The Kryptonite Festival  will feature performances by Atlanta legends, including a headlining set by Big Boi himself along with Goodie Mob as well as Earth Gang, Kneel’n Ray and more.

The post Big Boi Hosts Kryptonite Festival At Chastain Park In Atlanta Featuring Big Boi, Goodie Mob, Earthgang, Kneel’n Ray & More appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

With the release of his latest single, Big Gipp proves that after over 20 years in the game he can still drop a banger. Titled  “I Ain’t Trippin,” the Goodie Mob member’s new street anthem features a hook from singer/songwriter Mitch and production by Stroud (T.I., Trae The Truth).

Don’t trip and check out the record below:

The post New Music: Big Gipp – “I Ain’t Trippin” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Young Fyre cares too much.  Despite working within an industry that rarely values  its hardest workers and frequently discourages innovation, Young Fyre just can’t bring himself to risk tarnishing his hard-earned resume. Some might call it vanity, but as our conversation reveals, the trait driving this concern and this fear of complacency is actually integrity. Read below to learn where this integrity comes from as well as how Young Fyre has developed as a producer. While his story isn’t particularly eventful in terms of life-changing moments , it is nevertheless rich in that it shows what an artist is capable of when the music is more important than the money.

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RESPECT: My first question is what are you currently working on?

Young Fyre: Right now I’m working with Mario a lot and Tank and with Chris Brown, on a record called “Stay” that’s amazing. And those are the main projects I’m working on right now, with a bunch of other stuff that’s in the works.

It’s interesting that all those artists you’ve mentioned are R&B artists because you’ve previously said that your R&B beats are your best work. What makes you feel that way?

I just have stronger connection to the R&B music. I think it’s one of those categories that died off for a minute because the rap got so tough and so heavy on the radio. But they’re coming off of that now. TGT is coming out with their album and Miguel and people like him are bringing R&B back and it’s a great thing. For me it’s just a chance for me to showcase  the other side of me as a producer, the more musical side versus some of the other stuff that I have out. [It was] very creative, but not as musical, so I’m just happy that some of that stuff gets to get seen now.

Right. When you say “musical” do you mean “melodic?”

Yeah, more melodic and more chord progressions instead of just a simple melody and more intricate patterns.

I see. So that actually ties into my question about how you feel about the state of R&B. I personally feel like it’s been kind of stagnant for the past six or seven years.

Yeah, it’s been stagnant for a long time and I think that people like Miguel coming in have made it cool to be an R&B dude again. For awhile it got lame to be singing about your feelings. Even Drake doing his thing has helped bring R&B back in a way. And now you have people like TGT bringing the real real R&B back. I think it’s doing well right now. With TGT doing well – they had good first week sales – I think we’re going to see a lot of new R&B acts coming out.

You’ve mentioned that you’ve used FL studio a lot in the past. Is that still your primary software?

Forever and always.

What’s its appeal?

I’ve been using it for 10 years, over 10 years, so it’s just one of those things where I feel like everybody picks their thing and it doesn’t matter what you use to make it, if you know that software or that hardware inside and out , that’s the greatest thing for you. So for me, my process is just FL and I love my maneuverability inside FL and everything about the program, so for me it just works.

How did it get first introduced to you?

Honestly, I think I started out with MTV music generator when I first started making beats, which was on the PS1 at first and then they came out with it on the computer and I started doing it on the computer. And I started looking on to other things that I could make beats on and I just found Frooty Loops one day. One of my friends was like yo, “Try FruityLoops!” At that point FruityLoops was super amateur. I think it was FL 3, so it had just broken as semi-respectable, but now it’s an incredible software.

Switching gears, I’m interested in the sessions from your work on the new Goodie Mob album. You worked on the lead single, which features Janelle Monae. That’s an interesting collision of artists.

I don’t know if everybody’s aware but Janelle Monae is apart of the Dungeon Family. The actual song came about not even through an actual session. It was through a good friend of mine named MJ at Blackground and I was just playing him beats and he’s really good friends with Cee-Lo and I was just playing beats and he said yo, “This would be really good for Cee-Lo” and at the time I was like, “What? Cee-Lo? This doesn’t sound like a Cee-Lo beat at all!” And he was like just trust me with this so I gave him the beat and 9 months later, he sends me a rough draft of the song and I was like “Yo this shit is crazy” and I had no idea they were even having a comeback thing at all. As the album developed, they just decided that that was going to be the single and we just moved forward from there. And I think that that’s pretty much the only way you can get Janelle Monae on your resume, which is through a feature, because she ain’t messing with nobody that’s not in her team. So I’m happy I got to add her to my resume via this song.

She does a lot of production herself, doesn’t she?

Yeah, she does a lot of stuff herself and with her own team, so she’s kind of self-contained. I’m just glad I got to work with her because I’m a huge fan of Janelle Monae, so that was just awesome.

Have you had a chance to listen to the Goodie Mob album? It’s a really different direction for them.

Of course. It’s definitely different and you can tell that it’s Cee-Lo driven; it’s a little more eclectic than their past albums, but that’s cool. I’m also just glad to be apart of anything that has substance. I love the album.

I read an interview in which someone had asked you does it bother you that sometimes production gets overlooked and you said that if somebody cares about beats, then they’ll look into it and see who produced it. I thought it was really interesting that you as a producer said that because a lot of producers seem very aware of being overlooked all the time. How did you get to that state where it’s just about the song being good and the reception not mattering?

I think that’s because a lot of people’s motives for doing music are backwards. I’m not Young Fyre the superstar. I’d rather just have great music out. If people care enough about the song that they want to research and find out who produced it then that’s great, but I’m not trying to be a superstar. I’ll do whatever I have to do to build my brand, but that’s not at the forefront of my agenda. It’s more important for me to just make incredible music. If you look at my resume, there’s no weak records, even if they weren’t necessarily hit records, you won’t hear anyone say, “What the hell was that beat that Fyre just put out?!” I’m very particular about that and I’ve turned down records and done a lot of things because I didn’t want that on my record and I think that sense of integrity is what will keep me around for a long time. All the greats tried their best to not have weak songs come out. They tried to make them all strong. That’s the kind of integrity that I’m trying to keep with my brand.

A lot of people who listen to hip-hop tend to pay more attention to words than to beats. As a producer, what are your listening habits when you listen to songs?

It’s always beat first. Even before I was producer, as a kid, I’ve always had this weird thing where, when I listen to a song, my brain is almost like a Pro Tools session; I will break down an entire beat in my head. I don’t even try, but it’s like I can hear every single subtle nuance without even trying, which also helps me be a better producer because I notice things that a lot of other people don’t. But that’s just me personally.

And you’ve always listened to music that way?

Yeah, always. Even before I even knew I was going to do anything with music… I never thought as a kid that I was going to be a producer. I was fascinated by it, but it wasn’t a passion or anything. I just kind of stumbled into it.

Yeah, I read that you originally started making beats because you were a songwriter and you couldn’t find what you wanted so you just decided to do it yourself.

Yeah, I was born and raised in Iowa and there’s just no one out there doing music professionally. So it was like you either go out and steal professional beats, which was really stupid to me, or you just make your own music. I’m really just a doer. I’m not the kind of person that talks and has these conversations about things. I’d just rather do things. Instead of waiting around for somebody to make beats – because there were a couple – I was just like I’m going to figure this out and I figured out that I loved making beats way more than being a [vocal] artist. And I also didn’t want to be famous. And now that I’ve been around so many famous people, I know that that was the perfect decision. [laughs] Because their lives are not something that I want. That whole “I can’t do what I want to do when I want to do it” thing, I can’t get with that. So I’m glad that I’m a producer and I’m going to stay there.

So you think as a producer you get to live a relatively normal life?

Yeah, absolutely. There are some producers of course like the Pharells and the Timbalands that still have that celebrity type thing, but for the most part, there are so many millionaire producers that you would have no clue who they were and they can live an extremely great life without even having to sacrifice the whole “I can’t do anything in public” thing. And that for me is true happiness. Sometimes I want to be antisocial and sometimes not. I don’t want to have that burden of always being on the job. So this is perfect for me.

That seems like what MF DOOM was going for by having the mask on.

I totally get that. Even from his perspective I get it. As a creator you want your art to be out there, you want to express your story, but it’s tough because the backlash is that you’ve got to deal with the celebrity of it, so I totally understand his perspective. And if I had to do some [vocal] artist thing, if it killed me so bad that I had to put this music out, it would be something like [DOOM] or the Gorillaz where nobody knows who I am.

The whole system of selling artists beats can sometimes get a little muddled because of the politics and all that. I read that you use an “exclusive lease” system and I’m wondering what exactly are the details and why that works for you?

That’s just something that I kind of created. I never was into the whole leasing of beats. I felt like it was almost like whoring yourself out as a producer. Going away and giving the same beat for fifty bucks or ten bucks or whatever never appealed to me. So I thought, well why don’t we come up with a thing where one person has the beat and they understand that if a major artist comes along, they will lose the rights to this beat. It just offered me a way to be in between where independent artists could afford me, but I didn’t have to give up a beat that was crazy and then Jay-Z comes along and I’m like “Damn, I sold that to Joe Blow.” So with my lawyer, I came up with this contract that was beneficial and it gave [independents] a certain number of units that they could sell and the amount of rights that they could have with the record, but allowed me to retain the rights in case something comes along that’s bigger than for my career.

That’s really farsighted. You never know where your work is going to go.

And at the time when I created that I had just started picking up some momentum with Tech [N9ne] and I’m like yo I can’t sell these dudes these beats and I’ll be super pissed if there’s a weak ass song out. I just had to find a solution, so that was my solution.

Do you name your beats before you give them away?

Yes. The most random names ever. Sometimes there will be something on my desk, like a red vase and there will be a beat called “Red Vase.” I have beats that are just random as hell.

Have you ever seen an artist kind of form their song around the name that you gave it?

Oh yeah, tons of times. Pain (T-Pain), especially. He’s done that a bunch of times. And a lot of songwriters will do that because it’s not always random. Sometimes the titles are coming from a special place, so the title is intriguing and they’ll take that and make it into the concept for the song.

You were saying earlier than you are pretty DIY. Do you mix and engineer?

I do everything myself. Right now I have this artist that I just signed out of Sweden and I’m working on – I wrote and produced this entire thing and it’s so eclectic. It’s something that no one will see coming from me. My marketing strategy and everything that’s around this is very, very detailed and I’m doing everything from mixing to producing to writing to vocal producing. And I’m even getting in touch with the creative side of the videos. But that’s just me. I care about my music to the point that I have to be involved with every step of the process.

There’s an interview – it’s actually in multiple interviews – where you say that you want to work with people who you wouldn’t be expected to work with and you just said that earlier. Why is that important to you?

I think it’s important because most producers get content with a certain sound. It’s like a box and I’ve never really liked boxes. I can’t be just one thing and I’ve always felt like if I can do it, then why not? So I have always pushed myself to do things that people wouldn’t expect of me and that has given me a lot of respect in the industry because I’ve always been that guy who will do something that you never see coming.

You’ve previously said that you’ve made country and rock songs before?

I’ve done country songs. None of them have been released. The closest I’ve done to a rock song is this song by Kutt Calhoun called “Bunk Rock Bitch” and it’s a rock beat with hip-hop elements to it. But when I spoke about it in another interview, it was just about me doing production. None of it has actually been placed as of yet, but I’ve written and produced country songs but they just haven’t been out in the public yet.

Do you work with live musicians?

Yeah, every now and then I do. I have a team. The name of my company is Kasai LLC and I have a couple of producers that also play instruments, so I keep it inside of the team. Every now and then I’ll go out and hire a musician if I need a particular thing that I need to sit over a musician with and make sure that they do it right. Also, I play enough to get a lot of things out of my head, so it’s cool.

What do you play?

Just piano, nothing else. [laughs]. I’m working on trying to get this guitar thing, but that is a tough instrument that I think people need to have more respect for. It’s a really hard instrument to pick up, especially coming from piano, which is totally different. I want to do everything, but time is time and you have to manage your time knowing what’s important; learning an instrument right now is not my priority.

How long did it take you to learn keys? A lot of people just start off with software, but they don’t know anything else. Was that your case?

No. I played the keys when I was a kid and I’ve always dibbled and dabbled in it since I was a kid. My process for when I’m doing something that’s musical is chord by chord. I’m not the guy that’s going to sit there and play you a Mozart piece, but I have an incredible ear as far as progressions are concerned and what should be there, so I may play a chord, then add another chord, then add another chord, then go back and change or add stuff in between. So I will make it sound like I’m the greatest musician ever to live, but it’s just because my ear for music is good.

How long does it typically take you to make a song?

It just depends. Now that I’m getting more back into the writing side of things, it’s more organic. Before this year, it would never take me more than four or five hours. I’m a serial completion person. I have to finish things: I cannot leave things unfinished. So it will never be more than four or five hours. Through songwriting, I’ve learned that it’s not necessarily about completion, it’s about the end product. So now I’m in a different process where as soon as feel that I’m about to force something, I stop. As soon as I feel like I’m pushing something that doesn’t need to be there or just filling a sound in, it’s time to stop. I’ll come back later and have completely new ideas. I think that’s very important and that people should get on that path of realizing that it’s not about quantity, it’s about quality and just stepping back and letting it breathe. It’s always about the energy that you’re trying to put into a song.

You said earlier that just to preserve the integrity of your brand, if you send someone a beat and you didn’t like what they did, you would take it back?

Absolutely [laughs]. That’s happened.

Under what circumstances would you do that?

Usually what’ll happen is that it’s more of a conversation. You’ll say, “Hey look, I like the song, but can we do a better verse?” And nine times out of ten, they’re going to rewrite it or move some things around. I haven’t had to pull too many records as in saying this is trash, but most of the time it’s just a conversation, saying, “Yo I just want the most out of the song and I know you probably have a lot of yes-men around around you, so I’m gonna tell you how I feel about this. And that’s actually how I’ve gotten respect from a lot of artists. Because a lot of them are around people that are going to say it’s hot no matter what, but they’re just in fear of losing whatever position they have around the artist. Me, I’m just like “No, that’s wack!” [laughs]. And a lot of producers don’t do that. And that’s why there’s a lot of wack music out because they’re like, “I got a check, I got this guy on my beat and that’s cool.” I’m just not that guy. I care too much about it.

The post “I Care Too Much,” An Interview with Producer Young Fyre appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

25. “Flip Flop Rock” (Feat. Killer Mike & Jay-Z)

Big Boi is a master of rapping at a relentless pace, and “Flip Flop Rock” is a display of that mastery. Though rather scattered conceptually, the song gets major contributions from Jay-Z and frequent OutKast collaborator, Killer Mike.

Producer(s): Big Boi, Mr. DJ

Album: Speakerboxxx

Chart Position: N/A

Best 3K Bar(s): N/A

Best Fat Sax Bar(s): “We drop a little science off in every verse / They put that P.A. sticker on it cause they scared we gon’ curse / But the knowledge is the power, the cowards get devoured / Any hour, any cipher, any way to any height”

24. “Jazzy Belle”

“Jazzy Belle,” a smooth, almost hypnotizing cut, speaks in depth about the growing promiscuity of young women. It’s a deep record that requires very little dissection. Andre and Big Boi share tales of debauchery before going toe-to-toe in the third verse, approaching the subject from different angles (Andre talks of relationships with old flames before fame, Big Boi addresses golddiggers).

Producer(s): Organized Noize

Album: ATLiens

Chart Position: #52 on the Billboard Hot 100, #25 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop

Best 3K Bar(s): “Went from yelling crickets and crows, bitches and hoes to queen thangs / Over the years I been up on my toes and yes I seen thangs / Like Kilroy, chill boy because them folks might think you soft / Talking like that man fuck them niggas I’m going off / And coming right back / Like boomerangs when you throw ‘em / With these old ghetto poems / Thinking it’s better for ‘em”

Best Fat Sax Bar(s): “Having no mercy for the disrespectful ones, some / Be hanging around the crew looking for funds, dumb / Deaf and fine, they be asking me all about mine / How she doing how she be / I know she’s sipping that wine / Behind my back they squawk like vultures / Off and On like Trendz of Cultures”

23. “Ghetto Musick”

Andre 3000 doesn’t rap in “Ghetto Musick,” but his fingerprints are all over the track. From the high octane instrumental to the ballad-like bridge, there is no question that this song, which appeared on Big Boi’s half of the group’s 2003 double album, is a true OutKast song. ‘Twan’s sharp lyricism and fiery delivery pierce through a beat seemingly devoid of pockets to flow in and out of. It’s fresh and a bit unorthodox. That’s what makes it so fun.

Producer(s): Andre 3000

Album: Speakerboxxx

Chart Position: #93 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop

Best 3K Bar(s): N/A

Best Fat Sax Bar(s): “Fight off the shit and flush the waste down / The pipes of my life flow deep into the ground / Find my purpose on the surface of this Earth, this / Planet’s standards to us they have no purpose.”

22. “Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik”

The title track from the debut album, “Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik” has aged gracefully despite featuring a Big Boi that hadn’t quite grown into his voice yet and an Andre severely lacking in other-worldliness. The song reeks of charm with its super funky bass line and infectious hook, and though it isn’t on par with the music they would later make, it’s still a hell of a tune.

Producer(s): Organized Noize

Album: Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik

Chart Position: #74 on the Billboard Hot 100, #41 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop

Best 3K Bar(s): “Step up in my shoes you crews sitting on Trues / And Vogues for the hoes only when we rolling through / Atlanta skies be blue / The sun is beaming it seeming / That I glisten, rather gleaming / 20/20 got me leaning to the side / Full of pride / Now ain’t that something / I’m dipping into your hood / This ain’t Braille but I’m bumping / Thumping out the roaches / Dungeon if ya’ll missed it / Big Gipp, Goodie Mob, PA, Outkast / Southernplaylistic.”

Best Fat Sax Bar(s): “I take my time cruising round the city malls / And under my seat for you suckers it’s your final curtain call / The one two to the gauge p-u-m-p / You want to do a jack / I heat the barrel ‘til it’s empty, get me.”

21. “Humble Mumble” (Feat. Erykah Badu)

“Humble Mumble” is practically two different songs. ‘Dre and ‘Twan take their very distinct styles and drape them over two variations of the same track, bringing us poetry in motion. Both MCs move full speed ahead, allowing syllable after syllable to crash into our eardrums. Oh yeah, and then there’s some Erykah Badu, too.

Producer(s): Earthone III (OutKast)

Album: Stankonia

Chart Position: N/A

Best 3K Bar(s): “Blue-collar scholars, who’ll take your dolla, and wipe my ass with it / You living for the lotto never hit it, I met a critic / I made her shit her draws / She said she thought Hip Hop was only guns and alcohol / I said “Oh hell nah,” but yet it’s that too / You can’t discrima-hate ‘cause you done read a book or two”

Best Fat Sax Bar(s): “Fuck wishing, you missing the ambition on your mission / Now you switching why you quitting cause it’s heated in the kitchen / Sloppy slipping in your pimping, nigga / You either pistol whoop the nigga or you choke the trigger”

20. “Chonkyfire”

“Chonkyfire” is a six-minute epic with roughly only two minutes of actual rapping. That’s because the instrumental is absolutely insane. The rapping is pretty stellar itself, though. There are few moments more colossal than Big Boi spitting some of the best bars of his storied career over the beat’s breakdown–it stands among one of the greatest outros ever The immortal skit at the end (“I wanna return this CD, man” “The Pimp Trick Gangsta Clique CD?”) makes the track even more classic.

Producer(s): OutKast

Album: Aquemini

Chart Position: N/A

Best 3K Bar(s): “This is my story, this is my song / And to them rudypoots don’t attempt to try this at home / It’s just a poem until y’all learn right from wrong / Know when to bless a situation, when to grab the chrome”

Best Fat Sax Bar(s): “But you still stay with mom though playing the King like Don doe / You chocked up, you was the nigga that supposed to be loked up / Makin’ them think Hip Hop is dead, exhume the body if you ain’t scared / And if I see you in the streets I’d dap you down like you was bread”

19. “Wheelz of Steel”

Scratching has been an instrumental part of hip-hop since its inception. It has played a big part for OutKast, specifically. “Wheelz of Steel” features premiere scratching over a sample from progressive Dutch rock band Focus, and incorporates a rather sultry guitar riff. The duo plays off each other expertly, taking turns ripping the second verse. Both wit and charm are on full display (“We take no shit, like, umm, stopped up commodes”).

Producer(s): Earthtone Ideas (OutKast)

Album: ATLiens

Chart Position: N/A

Best 3K Bar(s): “The Pope and his folks got us under a scope / But for unknown reasons cause we don’t sell dope / That you distribute, we don’t contribute, to your clandestine / Activity, my soliloquoy, may be hard for some to swallow / But so is cod liver oil.”

Best Fat Sax Bar(s): “It took your momma nine months to make it / But it only took a nigga thirty minutes to take it / Cut that crow, clean up I did, but I did so not safely / Don’t want no AIDS, no claps, or no rabies.”

18. “Knowing”

Frequent OutKast collaborator, Mr. DJ, is very good a making groovy records with hard-hitting drum programming and “Knowing” is no exception. Andre is his typical brilliantly peculiar self, lending his wailing falsetto for a decorative hook. Big Boi takes center stage, however, flowing steadily, once again displaying an incredible knack for the art of storytelling (consider this a bit of foreshadowing).

Producer(s): Mr. DJ

Album: Speakerboxxx

Chart Position: N/A

Best 3K Bar(s): N/A

Best Fat Sax Bar(s): “Well here’s a formal introduction, something to make you ponder / The situation’s ugly, like In Living Color’s Wanda”

17. “Player’s Ball”

Basically, “Player’s Ball” is the original Outkast song. Though there are no traces of what their sound would eventually become, it without question showcased two talented MCs in all their uncanny chemistry. Perhaps the fluffy, gray Kangol Andre wore in the video should’ve been an early red flag that something strange and wonderful would soon take place, but not even that could’ve prepared us for the space aged titans of rap the duo would evolve into. There is something untamed about a young Big Boi’s flow, almost like he couldn’t quite control it yet. Still, there are signs that these kids from Georgia would be something formidable, and, in hindsight, it’s very exciting to listen to it when you know what’s coming down the road.

Producer(s): Organized Noize

Album: Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik

Chart Position: #37 on the Billboard Hot 100,  #12 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop

Best 3K Bar(s):

It goes, give me ten, and I’ll serve you then, now we bend / The corner in my Cadillac, my heart does not go pitty-pat for no rat / I’m leaning back my elbows out the window / Coke, rum and indo fills my body, where’s the party

Best Fat Sax Bar(s):

Ain’t no chimneys in the ghetto so I won’t be hanging my socks / On no chimney, I’m fit as a tick, fix me a plate / I got the remedy, some greens and that ham, not / Don’t need no ham hocks, don’t play me like I’m smoking rocks / I got the munchies, we got the Mary Jane in the Dungeon / Just to let you niggas know in 93, that’s how we coming

16. “Synthesizer” (Feat. George Clinton)

“Synthesizer” is one of the more slept on records in the OutKast discography. Discussing how fake the world is getting, Andre and Big Boi break down the pitfalls created by a society built on instant results, and one that focuses on the superficial rather than the substantial. George Clinton is a welcome addition as the duo advocates for records of substance over fluff pop records. Ironically, the synthesizer is just the mouthpiece for the message (don’t shoot the messenger, T-Pain).

Producer(s): OutKast

Album: Aquemini

Chart Position: N/A

Best 3K Bar(s): “Virtual reality, virtual, bullshit! / Synthesizer preachers can reach you up in the pulpit”

Best Fat Sax Bar(s): “You want me to lolligag and talk that bullshit? / I refuse to play so I’m gon’ speak that Southern good shit / That harder than yo’ hood shit, lil’ shit / That make y’all niggas think about the trigger / Before you pull it, on liquor stores and banks / Them folks got more than enough bullets to put that ass off in the slang”

15. “A Life In The Day Of Benjamin Andre (Incomplete)”

“A Life In The Day Of Benjamin Andre (Incomplete)” is basically a complete dissection of Andre 3000’s life covering both the professional and the personal. Over an eerie arrangement of synths, Andre exudes wit and charm addressing details of his life previously untouched in such a direct manner. His erratic flow is surprisingly easy to follow, and it drives the story forward–a fitting match for the haunting track. What’s even more fitting, though, is how the song, like Andre’s life and career, remains unfinished, to be continued.

Producer(s): Andre 3000

Album: The Love Below

Chart Position: N/A

Best 3K Bar(s): “You’d dropped me off by the dungeon / Never came in, but I knew that you were wondering / Now are these niggas in this house up to something / Selling crack sack by sacks so they could function? / Well, yes and no / Yes we were selling it / But no it wasn’t blow / Cook it in the basement then move it at a show / Then grab the microphone and everybody yelled, “Ho!”

Best Fat Sax Bar(s): N/A

14. “Two Dope Boyz (In A Cadillac)”

In the middle we stay calm we just drop bombs. “Two Dope Boyz (In A Cadillac)” produced not only one of the most memorable choruses in the history of our genre; it also spawned one of the more popular rap blogs on the web today (2Dopeboyz). The two MCs both spit with great gusto and vigor, as if they are a unit proving their superiority to every single rapper except each other.  This is pure, sub-woofer rattling goodness.

Producer(s): Organized Noize

Album: ATLiens

Chart Position: N/A

Best 3K Bar(s): “Yeah tight like nuts and bolts, sluts and hoes that get evicted / I’m dealin wit Queens in my castle ain’t worth to risk it / Now tricks be lookin’ at me like I’m they way up out the pro-jects / Can’t put you on my payroll, and no I ain’t got no Rolex”

Best Fat Sax Bar(s): “Enough of the verality, fallacy, butter we speak not fiction / Speakin of pullin yo’ girl lookin at Jheri curls you bitches”

13. “Roses”

“Carolineeeeeee! She’s the reason for the word ‘bitch’.” Real guys go for real down to Mars girls, and “Roses” helped to expose this truth. A song constructed entirely on the notion that some women get a little too caught up in their own hype, it is as much a character study as it is a lecture. Big Boi, as he so often does, finds a way to perfectly round out the record with a stellar verse detailing his interactions with a gold digger. Together, they sent a not so subtle message to a large percentage of the women that choose to involve themselves with the men of music industry, the ones circling like vultures. Honesty is the best policy, especially when it makes for great music.

Producer(s): Andre 3000

Album: The Love Below

Chart Position: #9 on the Billboard Hot 100, #12 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop

Best 3K Bar(s): N/A

Best Fat Sax Bar(s): “No go on the raw sex, my AIDS test is flawless / Regardless, we don’t want to get involved with all them lawyers / And judges just to hold grudges in a courtroom / I wanna see your support bra, not support you”

12. “Git Up, Git Out” (Feat. Goodie Mob)

Goodie Mob + Organized Noize + OutKast = a true Dungeon Family collaboration. Phenomenal showings from, well, basically everybody make this song one of the best collaborations produced by the south to date. The record has a very positive message that’s relatable on any level–get up, get out, and get something. The record is conscious and inspirational without being preachy. Oh, and will someone please convince Cee-Lo to rap again? Please?

Producer(s): Organized Noize

Album: Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik

Chart Position: #109 on the Billboard Hot 100, #59 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop

Best 3K Bar(s):

Never smelled aroma of diploma, but I write the deep ass rhymes

Best Fat Sax Bar(s):

Well, uh, git up, stand up. So what’s said, you dickhead / See when I was a youngsta, used to wear them fuckin Pro Keds / My mama made me do it, but the devil, he made me smart / Told me to jack them weak ass niggas for they fuckin Starters

11. “Return of the “G””

Sinister and menacing, “Return of the “G”” is both a woeful recounting of street malevolence and an honest admission of mobbing out of necessity. Much like Andre 3000 and Big Boi, the song represents two sides of the same coin. Andre dissects urban life and raises many important questions concerning its many problems. On the other hand, Big Boi speaks from the perspective of a gangster that doesn’t necessarily want to come up off the next man, but will for the sake of his family. Few songs are more polarizing or more fascinating.

Producer(s): Organized Noize

Album: Aquemini

Chart Position: N/A

Best 3K Bar(s): “Return of the gangsta, thanks ta’ / Them niggas that think you soft / And say y’all be gospel rappin’ / But they be steady clappin’ when you talk about / Bitches & switches & hoes & clothes & weed / Let’s talk about time travelin’, rhyme javelin / Somethin’ mind unravelin’ get down”

Best Fat Sax Bar(s): “Don’t want that, but it comes though, most of the time you don’t know / Stickin’ together like flour and water to make that slow dough / We worked for everything we have and gon’ stick up for / Each other, like we brothers from another mother / Kind of like Mel Gibson and Danny Glover / Strictly for the Caddy lovers / And never the nut huggin’ punk motherfuckers”

10. “ATLiens”

The OutKast anthem that unpredictably spawned a term for Atlanta natives, “ATLiens” was one of the first tastes of the space-laced funk that the group would perpetually churn out following Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik. Sampling Attillo Mineo’s “Around The World” (from a CD aptly titled Man In Space With Sounds), the group made a transition into a new age. It was with “ATLiens” that the question was first posed: how can the group be so out of this world, but still remain so down to earth? OutKast is perpetually ahead of the curve, yet always cognizant of its past.

Producer(s): Earthtone Ideas (OutKast)

Album: ATLiens

Chart Position: #35 on the Billboard Hot 100, #23 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop

Best 3K Bar(s): “Now, my oral illustration be like clitoral stimulation / To the female gender, ain’t nothin better / Let me know when it’s wet enough to enter”

Best Fat Sax Bar(s): “So go get your fuckin’ shine box, and your sack of nickels / It tickles to see you try to be like Mr. Pickles / Daddy Fat Sax, B-I-G B-O-I / It’s that same motherfucka that took them knuckles to your eye”

9. “The Way You Move”

Show me a person that doesn’t like “The Way You Move” and we’ll show you someone that is thoroughly unhappy with his or her life. Honestly, how can you dislike a song filled with this much positive energy? The lyrics are fun, the hook is filled to the brim with shameless “sing-in-the-shower” liveliness, and the beat itself is something you can dance to anywhere from a club to a 6^th grade dance. The consistently underappreciated half of OutKast proved he was good for more than just mop-up duty with this undeniably infectious crossover hit. This is what is referred to as a timeless record. You can drop this in any year and it’s still a smash.

Producer(s): Carl Mo, Big Boi

Album: Speakerboxxx

Chart Position: #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, #2 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop

Best 3K Bar(s): N/A

Best Fat Sax Bar(s): “Skinny slim women got the cameltoe within them / You can hump them, lift them, bend them, give them / Something to remember, yell out / Timber when you fall through the chop shop”

8. “Elevators (Me & You)”

Probably the grooviest record in the entire OutKast discography—and that’s saying something—“Elevators (Me & You)” may also be one of the duo’s most well written songs. OutKast is big on the use of symbolism, and the elevator represents the rise out of the basement to the figurative penthouse, reflecting the group’s growing success. The song’s lyrics touch on various aspects of the group’s ascension, and also cover the troubles of success. It’s the thinking man’s approach to braggadocio.

Producer(s): Earthtone Ideas (OutKast)

Album: ATLiens

Chart Position: #12 on the Billboard Hot 100, #5 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop

Best 3K Bar(s): “True, I’ve got more fans than the average man / But not enough loot to last me to the end of the week / I live by the beat, like you live check-to-check / If you don’t move yo’ feet then I don’t eat, so we like neck-to-neck”

Best Fat Sax Bar(s): “A 1 2, a one two dope niggas / In the Cadillac” they call us, went from Player’s Ball to ballers / Putting the South up on the map was like Little Rock to bangin / Niggas say motherfuck that playin, they payin / We stay in, laying vocals, locals done made it with them big boys / Up in this industry, “Outkast, yea them niggas they makin big noise” / Over a million sold to this day, niggas they take it lightly / ’96 gonna be that year that all y’all player-haters can bite me”

7. “Skew It On The Bar-B” (Feat Raekwon)

There are few greater cosigns than one from the Wu, especially for a group from the South (in the 90s no less), where the music is viewed as all bounce with no substance. Raekwon, the Chef himself, blessed OutKast with a verse on the thumping “Skew It On The Bar-B,” and both the record and the world are all the better for it. Raekwon is surprisingly comfortable on this groovy southern cut, which takes its sample from a 70’s TV show: Police Woman. Andre is in rare form on the song–which is really saying something, given his standard of excellence–as if to refuse to be outdone by anyone, even another rap legend. His competitive fire kicks off the record, and once the song is in high gear it just keeps moving.

Producer(s): Organized Noize

Album: Aquemini

Chart Position: N/A

Best 3K Bar(s): “The common denominator, the nigga numerator / Never know who the hater, niggas cater to your ego / I’m sorry like Atari whose the cousin to Coleco…Vision / Caught a Rico, back on the street like Chico…DeBarge / He large and got a ‘Llac in the garage /Few parts here and there, I declare hard, my lawd”

Best Fat Sax Bar(s): “I bust raps like D-boys bust gats, shit / We the type of people that don’t bury the axe / Or the hatchet, every time we see your link we snatch it / Ridin’ round our hood talkin’ that dumb shit, your cabbage / Is cracked, like plumber’s ass, and summer’s grass / I been in the game for a minute, seen some suckaz like y’all passin’ / Thinkin’ you’re light skinned, aight then, lil’ boy why you frightened? / The Dungeon Family gon’ be here nigga so keep writing”

6. “So Fresh, So Clean”

“So Fresh, So Clean” is just plain cool. The snares and hi-hats serve as the perfect pulse for the group’s unbelievably permeating funk. The title is quite fitting; no other group could make a vintage 70s interpolation feel this original and uncontaminated. Few artists would even attempt it with such confidence. There is a certain air of effortlessness that comes with being cool and knowing it, and “So Fresh, So Clean” masterfully captures that and bottles it. By the time Andre starts crooning on about how they’re the coolest muthafunkers on the planet, you’ve already been convinced for quite some time.

Producer(s): Organized Noize

Album: Stankonia

Chart Position: #30 on Billboard Hot 100, #10 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop

Best 3K Bar(s):

Those huge baby eyes, get to runnin off at they mouth / And tellin me everything that’s on yo’ nasty mind / They say you’re malnutritioned in need of vitamin D / And invitin’ me to that tingle in your spine

Best Fat Sax Bar(s):

Canary yellow seven-nine Seville is on display / My nigga Bongo hooked it up, Omar gon’, dip my rims today / So a nigga can, ride out to the Honeycomb, Hideout / I’mma show you how to, wild out like Jack Tripper / Let me be bambino on your snipples

5. “Da Art Of Storytellin’ (Part 1)”

“Da Art Of Storytellin’ (Pt. 1)”  lives up to its billing, displaying the incredible finesse required to manipulate the subtle nuances of details to effectively capture a scene. The second verse piggybacks on the first perfectly, and the central theme is conveyed throughout the song with a rather dexterous display of lyricism. The woozy instrumental is subduing, and it serves as the perfect bedrock for the duo to exhibit their artistry.

Producer(s): Mr. DJ

Album: Aquemini

Chart Position: #67 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop

Best 3K Bar(s): “All of the bullshit we on our back staring at the stars above / Talking bout what we gonna be when we grow up / I said what you wanna be, she said, “Alive” / It made me think for a minute, then looked in her eyes / I coulda died, time went on, I got grown / Rhyme got strong, mind got blown, I came back home / To find lil’ Sasha was gone”

Best Fat Sax Bar(s): “Not no parks, backseats or things of that nature / Had to hate ya player, I’m dicking the ho down never said I paid her / Straight laid her, slayed the bitch like Darth Vader, made her / From College Park and Fayette, all the way down to Decatur”

4. “Hey Ya!”

No matter how you slice it, “Hey Ya!” was an absolute mega-hit; a song with universal appeal that made the masses fall in love. Armed with a very clear-cut message and super catchy lyrics the song reached unparalleled heights for the group, spending nine weeks at #1 and going platinum. Andre took his genre-bending to new levels with this one, and was rewarded magnificently

Producer(s): Andre 3000

Album: The Love Below

Chart Position: #1 on Billboard Hot 100, #9 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop

Best 3K Bar(s): N/A

Best Fat Sax Bar(s): N/A

3. “Ms. Jackson”

Forever. Forever, ever. Forever, ever? The song that catapulted OutKast to mainstream success is also the group’s most moving record to date. “Ms. Jackson,” inspired by Andre’s actual tug of war with neo-soul singer/songwriter Erykah Badu and her mother over the welfare of their son, is a testament to the old adage that great music comes from pain. Big Boi expertly weaves his own tales of struggle in, but smartly plays a supporting role. 3K is the star here.  Together, the two MCs mold a record fashioned to withstand the test of time, one that may actually live forever.

Producer(s): Earthtone III (OutKast)

Album: Stankonia

Chart Position: #1 on Billboard Hot 100, #1 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop

Best 3K Bar(s): The whole damn verse.

Best Fat Sax Bar(s): “She need to get a piece of the American pie and take her bite out / That’s my house, I’ll disconnect the cable and turn the lights out / And let her know her grandchild is a baby, and not a paycheck / Private school, daycare, shit medical bills I pay that”

2. “Bombs Over Bagdad”

No song better summarizes and epitomizes what OutKast is than “Bombs Over Bagdad.” The song is as eclectic and unmistakable as the artists it embodies. Both Andre and ‘Twan use sporadic flows over an even more erratic drum programming to describe the same streets in very different ways. The pace is almost frantic, but you’re given just enough time to catch your breath before the gospel-esque vocals bring the song home. Hendrix-era guitar riffs at near hyper speeds seal the deal.

Producer(s): Earthtone III (OutKast)

Album: Stankonia

Chart Position: #69 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop

Best 3K Bar(s): “Get a life, now they on sale / Then I might cast you a spell, look at what came in the mail /A scale and some Arm and Hammer, soul gold grill and a baby mama / Black Cadillac and a pack of pampers / Stack of questions with no answers”

Best Fat Sax Bar(s): “Like that there boy and will still stay street / Big things happen every time we meet / Like a track team, crack fiend, dyin’ to geek / Outkast bumping up and down the street / Slantback, Cadillac, ’bout 5 niggas deep / 75 MC’s freestyling to the beat”

1. “Rosa Parks”

“Rosa Parks” is one of the greatest rap songs ever made. Completely crafted by the legendary duo both conceptually and sonically, the record symbolizes a transition from the old guard into a new age. Both verses mirror each other, explaining why OutKast pursued making such wildly different (and fantastic) music following Southernplayalisticadillacmusik, and they find each lyricist at his most potent. The two styles are as distinct as ever, and the song is as good now as it was when it was released in 1998. That’s why it’s hands down the best OutKast song of all-time.

Producer(s): OutKast

Album: Aquemini

Chart Position: #55 on Billboard Hot 100, #19 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop

Best 3K Bar(s): “I met a gypsy and she hipped me to some life game / To stimulate then activate the left and right brain / Said baby boy you only funky as your last cut / You focus on the past your ass’ll be a has what”

Best Fat Sax Bar(s): “Many a day has passed, the night has gone by / But still I find the time to put that bump off in your eye / Total chaos, for these playas, thought we was absent / We takin’ another route to represent the Dungeon Family / Like Great Day, me and my nigga decide to take the back way / We stabbing every city then we headed to that bat cave / ATL, Georgia, what do we do for ya / Bulldoggin’ hoes like them Georgetown Hoyas”

The post 25 Best OutKast Songs appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Goodie Mob took to the Billboard stage Sunday night to perform their new single, “Fight to Win.” The gang was decked out in all-white Adidas tracksuits in tribute to the Beastie Boys. They went on to cover the Beastie’s “Fight For Your Right,” in remembrance of Adam “MCA” Yauch.

The post Video: Goodie Mob Pay Tribute to MCA at Billboard Awards appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

One of the busiest men in the business, Cee-Lo Green has two TV shows going and is coming off one of last year’s biggest albums (and undoubtedly the boldest song). Nonetheless, the rapper and  reality TV show judge is still looking to reconnect with the groups that first exploded him into the public consciousness. The Lady Killer tells The Source:

Let me clear this up now, that comment was made very casually I’m actually planning on completing a Goodie Mob album first. So I am working on both of them, in a very calm moderate kind of way. You know we absolutely have the creative drive to do Goodie Mob, and we already started Gnarls Barkley about a year go so I’d like to right that statement….Goodie Mob is here to stay and so is Hip Hop. And we as a community need help, and I’m apart of the community, so I believe doing another Goodie Mob Album is doing a civil service, if you will.

So with both Goodie Mob and Gnarls Barkley albums on the way, expect a return to a less “Glee-friendly” Cee-Lo in the offing.

Via the Source

The post Cee-Lo Confirms New Goodie Mob, Gnarls Barkley Albums appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.