Aquemini

Did You Know?

• The group originally planned to create a film in conjunction with Aquemini, completing a script three months before the record's release.
• OutKast met with MTV for the film project, but MTV hoped to cast Missy Elliott and Busta Rhymes instead.

Recording

After their earlier albums brought them bigger audiences and more money, OutKast had the freedom to take their time making Aquemini. Big Boi said they never rush out music just to hit a deadline, and that their records usually take two or three years because they wait until the sound is right. The duo and a group of session musicians essentially moved into the studio for weeks at a time. They brought in a baby grand piano and hired players whose styles ranged from stoner funk to prog rock.

Producer Neal H. Pogue compared the constant flow of musicians coming and going to the organic feel of classic Motown or Stax sessions. Most of the album’s music came from jam sessions: one musician would start with a chord pattern, and the others would build on it. During recording, André 3000 was heavily into reggae and listened to Bob Marley nonstop. Once the music was shaped, he and Big Boi wrote lyrics that matched the mood of each track.

Musical style and lyrics

Big Boi described the music on the album as "very experimental," featuring live instrumentation including horns, guitar, piano, and harmonica. AllMusic's Steve Huey detected the "ethereal futurism" of ATLiens in the music but noted that Aquemini more often "plants its feet on the ground for a surprisingly down-home flavor." The album fuses organic soul and progressive rap with touches of electro-funk, dub, and rock, according to Rashod D. Ollison of The Baltimore Sun. Pitchfork stated that the album draws from southern soul, gospel, and country, and favors live-band sounds without shunning synthetic ones. Lyrically, Aquemini explores individuality, human nature, addiction, self-inflicted struggles, technology, interpersonal relationships, and blends science fiction concepts with urban narratives.

Songs

The opening track "Hold On, Be Strong" was written by session guitarist Donny Mathis and originally conceived as a full song, but the group used only the refrain. André 3000 played a kalimba on the song after purchasing the instrument at a flea market, drawing inspiration from Earth, Wind & Fire. "Return of the G" addresses fans who felt the group's style had changed too drastically since Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, as well as those who make poor decisions to maintain street credibility.

"Rosa Parks" contains blues-influenced guitar work and folksy harmonies, with a clapping, foot-stomping breakdown featuring harmonica. "Skew It On the Bar-B" features Wu-Tang Clan rapper Raekwon and discusses the disappointment of the group's debut album not achieving a "five-mic" rating from The Source. The title track has been compared to the music of Isaac Hayes, and producer Pogue used delays and echos to make it "dimensional." "Synthesizer" features George Clinton and contains elements of electrofunk; Billboard called it an "electronic-leaning spasm of technological paranoia."

On "Slump," Big Boi is joined by two members of the Dungeon Family describing their experiences selling dope; it is one of the few tracks without André. "West Savannah" discusses Big Boi's Southern roots and references individuals who fail to recognize different regional Southern identities.

Critical reception

Aquemini received widespread acclaim from critics. AllMusic's Steve Huey called it "a stroke of brilliance" and a "virtuosic masterpiece, and a landmark hip-hop album of the late '90s." Robert Christgau described it as "evolved G-funk with denser instrumental crosstalk." Los Angeles Times writer Soren Baker complimented the "intelligent hip-hop" and noted that the album supplies "some of the lushest tracks ever included on a hip-hop record."

Q named it the group's "third best offering." Sia Michel of The Village Voice called it "an impassioned state-of-hip-hop address." Cheo Tyehimba of Entertainment Weekly qualified it as the hip-hop album of the year. Rolling Stone's S. H. Fernando Jr. wrote that OutKast prove "you don't have to sell out to sell records."

Steve Jones of USA Today commented that the duo's "molasses-smooth raps speak to the stark realities of urban streets." Tony Green of Spin said they have "crafted some of the most seductive and dramadelic textures." The Source's Charlie Braxton gave it a five-mic rating, praising the duo's "superb use of the urban narrative." In a retrospective review, PopMatters described the album as a "loud, unpretentious, eclectic kick in the ass."

Slant Magazine's Dave Hughes stated that ten years on, Aquemini is "the single strongest aspect of one of the art form's deepest benches."