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ATLiens is OutKast at their absolute finest,
in every aspect

  Nic Balding - Arrow Staff

   Babylon, Mainstream and E.T. are all tracks on OutKast's 1996 15-track album, ATLiens. I consider this CD to be one of the all-time greatest hip-hop albums in the history of music. Today, people recognize OutKast for their more mainstream hip-hop hits such as Miss Jackson and Rosa Parks. ATLiens is a soapbox for OutKast to stand on and display their smooth flow and intelligent lyrics.

   The album is a non-stop, head bobbing, display of Andre Benjamin (AKA Dre) and Antwan Patton's (AKA Big Boi) lyrical talent. The track E.T., which has nothing to do with extraterrestrials, has to do with growing up, and being an individual. The lyrics are deeply implanted in your brain by the freestyle flow. Track 14 is split into two pieces of music. First, the speaking track, 13th Floor, has a strong religious feel to it. It describes the hardships African-Americans have had to endure, and how Christianity has helped. The second part to the track, Growing Old, describes the lives of Dre and Big Boi, and the events they have experienced in their lifetimes.

   One of the things that detracts from hip-hop albums is poor beats. Lyrics are only half of an album; well-produced albums have ever-changing beats that help the lyrics flow.

   Some albums sound like the artist is rapping over the background music, while good albums have lyrics that flow smoothly with the background beats. Antonio M. Reid, Kenneth B. Edmonds and the people at Organized Noize Productions have done a fantastic job on producing the tracks.

   Track 4, Wheelz of Steel, has some of the strongest beats on the album. Big Boi's lyrics are set perfectly to punchy beats. The turntables in the chorus send the listener into a spinning trance, only to be brought back to reality by Dre's lyrics fading in from all directions. The simple beats in Elevator are sure to keep heads bobbing wherever it's played. This is one of the more laid back tracks on the album. It easy to sit back in a big cushy couch and just chill to the smooth beats and entertaining lyrics.

   If you know OutKast, you most likely know them for their unique style and flow. Both Big Boi and Dre have an equally interesting style. Big Boi has a smoothed-out snappy flow that seems like it will never stop or slow down. Dre's flow is the total opposite. He has an ever-changing speed to his flow, with sharp pauses in his lines, followed by another set of rhymes. Together, they create a combination rivaled only by Neapolitan ice cream.

   Both artists' unique styles are best shown in E.T. With the track's freestyle sounds, both artists' lines are well defined within their individual styles. The way they compose their lyrics is dizzying. You can't help but to smile when either Dre or Big Boi continue to rhyme even when you thought they were finished. It gave me chills when I first heard the track.

   This is not only OutKast at their best, it's hip-hop at its finest. If you're a fan of hip-hop, you either already own this album, or you're in your car driving to the record store right now. If you're a fan of OutKast in all their many forms you should not be without this album.