He has taken to them as his primary form of expression over the last decade, appearing on everything from a grimy trap song to a glossy track starring Kesha. Instead of keeping DrГ© in top form for another Outkast album, these features seem to have satisfied his need for creative output. He was the most curmudgeonly 31-year-old on the planet, dismissing tall TвЂ™s as night gowns on DJ UnkвЂ™s вЂњWalk It Out (Remix),вЂќ berating music pirates on Devin the DudeвЂ™s вЂњWhat a Job,вЂќ and awkwardly romancing a Whole Foods cashier on LloydвЂ™s вЂњYou (Remix).вЂќ For the first time in years, AndrГ© was rapping his ass off, with a talent that came so naturally to him that he had temporarily grown bored with it. His 2007 feature run, then, was a revelation. But by the time Idlewild had come and gone, AndrГ© had spent most of the 2000s trying to match Prince, Jimi Hendrix, and Stevie Wonder rather than Eric B and Rakim. Three StacksвЂ™ malleable flow, nasally twang, and cerebral shit talk made him a prime candidate to be a memorable feature-killer he had already spent an entire early career trying to one-up his partner on every track, and more broadly fighting to prove OutkastвЂ™s place in a hip-hop pantheon that still idolized coastal artists. No wonder the final song we are likely to ever hear on an official Outkast studio album is called вЂњA Bad Note.вЂќД«ut from the ashes of Idlewild rose the phoenix of post-Outkast AndrГ© 3000.

While that musical project did gift us вЂњMighty O,вЂќ вЂњChronomentrophobia,вЂќ and Janelle MonГЎe, its damage to the increasingly strained creative relationship between Big Boi and Dre was irreparable. Idlewild, the album, was a confused mess that was neither the traditional funk-infused Outkast album Big Boi wanted to make nor the experimental modern blues album AndrГ© 3000 wanted to make, and therefore is rarely spoken of. Idlewild, the movie, was a confused mess that was neither good nor so-bad-itвЂ™s-good, and therefore is rarely spoken of. On, August 25, 2006, three days after the groupвЂ™s sixth LP, Idlewild, dropped, their Depression-era speakeasy musical was released (вЂ™Kast had a lot of leeway after Speakerboxxx/The Love Below). ItвЂ™s been 11 years to the day since the beginning of the end of Outkast. In the words of two great Southerners, nothinвЂ™ is for sure, nothinвЂ™ is for certain, nothinвЂ™ lasts forever. WeвЂ™re also ranking the best Southern rap albums, imagining the AndrГ© 3000 mixtape we all deserve, and arguing about what even constitutes the South anymore. YouвЂ™ll find stories from all over the map, exploring topics such as the enduring legacy of Confederate monuments in Richmond and Montgomery, the evolution of Charleston barbecue, and the intersection of faith and football in Lubbock. For the next several days, weвЂ™re celebratingвЂЉ-вЂЉand reporting onвЂЉ-вЂЉthe richness of the region.

Yet after a dozen spins, what was jarring becomes smooth and as listenable as the best of 2003вЂ™s Grammy-winning double disc вЂњSpeakerboxxx/The Love Below.вЂќ Download: вЂњIn Your Dreams.Welcome to The South Week at The Ringer. It will challenge ears to hear new and sometimes strange musical combinations. It isnвЂ™t always an easy disc to listen to because the music is demanding. In a way, OutKast has chronicled AfricanAmericn musical history with original tunes that transcend race and time. This is an adventurous mix of soul, jazz, blues, swing and hip-hop. When the guys hit their mark, as they do on вЂњMighty O,вЂќ вЂњMorris Brown,вЂќ вЂњThe TrainвЂќ вЂњPJ & RoosterвЂќ and вЂњIn Your Dreams,вЂќ theyвЂ™re outstanding. With 25 tracks, itвЂ™s uneven вЂ“ ranging from brilliant to just OK вЂ“ but on the duoвЂ™s first collaborative effort in six years it displays the unusual courage to risk failure. It pushes the back-to-the-future envelope to the point where the music of the 1930s crashes head-on with contemporary hip-hop. That said, this is one of the most ambitious, far-reaching collections of the year. OUTKASTвЂ™S CD version of вЂњIdlewildвЂќ defies pigeonholing вЂ“ itвЂ™s a soundtrack that includes a little music from the movie, a few songs merely inspired by the film and the balance has almost nothing to do with it, except for the OutKast imprimatur.

Idlewild outkast album cover