by phil
André Benjamin and Antwan Patton are coming out of seclusion. About two and half years since their last release, the disappointing soundtrack to their 2006 feature film, Idlewild — Outkast are set to release a string of albums in 2009. The first two of which will be solo treks with the final a joint collaboration under the Outkast moniker.
| DRACULAS WEDDING BY ANDRE 3000: | |
| SPOTTIEOTTIEDOPALICIOUS BY OUTKAST: … |
The last time we heard a solo album from Big Boi was the Speakerboxx half of the Speakerboxx/Love Below album in 2003. Not ironically, the last time we heard a solo album from Andre 3000 was the Love Below. While official release dates are not known for any of the new albums, it’s expected Big Boi will release his Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty first in early 2009. The album is set to feature appearances by Andre 3000, George Clinton, TI and Mary J Blige. Subsequently, little is known about 3000’s album other than it will follow soon after. But I’d expect it to be even more groundbreaking than The Love Below – which says A LOT. Either way, I am highly anticipating all three of these albums. Outkast have proved time and time again to be one the most innovative and experimental groups in all of music.
With that being said, maybe I’m just biased towards old school hip-hop artists, but of late hip-hop/rap has seen some real setbacks with this whole ‘ringtone’ rap thing. Next year is finally shaping up to be an incredibly diverse and exciting time for the genre with artists like Dr. Dre, Eminem, Jay- Z and Mos Def all releasing new records.
