Innovative duo releases solo CDs sold together

By Steve Jones
USA Today

Andre 3000, left, and Big Boi are Outkast. Associated Press Double your pleasure Outkast is a duo: Andre 3000 is the more esoteric (and odder-dressing) of the two, and Big Boi supplies the hip-hop flavah. The new record: "Speakerboxx/The Love Below," on the Arista label, was released last week. Big Boi recorded the "Speakerboxx" side; Andre 3000 made "The Love Below." First single: "Ghetto Music," from the "Speakerboxx" side, features a Patti LaBelle sample.

That penchant for new formulas has made Outkast one of the most inventive bands of the past decade. Each album has been a departure from its predecessor. Whatever they do invariably winds up funky, but otherwise, musical boundaries and conventions don't apply.

The Atlanta duo's daring new double album — "Speakerboxx/The Love Below," a solo disc apiece — challenges fans accustomed to hearing them together to accept them as individuals. That's a bold move in an industry where playing it safe is the rule.

"The way I look at it, if you picked apart what makes up Outkast, this would be it," says Andre 3000 (Andre Benjamin, 28), whose quirky, romantic crooning on "The Love Below" contrasts with the woofer-rattling "Speakerboxx" by Big Boi (Antwan Patton, 28).

Arista president Antonio "L.A." Reid, who signed Outkast to his LaFace label in 1992, says his only requirement was that the albums be packaged together. He had no doubt that the three-time Grammy-winning duo could pull it off.

"I felt good about it because they are so creative and they have such distinct points of view," Reid says. "The most impressive thing about them is that artistic growth is at the forefront of their values. It's not winning awards or selling millions of records, though I'm sure they love it. It's always, 'How do we grow artistically so that we don't get bored and our fans don't get bored?' "

"The Love Below" was a product of Andre's budding acting career. (He had a bit part in "Hollywood Homicide.") It was conceived as the soundtrack to a movie he was planning with Brian Barber, director of several Outkast videos. Andre was to play a man living in Paris who has a series of love affairs; the songs chronicled his exploits.

When he approached Big Boi about putting it out as a solo album, his partner decided he should do one, too. As it turned out, the movie was canned, but in two months the duo and Barber will start shooting an untitled musical film for HBO featuring songs from both albums.

"We're really excited about it," says Big Boi. "HBO is kind of letting us do our thing, and I'm ready to get out there and see what it's like. I've been acting my whole life — acting a damn fool. So I'm ready."

He scoffs at rumors that this project signals an Outkast breakup. The two have been friends since sophomore year at Tri-Cities High School in East Point, Ga. And Big Boi says that while they have matured, "Outkast is forever."

Selling the two albums together, he says, eliminates any feeling of competition. In fact, it gives them a chance to reach different audiences at the same time. His "The Way You Move" is getting played on hip-hop radio, while Andre's "Hey Ya" is being spun at top 40.

"The beautiful thing about it is they are running my video on BET and they are running his on MTV," he says. "We get to play both sides of the fence with two songs, and that's never been done before."

While Andre did most of his recording in Los Angeles, and Big Boi did his in Atlanta, they say they have no problem capturing that Outkast feel whether together or apart. Both are pretty much self-contained when it comes to writing, arranging and producing, and they stayed in regular contact. Andre produced four songs on "Speakerboxx," and Big Boi shows up on "The Love Below." They say they have a shared vision, even though Big Boi tends to be more grounded in the streets and Andre is more likely to come from out of left field.

On "Speakerboxxx," Big Boi makes liberal use of strutting horns and hard-hitting, low-end heavy beats to get that funk that makes you "frown up your face and go, 'Oooooh, Lawd!' "

That stank permeates such songs as "The Way You Move" and the P-Funk-flavored "Bowtie." On "Knowing," Andre delivers a Curtis Mayfield-like chorus on the story of a woman who robs a casual lover, but slips up and lets him discover her identity.

"The Love Below" has a different vibe altogether, and there's almost no rapping on it. It has a more jazzy, show-tune feel.

Andre says the music reflects his current mood. The album even includes a reworking of John Coltrane's version of "My Favorite Things."

"I got to the point where I didn't want to hear loud music and I didn't want to hear raps," Andre says. "I started playing saxophone and clarinet about two months ago and listening to all this music that I'm loving right now, so I guess that is what comes through. It's just a touch of what I'm discovering."

For the most part, the album plays like the story it was intended to be, with songs segueing neatly. On "Love Hater," he's cautious about falling in love but also fearful about growing old alone. "Dracula's Wedding" is about finding that ideal girl but being terrified of making a commitment.

"She's Alive" is the album's most poignant song. Describing a woman left to raise a child alone, it features recordings he made of his mother years ago talking about her relationship with his father.

"They both have different stories, so I'm kind of sad that I didn't get to get my dad's side of it," he says. "But I thought it was appropriate, because I know a lot of mothers go through that."

He kept guest stars to a minimum, although actress Rosario Dawson shows up on the sexy "She Lives in My Lap," and Norah Jones is on "Take Off Your Cool."

As Outkast's music evolves, their look is changing as well. Andre, who is known for saying, "I want to look as good as the music sounds," has for years sported all manner of outlandish outfits and a wide variety of wigs. But now he seems ready for something a little closer to a GQ style.

"In hip-hop and R&B, we've lost a little bit of class or something, and everybody is in jerseys and jeans," he says. "I want to take it back to when we were distinguished dressers."

Big Boi, who has always been more likely to sport jerseys and jeans, also seems to be seeking a more mature look.

"Now that I'm growing older, instead of having my pants size 40, which is five or six sizes too big, I wear my regular-size clothes. I want a grown-man fit. I've got three children, and I've outgrown certain things."