None whatsoever.īut from the perspective of more traditional gangsta rap aficionados, the rhymes were startlingly unusual. In fact, there really is no variation in quality on ATLiens. This is not to say that the quality of the record is stacked toward the front. The record produced five singles, "Elevators (Me & You)," "Two Dope Boyz," "ATLiens," "Jazzy Belle," and "Wheelz Of Steel," the entire first third of the album, uninterrupted. The album, like any early OutKast record, is a long, consistent, slow ride through your 'hood with the two philosopher-MCs trading proverbs and passing you the blunt. ATLiens shook up OutKast's fan base, but those that remained when the shockwave was over realized they had a work of genius on their hands. They seemed divinely inspired by the bodacious black goddess printed on the CD. But the eclectic, deep, and soulful production and the undeniably tight tag-team rhymes were more than simply extraterrestrial.
More traditional listeners were turned off, some completely, by 'Kast's transformation. From its comic book cover to its spacey, atmospheric production, and especially considering its somewhat less gangsta subject matter, ATLiens might as well have come from outer space as far as much of OutKast's audience was concerned. There were signs that Big Boi and Dre intended to push the envelope, but they were subtle enough to be accepted as mere creative touches to an excellent mainstream G-Funk record.īut OutKast's sophomore effort was a different beast. On Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, their 1994 debut, 'Kast came off as an unusually talented duo of straight thug MCs staying faithful to the ATL sound. Released in 1996, as Atlanta groups like TLC were blowing up and finally putting the city on the map, its title accurately described the public image of OutKast that the release of this album generated.
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