"So you're saying they split up and each did their own solo CD and are selling it as an album? What? Two separate discs? That's bull! What does that say to young Americans who come to the music store wanting to purchase their Outkast?"
So went the sputtered tirade of one of the clerks at Record and Tape Traders when I showed up to buy the new Outkast album a few days ago. Apparently he hadn't heardthe buzz surrounding the Atlanta duo and their latest release, a double disc set that has two different covers, two sets of liner notes, and two strangely out-of-place ads inserted in the notes, each advertising its respective half of Outkast's particular avocation: dog breeding in the case of Big Boi and psychedelic poster art in the case of Andre 3000. A bit schizophrenic, yes.
If it still sounds like Outkast, looks like Outkast, and feels like Outkast, it's probably safe to say - it's Outkast. While Andre and Big Boi continually deny rumors of splitting up to the press, the proof is in the punch. One listen to this album, and you'll know that the Outkast of days of yore hasn't really gone anywhere.
Tracks like "Ghettomusick," with a phrenetic beat, "Hey Ya!," which contains the gem of a lyric, "Lend my some sugar, I am your neighbor!" and "I Like the Way You Move," a sexy tune coming to a dance floor near you, will reassure any Outkast fan that rap's most colorful and rule bending-est team are alive and kicking.
