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As a huge Outkast fan, this has been one of the hardest reviews I've ever written. Idlewild offers Big Boi, at the top of his game, as, like in the movie of the same name, he outshines Andre 3000 who seems temporarily stuck in a corny, floundering groove playing the role of cutting edge as opposed to just being progressive.
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Back a few years ago Speakerboxxx/The Love Below showed us two emcees at the top of their game and highlighted the eclecticism always present in the music. Andre 3000's "Hey Ya," "Protype" "Behold A LAdy" and other jams breathed new life into the music industry while Big Boi's ultra hot smash "The Way You Move" along with ultra-crunk "Ghetto Musick" and meticulous "Unhappy" elevated the rap bar.
Now in 2006, Big Boi's still building on his sound. Just when you thought it couldn't get any better, he blesses with even tighter lyrics on the smooth funky vibe of "N2U," while the marching band syncopation on "Morris Brown" makes you nostalgic for pre-Katrina New Orleans. BB even ups the ante with the outstanding "The Train," where his skills are exemplified alongside a soulful Sleepy Brown caressing us with the hook. Here, a resolute Big Boi acknowledges the past while saying hello to his Purple Ribbon future.
Back in '94 that was the motherfucking year homeboy/
Then that southernplayalistic went platinum.
Stacks on deck they ain't tell us to pay our taxes/
Walking around the table in the kitchen we was practicing.
Reciting rhymes to sharpern minds now let's deliver to the masses.
Now it's time to say goodbye they should've turned me loose/
I was all about my team but now I call upon my crew.
I'm a family type of person but I'm deadly dolo too/
And you can achieve anything that you put your heart into.
And the ultimate goodbye to Andre...
Now the food time roll/
Now its time for me to go.
I say goodbye, goodbye, goodbye.
And we're like "no!" don't do it, cuz Andre's done lost his mind. This is apparent on the "Maggot Brain" wanna-be track "A Bad Note" (a poor attempt to recreate the twisted brilliance of Stankonia's title track), the annoying cop-out "Makes No Sense At All," the fumbling "Dyin' To Live" or any track where Andre is under the illusion that his off-key singing is engaging or pleasing to the ears. Although never before believed to be possible while listening to Andre 3000, I found myself yawning a few too many times during the tracks where he tries to sing through an entire song.
In a way this set serves as a sad, appropriate nail in the Outkast coffin. At the end of the day, it reads like a throwaway effort. Great things are expected from Big Boi. Andre... well let's pray he finds his direction, and his mind, again.
Download: "Morris Brown" "Mighty "O"" "N2U" "The Train"
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