Outkast - ATLiens

LaFace Records

Outkast's sophomore album 'ATLiens' was released on this day in 1996. The Atlanta boys hit their stride and really came into their own with this record. Production from Organized Noize, and even Outkast themselves, set the backdrop for a somewhat psychedelic Southern adventure. The modern rap game plays out in a very different manner without the Outkast crew and their influence.

The extra terrestrial sights and sounds that lace ATLiens make it one of the most unique listening hip-hop experiences to this day, 25 years on. Experimental hip-hop in the contemporary landscape is a completely different world in comparison with this album's point of reference. But for the time, 1996, this would most definitely have been looked upon as genre bending and forward thinking. The mafioso rap schtick was in full swing around this time. Biggie and 2Pac were at the height of their miscommunications and Mobb Deep and Wu-Tang ran the streets soundtrack. Along came two dope boys in a Cadillac and the rest really is history. Their out of this world vision for what hip-hop could be would not be doused.

It would take a while to sink in, as things that are ahead of their time usually do, but their place among the greats, which began on Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik and was furthered with ATLiens and later material, is as secure as Fort Knox. Big Boi and Andre 3K are as undeniable a partnership as hip-hop has to offer. They were far from the first Southern acts to make an impact on the rap game but the impact that they eventually made will be felt for the foreseeable future. The mainstream is in debt to their essence and the underground to their vision - or vice versa.

They're intrinsic to the cultures words and ways, the epitome of a once in a lifetime act.

It's just two dope boys in a Cadillac x

August 27th, 1996.