough LaFace Records. Last week's EAOTW: ( )Īlbum: Outkast - Aquemini (LaFace / RCA, 1998) Beginning with our ( ) list, we'll be moving chronologically to ( ) times. Starting on every Wednesday we will discuss an album from our Essential Albums list. Welcome to the fifth dimension of ascension!
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