OutKast has almost singlehandedly defined the sound of Atlanta rap. Tongue-flippin', rhyme-spittin' and Cadillac-ridin', all with a Southern accent, Big Boi and Dre have proved tobe the South's ideal MCs. ATLIENS continues... more » in the same vein as Outkast's 1994 debut, SOUTHERNPLAYALISTICADILLACMUZIK, with producers Organized Noize back to accompany the duo's laid-back flow. Big Boi and Dre proclaim to prove a point with every rhyme, never wasting a line. They like to think of themselves as outcasts from the hip-hop community--aliens,so to speak. Their tracks have an outer-space feeling to them--a feeling that, ironically, has warmed the community right up to them. They're so out, they're in.« less
OutKast has almost singlehandedly defined the sound of Atlanta rap. Tongue-flippin', rhyme-spittin' and Cadillac-ridin', all with a Southern accent, Big Boi and Dre have proved tobe the South's ideal MCs. ATLIENS continues in the same vein as Outkast's 1994 debut, SOUTHERNPLAYALISTICADILLACMUZIK, with producers Organized Noize back to accompany the duo's laid-back flow. Big Boi and Dre proclaim to prove a point with every rhyme, never wasting a line. They like to think of themselves as outcasts from the hip-hop community--aliens,so to speak. Their tracks have an outer-space feeling to them--a feeling that, ironically, has warmed the community right up to them. They're so out, they're in.
"ATLiens is a blend of funky beats and crafty wordplay from Big Boi and Dre. Southernplayalistic was a good way to begin their career really getting them on the map and Georgia too. I see that as their second greatest album ever. ATLiens is just too good, few songs on here are not considered "great" by every day standards. Aquemini is a great follow up to ATLiens and is the key success that Outkast with these three albums that Outkast is one of the greatest in the hip hop world.
Here is how I rated the album. I rate on three different things (Lyrics content, How good the beat is, And how good the flow of the rappers is with the beat). I take all the scores and find the average then take the total from all 15 songs and find the final rating.
1. You May Die (Intro)- A piano for the beat while a women sings a funky melody and sets the mood for the entire album.
Lyrics: -- Music: -- Flow: --
2. Two Dope Boyz (In A Cadillac)- A very short song (lasting about 2:45) to truly begin the album. This is just a classic song to roll your windows down to and drive down the street. Dre's first verse comes hard and also a great chorus by Dre.
Lyrics: 9.5/10 Music: 10/10 Flow: 10/10
Total=9.8/10
3. ATLiens- My favorite song on the album and one of my all time favorite songs. Big Boi's first verse is the best ever in my opinion with crafty word play (Well it's the M-I crooked letter, aint no one better and when I'm on the microphone you best to wear your sweater cause im cooler than a polar bear's toe nail.) And the coolest hook ever of course. (Now throw your hands in the air-er and waive em like u just don't care-er. And if you like fish and gritz everybody say Oh yeah-er)
Lyrics-10/10 Music= 10/10 Flow=10/10
Total score=10/10
4. Wheelz Of Steel- Crazy song. My second favorite and second best on the album with the greatest minute of scratching you will EVER here. The verses are short but sweet. The set up is perfect (Dre giving the shout out's at the end before the scratching begins) And a whicked beat.
Lyrics=10/10 Music=10/10 Flow=10/10
Total score=10/10
5. Jazzy Belle- One of the first story telling songs of Outkast (Aquemini full of them). Story about a . . . named Jazzy Belle. This song is the first change in the album. Before all the songs were quick paced and "hardcore" this song has a lighter slower beat. And a heavenly chorus sang by women just humming "la la la". Good scratching too
Lyrics= 10/10 Music=10/10 Flow=10/10
Total Score=10/10
6. Elevators (Me & You)- Another slow song but not quite as soft as Jazzy Belle. Outkast sings the hook themself here (Me and You, Your mama and your cousin too, rolling down the strip on fours, coming up slammin cadilac doors) haha great hook. The beat could've used work though, I don't think it goes good with their flow. The beat is good but would've been better with a different song. Good . . . wordplay though.
Lyrics=10/10 Music=8/10 Flow=9/10
Total=9/10
7. Ova Da Wudz- "Something's gotta give"- First words of the song then the beat lays in. Crazy beat is in, every 8 seconds or so you hear a voice in the back "ummmmmm". Really plays with your mind. Good hook and pretty good wordplay. Big Bwoy is awesome.
Lyrics=9/10 Music=9/10 Flow=10/10
Total=9.3/10
8. Babylon- Dre is very good on the track with some good lines (" I came into this world high as a bird from second hand cocane") And a good hook and light soft beat. Another smoootth track.
Lyrics=10/10 Music=10/10 Flow=9.5/10
Total=9.8/10
9. Wailin'- Kick . . . kick . . . kick . . . kick . . . beat. Would've loved the song more with a hook. With a crazy beat like this they could've made an awesome hook. Outkast shines again.
Lyrics=10/10 Music=10/10 Flow=10/10
Total=10/10
10. Mainstream- Song begins with a splash. Then about 15 seconds into the song the beat comes in. This is the third best song on the album. The beat is a light quick paced beat. Good hook ("Think is it but it aint all peaches and cream. That's why I sing this song floating face down in the main stream") Dre and Big Boi are the best on this track but the guest appearances verses are alright.
Lyrics= 10/10 Music= 10/10 Flow=10/10
Total=10/10
11. Decatur Psalm- One of my favorites and one of the most creative songs ever. Good beat and better lyrics and a classic hook (" It won't be over till the Big girl from Decatur sing") haha I love this song.
Lyrics=10/10 Music=10/10 Flow= 10/10
12. Millennium- Dre just rips this track apart. Probably his best verse ever in my opinion (his first) and a creative hook that you would never expect. Dre just goes off for 25 seconds of so with (" uh uh uh uh uhu huh uhuh uhu uh uhuh uhu") While a little girl repeats "Planet stars--- Earth, Jupiter, Mars--Hoes, clothes, car-- It's who you are.
Lyrics=10/10 Music=10/10 Flow=10/10 (One of the best)
Total=10/10
13. E.T. (Extraterrestrial)- Just a crazy . . . song. The lyrics are awesome. I'm not sure about the beat though.. at one point I'm thinking they can do better but at another I'm thinking how creative and soothing it is. I don't know.. buy the album and be the judge.
Lyrics=10/10 Music=8/10 Flow=9/10
Total=9/10
14. 13th Floor/Growing Old- First minute 30 is just a piano with someone talking. Then a sick slow whicked fascinating beat cuts in. One of the best tracks on the album.
Lyrics=10/10 Music=10/10 Flow=9/10
Total= 9.6/10
15. Elevators (ONP 86 Mix)- A remix of Elevators me and you. With a better beat.
Lyrics=10/10 Music=9.5/10 Flow=9/10
Total= 9.5/10
Total Score For ATLiens= 9.7/10
Nearly Flawless
If you don't find this review helpful.. you're just a hater"
OutKast's best?
ctrx | 'bout to show you how the EAST COAST rocks... | 07/24/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Don't get me wrong, the other original four albums were straight up amazing. But ATLiens, OutKast's sophomore album, might be my favorite. A change in style leaves back their teenage ideas and the bluesy, jazzy beats and brings a more soulful, thoughtful, mature tone. The whole album really works as a straight beginning to end listen, because the songs can relate to one another. The production by Organized Noize is just phenomenal. I just love their style here, with the space-age beats and the whole comic book thing.
It starts with an intro by Joi, Big Gipp's wife, that sets the pace for the album. "2 Dope Boyz in a Cadillac" is so good, Andre bashing sucker MCs over a piano and eerie singing. "ATLiens" is one of OutKast's best songs, with an awesome chorus, great music, top notch rapping ("Cooler than a polar bear's toenails"). After another smooth track, "Wheelz of Steel", the album moves into a phase of reflection and contemplation in which the songs "Babylon", "Decatur Psalm" and "Mainstream" featuring Big Gipp (my favorites on the album) and "Elevators", the most popular song of the album, are included. I like "Jazzy Belle" too, a good slow song with smart rhymes. The masterpiece finishes with a song called "13th Floor (Growing Old)" which starts out with piano and a speech by Big Rube and gives way to a smooth beat. The whole album is so good I can't put it into words.
OutKast abandoned some of their player image from Southerplayalisticadillacmuzik on this album, but it's so good. The album is amazing lyrically and musically, and I recommend it to all because it is among the best of all time."
The best album from the Atlanta duo, period.
Patrick G. Varine | Georgetown, Delaware | 02/02/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
""Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik" was good, and I do not doubt that it was groundbreaking and put Outkast on the map. But "ATLiens" was by far and best album they put out. The Source gave it 4 mics and gave "Aquemini" 5, but I really believe that they were giving "Aquemini" an extra mic to make up for not labeling "ATLiens" a hip-hop classic. I can understand how fans of the first album might not have understood or liked the new sound, and it truly is a departure from the pimp stylings of their debut. "ATLiens" runs deeper, fusing soul, R&B and smooth-as-molasses hip-hop with Big Boi's street-wise raps and Dre's spiritual soliloquies. It's a beautiful album, and one that any real hip-hopper should have in their collection. Highlights, well, every song is a highlight, but when it comes down to it, the driving beats of "Ova Da Wudz," "Jazzy Belle" and "Elevators" surpass anything Master P or the Hot Boys ever came out with. And "13th Floor/Growing Old" is one of the most poignant hip-hop spirituals of all time. Get this album."
So beautiful, So lovely
Crystalline Green | Maryland | 08/10/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"All I can say is this one of my favorite cds of all time and I own over three hundred. This is bob your head, smile wide, jump up and down, chill out music. I don't skip any tracks on the album but my favorite songs that I keep on repeat are Two Dope Boys, and Elevators. Many people are put off by the new poppy Outkast but people that love old school classics are sure to feel this."
The Greatest Hip-Hop Album of All Time.
T. G. Fahlman | 07/15/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
""Greetings Earthling".... From the first words spoken after the melodic introduction you are instantly aware that what you are about to experience is unlike anything your ears have ever heard. Speakerboxxx/The Love Below may have made Big Boi and Dre a household name, but the true heads will allways remember them as just "Two Dope Boyz in a Cadillac". 10 years after it's release, the impact of this album is more powerfull when you take into account the fact that we may never again hear these two men rapping together on a track. Emotional, groundbraking, heartfelt and powerfull. I could write pages crammed full of adjectives and quotes, yet words cannot compare to the pure visceral journey that is this album. ATLiens is unlike a modern rap record; no skits, no filler, just pure, raw, unadulterated hip-hop. You cannot consider yourself a fan of genre without this in your collection. One almost cannnot blame Andre 3000 for putting down the mic, when you realize that everything that can be said with the genre, he already did 10 years ago. Outkast may have three other classic hip hop albums; Southernplayalistic, Aquemeni, and Stankonia, but this is the one. In the 90's the West had The Chronic, and the East had 36 Chambers, but it was the South who produced the greatest hip-hop album of all time. Pop this in, turn off the lights and listen from start to finish if you don't believe me."