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Our Most Hoped for Hip-Hop Comebacks

Posted 9/2/11 12:00 pm EST by in hip-hop, listicle


By Zachary Swickey

Thanks to the lyrical abilities of rhyme-spitters like Lil Wayne, Kanye West and Jay-Z, the rap game is alive and well in 2011. Weezy is reportedly on track to sell around 850-900k copies of Tha Carter IV, and Watch the Throne is one of rap’s most talked about albums ever (not to mention it’s pretty damn good). With such astute rappers in today’s fast-paced music world, it’s easy to forget some of the past heavy-hitters.

Some rappers inexplicably lose their luster or disappear from the public eye altogether, but occasionally they revive their careers from the grave. Take Dr. Dre, for example. The Doc released the legendary hip-hop album The Chronic way back in ’92, but his career was basically nonexistent for most of the mid-to-late 90s. That is until he met a lanky white boy from Detroit named Eminem. Finally, seven years later – after signing one of rap’s hottest new artists – he released his follow up, 2001, which was a huge success, selling more than twice as many copies as his debut. And who knows, maybe the doctor will have yet another comeback with the eventual release of his third album, Detox, which is quickly becoming the Chinese Democracy of rap.

There are several rappers who we’d like to strongly encourage dusting the cobwebs off their mic and giving us the swagger-filled comeback albums we’re hurting for. Here are the top five hip-hop comebacks that we find ourselves craving the most. Read More...

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Happy Birthday, Big Boi!

Posted 2/1/11 10:30 am EST by in Music


At the moment, a massive winter storm is cutting a swath from Oklahoma to New England, dropping snow, freezing rain and ice on top of 100 million people. Though it's raining in Atlanta, at least it isn't freezing cold, which should make it a little more pleasant for whatever birthday celebration Big Boi has planned. The co-founder of Outkast and the mind behind one of 2010's most hotly-anticipated and well-regarded albums turns 36 years old today.

Antwan Patton grew up in and around Atlanta, indulging in music so intensely that he attended Tri Cities High School, a performing arts school in the city. While there, he befriended André Benjamin, the man who would later be known as André 3000 and who would make up the other half of Outkast, their hip-hop duo. The group signed a record contract shortly after high school ended and dropped their debut Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik in 1994. Though Outkast's sound would evolve profoundly over the course of their career, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik laid the ground work for their worldview, with one foot grounded in the struggles of the south and the other somewhere on Jupiter.

Outkast dropped a total of six albums, with each one grabbing critical acclaim, huge sales, radio airplay and awards. But it was 2003's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below that really changed the game. Each member filled a disc, and though André's half had the bigger hits ("Hey Ya!" and "Roses"), Big Boi's half was the more consistent. But both were mind-bending and envelope-pushing, which made everybody excited for their impending solo albums.

Though his album was talked about and delayed for years, Big Boi struck the solo world first with 2010's Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty, a sprawling opus full of futuristic funk, down-home jams and bits of house music, bluegrass, blues and Broadway thrown in for good measure. Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty showed up on most every year-end best-of list published, and rightfully so, as it proved that you could be adventurous with hip-hop and still produce club bangers and big hooks. Considering Big Boi also mentored Janelle Monae, he had a pretty good year.

What's next for Big Boi? Both a second solo album and a new Outkast project are both in the works, but until then, we can keep grooving to everything the man has already given us — including "The Way You Move," a freaky, funky track from his side of Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.


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The 'Devil' Playlist: Exorcise Your Demons With Outkast, Aerosmith And Iron Maiden

Posted 9/17/10 12:30 pm EST by in Music


It's an unusual time for films at the moment, as the summer blockbusters are all in the rear view mirror but the big prestige movies are still a few weeks off. Clearly, Hollywood also has no idea what the people want in the month of September, as this weekend's films are an incredible cross-section of cinema styles. Luckily, that gives everyone the chance to indulge in something they'll love. This weekend sees the opening of the Ben Affleck heist drama "The Town," the much-anticipated adaptation of the best-selling book "Never Let Me Go," the D.A. Pennebaker-directed baking competition documentary "Kings of Pastry," the teen sex comedy "Easy A" and the is-it-fake-or-isn't-it film "Catfish." But we're already getting ready for Halloween, which is why we're into the scares built into "Devil."

The set-up for "Devil" (produced by the polarizing mind of M. Night Shyamalan) is brutally simple: A handful of strangers are trapped in an elevator where a malevolent force is threatening them. Can they get out? What is attacking them? Who will survive and what will be left of them? It's a chilling idea that should make for some excellently claustrophobic psychological horror.

In order to properly prepare for "Devil," take a spin through the video playlist below. It traffics in two areas: Satan himself and the less-evil idea of elevators. The Prince of Lies gets all sorts of salutes (Beck's "Devil's Haircut," Children of Bodom's "Smile Pretty for the Devil," the Lawrence Arms' "The Devil's Takin' Names"), while elevators do have a surprising number of references (Aerosmith's "Love in an Elevator," Flo.Rida's "Elevator"). We kick things off with Outkast's "Elevators," which is not only about moving up but is also a little bit spooky to boot.

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Outkast's ATLiens Crash Lands On Earth: Wake-Up Video

Posted 8/27/10 8:30 am EST by in Wake-Up Video


Before Big Boi became Sir Lucious Leftfoot and back when Andre 3000 was just a dude named Dre, Outkast were an up-and-coming hip-hop tag-team from Atlanta whose 1994 debut Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik grabbed some attention for its gritty flavor and head-spinning wordplay. But Outkast completely changed the game (and hinted at the boundary-destroying monster they would become) with their follow-up album ATLiens, which was released on this day in 1996.

In the history of hip-hop, ATLiens ranks among the most fitting titles of all time, as it combined the tropes of the Dirty South with a forward-thinking sci-fi mindset where anything was possible. But ATLiens also described the group's place in the hip-hop universe. Back in '96, Atlanta was a fairly insular music community (not like today, where it is one of the key taste-making cities in rap). With a mainstream music market dominated by Death Row style gangsta rap and Biggie Smalls-fueled East Coast grit, a group from Atlanta with a penchant for southern drawl might were strangers in a strange land. Outkast might as well have been from Neptune, not Georgia.

And yet for all its weirdness and envelope-pushing, ATLiens was a huge hit. The beats (produced by fellow Dungeon Family members Organized Noize) built giddy, chaotic hooks around throbbing bass grooves, neck-snapping drums and bits of backwoods country and psychedelic rock for good measure. While Outkast would further expand their sound with subsequent albums like Aquemini, Stankonia and Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, their ascent to hip-hop greatness began with "Elevators," the killer Top 40 single from ATLiens. We know you're nodding your head, because we can see you.

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Taylor Swift Joins Garth Brooks, Method Man On List Of Unlikeliest Concept Album Authors

Posted 7/21/10 11:30 am EST by in Music


Good news for fans of Taylor Swift: She will have a new album called Speak Now out on October 25. Swift's third album (and the follow-up to the mega-platinum juggernaut Fearless) is a concept album of sorts, as each song will find Swift addressing a different particular person. Each song will end up being a specific confession to a particular individual. "Through the past two years, I've been through a lot of things that I have been dying to write about and talk about," she told the world via a Ustream chat. "There were a lot of things that I wanted to say in the moment but couldn't, and this album is my opportunity to do that."

Though the structure is pretty loose compared to the complicated narratives embedded within the albums of, say, Coheed and Cambria, but it's an overarching concept nonetheless. Swift will be joining an interesting club of unlikely artists who nevertheless ventured into a universe normally owned by prog rock and orchestral wankery. Here are her peers in that group.

Garth Brooks
Perhaps the most unlikely (and most notorious) concept album project in history, Garth Brooks' alternate universe album stands as an amazing event in music history. In 1999, Brooks assumed the persona of his alter-ego Chris Gaines, an Australian rock star with a massive back story involving car accidents, drug addiction and an entire career's worth of albums. He released one album, called Greatest Hits, which was supposed to be a compilation of Gaines' best work from the breadth of his career. It was awfully strange to see one of the best-selling artists of all time go so deep into his own alternate universe, and the fact that he left Gaines behind after the promotion for the album was done was telling.

Method Man
Proving once and for all that perhaps there is such a thing as smoking too much marijuana, Method Man's second solo album Tical 2000: Judgment Day featured an album-length story line about the coming apocalypse and the post-destruction world that was left behind. Read More...

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Lady Gaga Continues The Proud Tradition Of Polaroids In Pop Culture

Posted 1/7/10 12:48 pm EST by in Movies, Music


In addition to being a fashion icon, a remarkable live performer and a musical genius, Lady Gaga just added another line to her ever-growing resumé: She's the new creative director for "specialty products" at Polaroid, the venerable instant camera company. They'll be unveiling their partnership at the Consumer Electronics Show and hope to have both old-school and digital products available by the end of the year.

Gaga's involvement in Polaroid adds yet another chapter to the company's involvement in pop culture. From Outkast to "Clueless," Polaroids have shown in all corners of the pop culture landscape.

"Memento"
Director Christopher Nolan first grabbed the attention of the masses with this twisty noir flick, which centered around a guy named Leonard (played by Guy Pearce) who has a brain condition that doesn't allow him to make new memories. What does he do to supplement his brain? He takes a ton of snaps with his trusty Polaroid camera.

Outkast, "Hey Ya!"
When Andre 3000 dropped this single from Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, "Shake it like a Polaroid picture" became a pop culture catch phrase for most of 2003 and 2004.
Read More...

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Outkast Double Up: Wake-Up Video

Posted 9/23/09 9:00 am EST by in Wake-Up Video


The Hottest MCs in the Game list didn't exist back in 2003, but if it had, it's fairly certain that both Andre 3000 and Big Boi — the two tricky-tongued MCs who make up Atlanta's finest hip-hop tag team Outkast — would have battled for the top spot. The duo have not only dropped consistently great singles and albums (including the bona fide classics Aquemini and Stankonia) but have also pushed the boundaries of what hip-hop music can look, feel and sound like. Their records began as country boy salvos and rides in Cadillacs through old plantations, but when the millennium turned and Stankonia hit, they began to pull rap music apart and augment it with borrowed sounds from the worlds of dub, metal, drum and bass, psychedelic rock and good old-fashioned sugar pop. Their crown jewel was a double album that saw each member get a disc to himself that showed off each individual's greatest strengths. It was called Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, and it was originally released on this day back in 2003.

Andre 3000's disc got most of the attention, as it was by far the weirder and more genre-bending of the two (just look at the beat-heavy remix of "My Favorite Things," which follows the disco-goth of "Dracula's Wedding" and precedes the acoustic slow jam "Take Off Your Cool" — as weird a trifecta as you'll find on any hip-hop album). The Love Below also contained the hit "Hey Ya!" which became ubiquitous shortly after its release. In the end, Speakerboxxx ended up slightly underrated, as it relies more on Big Boi's sharp sense of metaphor and his adroit delivery than any sort of jazz odyssey. Nevertheless, "The Way You Move" is a great little Southern bounce number that should always be mentioned in the conversation about the best singles of the decade.

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Big Boi Gives Sway Props For 'Blowing Up' Outkast

Posted 4/17/08 12:16 pm EST by in MTV News, Music



In his pre-MTV News days in the Bay Area, Sway created a major hip-hop radio show -- and that's where the MTV powers-that-be discovered him and brought him on board. So when Sway reunited with Big Boi this week to talk about his upcoming solo album, BB took a moment to give a shout-out to the show that he says helped break Outkast in America. The always-together Mr. Calloway was actually a little thrown by the props:

When Big Boi credited my partner King Tech and me for being the first to support Outkast in the entire country, it was a humbling moment that caught me off-guard. It reminded me how the country hadn't fully accepted Southern hip-hop at the time, as good as Outkast clearly were even back then.

To this day, our show The Wake Up Show is still the longest-running syndicated hip-hop show on mainstream radio, and Outkast -- along with others -- helped to build its legacy. Check out some of the archive footage on the site.

One Love, Big Boi and Andre 3000!

Check MTVNews.com for more Big Boi and Outkast news over the coming week.

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For The Record: News on Outkast, Cat Power, Fall Out Boy (again)

Posted 3/26/08 2:42 pm EST by in For The Record


outkizzy

· OutKast's road manager - and former WCW pro wrestler - Chase Tatum, was found dead in his Atlanta home on Sunday, apparently from a drug overdose. Tatum's father told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that his son was dependent on painkillers. Our condolences go out to his family and the OutKast crew.

· More artists have been added to the Beale Street Music Festival, happening May 2-4 in one of our favorite cities in the country, Memphis. Lou Reed, My Chemical Romance, Fergie, Sheryl Crow, the Black Crowes, Aretha Franklin and hometown hottie, Cat Power, will join previously announced artists, The Roots, Santana, Matisyahu, Michael McDonald, Ben Folds, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Tegan and Sara, and Jerry Lee Lewis.

· Um, since we're all Fall Out Boy, all the time these days...the group's Pete Wentz will reportedly be releasing a CD/DVD entitled Making Mischief on April 9. It'll feature interviews and photos of Wentz and his clothing line, Clandestine Industries (and ostensibly no photos of his private parts). The companion CD will have music from groups like Four Year Strong, the Hush Sound, and unreleased tracks from the Cab and Tyga.

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For The Record: Outkast, The Raconteurs, and Elvis Costello

Posted 3/21/08 3:38 pm EST by in For The Record


outkast

· Here in the office we are loving the new Big Boi song, "Royal Flush," featuring Raekwon and Andre 3000, which hit the net late last night. It's the first track to leak from Big Boi's solo album, Sir Luscious Left Foot, and while we are big, big fans of Big Boi (super-slept-on as a lyricist), once again his Outkast brother-in-arms, Andre 3000, kinda outshines him. We can't legally post the link here but if you're a savvy internet user, you'll find it.

· When the new album by funny, bespectacled Elvis Costello is released on April 22, it will be on vinyl only. Titled Momofuku, in reference to the popular NYC restaurant of the same name, all vinyl copies will include a voucher for a digital download version of the album. Poor CD feels all left out.

· A few days ago, there was lots of chatter about The Raconteurs' new album, Consolers of the Lonely being released on March 25, just a couple of weeks after Jack White turned in the final masters. Today, iTunes, mistakenly put the album up for download, and reports are that a handful of lucky folks downloaded the tunes. They have since shut down the accidental sale, but no doubt someone's already ripped it to a CD and put it out in the ether. Hi, Jack!

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