“Return of the G” begins the record by rehearsing the divide at the center of OutKast-between Andre’s avant impulses and Big Boi’s more comfortable, though still complex, gangstadom. But here, on an album they named for the combination of their astrological symbols, Andre and Big Boi were still rhyming to the same beat. Eventually, this polarity would lead the duo to release a double album that was essentially a set of solo records. And though its sonics are still suffused with Organized Noize’s molasses-thick funk, they’re also spiced with the complementary/divergent tones favored by the main men themselves. This record marks the moment when Andre and Big Boi came into their own as producers.
Snappier and more experimental than the pair’s early work, and focused enough to feel comfortable in a sprawl, it’s the moment when OutKast came fully into itself-and in some ways, the beginning of its end. So let’s spit: Ten years on, Aquemini is the single strongest aspect of one of the art form’s deepest benches. Nevertheless, you’d think that a few more people would mention Aquemini, released 10 years ago today, while slobbering all over Ready to Die and Illmatic.
Then again, maybe the duo’s most defining aspect, their winning teamwork, rightly strikes young turks as essentially impossible to replicate. Maybe up-and-comers feel illegitimate trying to lay claim to a throne that’s still ostensibly occupied. Granted, André 3000 and Big Boi are blessedly still with us, unlike the legends most often name-checked as anxious influences. It’s unclear why rappers never make a big deal about living up to OutKast’s legacy.
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