| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
| Aquemini | ||
|---|---|---|
| LP by OutKast | ||
| Released | September 29, 1998 | |
| Recorded | ||
| Genre | Southern rap | |
| Length | 74 min 47 s | |
| Record label | La Face | |
| Producer | Organized Noize , Babyface and OutKast | |
| Professional reviews | ||
| Spin | 9 out of 10 | December, 1998 p. 178 |
| Q | 5 stars out of 5 | February 2001 p. 124 |
| Nude as the News | Favorable | link |
| The Source | 5 mics out of 5 | November, 1998 p. 189 |
| Entertainment Weekly | Grade: A | November 6, 1998 p. 88 |
| Robert ChristgauRobert Christgau (sometimes abbreviated in print to Xgau , born April 18, 1942, is an American essayist, music journalist, and rock critic. His first reviews were published by Esquire magazine in 1967. He began writing music essays and review for The Vill | Grade: A- | link |
| Mixmag | 4 out of 5 | January 1999 p. 113 |
| Rolling Stone | 4 stars out of 5 | October 1, 1998 p. 66 |
| Los Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times (also L. Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California and distributed throughout the Western United States. With a circulation of 965,633 readers per day as of 2002, it is the second-largest metropolitan newspaper | 4 stars out of 4 | link |
| Uncut | 4 stars out of 5 | March 2003 p. 120 |
| Rap Pages | 5 out of 5 | December, 1998 p. 139 |
| Allmusic.com | 5 stars out of 5 | link |
| Popmatters.com | Very favorable | February 7, 2004) |
| Muzik | 4 stars out of 5 | December, 1998, p. 70 |
| OutKast Chronology | ||
| ATLiens ( 19961996 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar), and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty''. Events January January 5 Hamas operative Yahya Ayyash is killed by an Israeli-planted booby-trapped cell phone Jan) | Aquemini ( 1998) | StankoniaStankonia is a hip hop album by Outkast, released by La Face records (a subcorporation of Arista, BMG) on October 31, 2000. It received big sales, reaching the No. 2 position in America's national billboard hot 100 chart as well as practically universal a ( 2000This page is about the year 2000. See 2000 AD for the UK comic book, Number 2000 for other uses. 2000 is a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar), and also the International Year for a Culture of Peace''. Events Y2K passes without the seri) |
Aquemini is the name of the 1998 album by the rap group OutKast ( Big Boi, André Benjamin). The album was critically acclaimed virtually across the map for its innovative, natural rhymes and funky, characteristically Southern beats, courtesy of Organized Noize , the record producers. Guest musicians on the album include Witchdoctor , Cee-Lo , Erykah Badu and George Clinton. The album was certified platinum in November 1998, only two months after its release, and was certified double platinum in July 1999. On the Billboard music charts, Aquemini peaked at #2. Producers on the album include Babyface and Organized Noize , as well as André and Big Boi themselves on nine out of the fourteen tracks.
Aquemini (a combination of the two performers' Zodiac signs: Aquarius (Big Boi) and Gemini (André)) is a vaguely futuristic, synthesizer-drenched album punctuated with anthemic choruses and bluesy beats, as well as a memorable spoken word poem in the song "Liberation". In contrast to much of hip hop in the late 1990s, OutKast refused to tone down the regional qualities, like the harmonica break on "Rosa Parks" and distinctive Atlanta slang and diction throughout. At the time, mainstream rap was almost entirely West Coast or East Coast, both dominated by a monolothic style of production and delivery. OutKast's sound, while outwardly similar to some other Southern rappers like Master P or Goodie Mob, was distinct, yet hook-laden and accessible, and sounded fresh at a time of stagnation in the hip hop community.
Aquemini received critical praise then virtually unheard of for a mainstream hip hop album, who enjoyed the lack of a materialist focus on bling bling like much of hip hop, and Rolling Stone even declared that the album proved "that you don't have to sell out to sell records"[1], while Popmatters.com agreed, claiming "(i)n a year where excess was romanticized by nearly everyone, OutKast was one of the few commercial groups concerned with more than just 'the Benjamins'"[2]. Stylistically, the album was gangsta rap, but also featured enough lyrics emphasizing peace, harmony and maturity to satisfy magazines like Q, which called Aquemini "(b)reathtaking in its ambition... (Aquemini) makes most rappers seem drab and doltish in comparison" [3], while others have identified the album as alternative hip hop or compared it to progressive rock and bands like Pink Floyd [4]. Nude as the News called "Rosa Parks" "one of the best rap songs ever crafted" [5].