Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
A double album: Big Boi's Speakerboxxx and André 3000's The Love Below, with Hey Ya! and The Way You Move.
OutKast, 2003
- Released
- 23 September 2003
- Recorded
- 2002-2003
- Studio
- Stankonia Studios, Atlanta; Larrabee Sound Studios and Ocean Way Recording, Los Angeles; Tree Sound Studios, Atlanta
- Label
- Arista
- Producer
- Big Boi, André 3000, Mr. DJ, Carl Mo, Cutmaster Swift, Dojo5
- Length
- 134:49
The two discs began as separate solo records. Outkast's management judged solo releases unsuitable, because Arista wanted to build on the momentum of the duo's recent Grammy win, so the records were combined, and the duo had pictured the set as the soundtrack to a film. André 3000 began The Love Below at his Los Angeles home on Pro Tools and recorded Pink & Blue in a single take. All of Speakerboxxx was made at Stankonia Studios in Atlanta, and large parts of The Love Below at Larrabee Sound Studios and Ocean Way Recording in Los Angeles and Tree Sound Studios in Atlanta. An estimated 120 songs were recorded, and Big Boi's favorite to record was Unhappy. Guests include Sleepy Brown, Killer Mike, Ludacris, Jay-Z, Rosario Dawson, Kelis and Norah Jones, and Roses is the only song on The Love Below with Big Boi. Big Boi and André 3000 were photographed separately for the cover.
The album entered the Billboard 200 at number one on the chart dated 11 October 2003 with 509,600 copies and spent seven non-consecutive weeks on top. The RIAA certified it diamond on 3 December 2004 and 13 times platinum on 29 September 2023. Metacritic gives it 91 out of 100. Pitchfork's Brent DiCrescenzo preferred Speakerboxxx, writing that it coolly upstages its counterpart, but singled out Hey Ya! on The Love Below. At the 46th Grammy Awards on 8 February 2004 it won Album of the Year and Best Rap Album, making Outkast only the second rap artists to win the main prize, after Lauryn Hill in 1999.
Track listing
- Intro1:29
- GhettoMusick3:56
- Unhappy3:19
- Bowtie3:56
- The Way You Move3:54
- The Rooster3:57
- Bust3:09
- War2:43
- Church3:27
- Bamboo (Interlude)2:10
- Tomb of the Boom4:46
- E-Mac (Interlude)0:25
- Knowing3:33
- Flip Flop Rock4:36
- Interlude1:15
- Reset4:36
- D-Boi (Interlude)0:40
- Last Call3:58
- Bowtie (Postlude)0:35
- The Love Below (Intro)1:27
- Love Hater2:49
- God (Interlude)2:20
- Happy Valentine's Day5:23
- Spread3:51
- Where Are My Panties? (Interlude)1:54
- Prototype5:26
- She Lives in My Lap4:27
- Hey Ya!3:55
- Roses6:09
- Good Day, Good Sir (Interlude)1:24
- Behold a Lady4:37
- Pink & Blue5:04
- Love in War3:25
- She's Alive4:06
- Dracula's Wedding2:32
- The Letter0:21
- My Favorite Things5:14
- Take Off Your Cool2:38
- Vibrate6:33
- A Life in the Day of Benjamin André (Incomplete)5:11
Personnel
- Big Boi vocals, producer, executive producer
- André 3000 vocals, producer, executive producer
- L.A. Reid executive producer
- Mr. DJ producer
- Carl Mo producer
- Cutmaster Swift producer, cuts
- Sleepy Brown vocals
- Killer Mike vocals
- John Frye recording, mixing
- Bernie Grundman mastering
- Jonathan Mannion photography, Speakerboxxx cover
- Torkil Gudnason photography, The Love Below cover
More from OutKast
Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik (1994), ATLiens (1996), Aquemini (1998), Stankonia (2000)
Sources
- Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, Wikipedia
- Speakerboxxx/The Love Below review, Pitchfork (2003-09-22)
- OutKast: Grammy Awards and nominations, Recording Academy