Speakerboxx - The Love Below [Explicit] - Outkast CD

Outkast are undoubtedly the greatest hip hop duo of all time, since bursting onto the scene in 1994, they have continued to make music that is years ahead of its time. "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" is as good as anything they have done previously, described as a modern day benchmark for rap music and it will continue to set the standard for many years to come.

The album consists of a solo project from both members, Big Boi's "Speakerboxxx" and Andre 3000's "The Love Below". "Speakerboxxx" is extremely consistent lyrically and will guarantee satisfaction to listeners, whilst "The Love Below" is a piece of work that can only be described as genius, Andre 3000 has proved yet again that there is nobody else in hip hop that can create music like him, bringing something completely different to the genre covering styles such as jazz, funk, soul and pop.

Such as the excellence of "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below", it unsurprisingly received outstanding reviews from critics along with selling over 11 million copies being certified diamond by the RIAA. Continuing to have success, it spawned two number one singles, "The Way You Move" and "Hey Ya", the latter being the first platinum download on iTunes which itself is an amazing feat. The album also won top prize at the Grammy Awards, being only the second hip hop record to do so and the first since "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" in 1999.

Outkast have all but cemented their status among the greats and "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" is undoubtedly one of the most ambitious pieces of music that hip hop has ever encountered. (Trevor Pratt)