Aquemini

This is an album that I would love to listen to again for the first time. It's very ambitious, experimental and pushes the boundaries of hip hop and has gone on to be quite influential in the genre. At the same time though it is still very accessible and immediate. Definitely a great gateway record for people who don't have a lot of history with the hip hop genre.

For me, this is OutKast's magnum opus and arguably hip hop in general. This album has an extremely high replay value, thanks to its instantly catchy hooks, memorable verses and fantastic instrumentals. It is remarkably cohesive given the album has combined tracks that are infectious and fun, dark and thought-provoking, relaxed and chilled-out, and intense and heart-pounding.

As far as negatives go I will admit there are some tracks that don't completely work for me, and maybe should have been cut from the final album. However, the highlights are so high that it completely makes up for the missteps. Over half the tracks on this album blew me away on first listen and continue to impress after many more. Even the weaker tracks are not throwaways but just an experiment that didn't entirely work.

Favourite tracks: Return of the G, Rosa Parks, Skew It On the Bar-B, Aquemini, Slump, Da Art of Storytellin (Pt 1 & 2), SpottieOttieDopaliscious, Liberation, Chonkyfire

Weakest track: Mamacita