Big Boi brought it: Sir Lucious Left Foot…Son of Chico Dusty

05 Nov 2010 2 Comments

by Bonita Applebum in DJ / Artist - Bonita, Bonita, Bonita Tags: andre 3000, Big Boi, Crunk, Dirty South, OutKast, Sir Lucious Left Foot...Son of Chico Dusty

Big Boi owns me right now. I recently purchased his new album, Sir Lucious Left Foot…Son of Chico Dusty and have listened to it non-stop for a week. I’ve enjoyed the hell out of my visit to the Dirty Dirty, they are ever such gracious hosts. After the jump, ‘Nuff respect to Big Boi and the dirty South. With some killer cuts from the new album as well as a few choice OutKast classics.

Pitchfork Reviews describe Sir Lucious Left Foot…Son of Chico Dusty:

We haven’t heard a major-label rap album this inventive, bizarre, joyous, and masterful in a long time...As a rapper, Big Boi is something else. He just does so many things with his voice and cadence, letting his words fall over the snares one moment and fighting upstream against the beat the next. He never falls into any particular pattern of delivery, instead using his flow to knock beats back and forth with relish. Sixteen years after the first OutKast album, he’s still coming up with dizzy combinations of words.

Big Boi has long been under-appreciated as an artist.

Every great rap group has one MC who is– possibly unfairly– perceived to be slightly lesser than the other. DMC. Parrish Smith. Malice. Pimp C, at least up until he died. Big Boi’s been on that list ever since André Benjamin started rocking pith helmets and neckerchiefs. Big Boi’s not underrated, exactly; everyone who knows rap knows he’s a great rapper. It’s more that he’s taken for granted. Virtually every OutKast review of the past decade and a half has posited Big Boi as the earthy, street-level anchor to André’s spaced-out visionary, the guy responsible for securing the group’s cred when André was trying to invent new colors. Expect Sir Lucious Left Foot to change those conversations. (from Pitchfork)

Lucious Left Foot Sampler

There’s not a weak track on this album, it is mos def worth purchasing in its entirety. Big Boi continues in the OutKast tradition of being a fearless musician with an ever-evolving, experimental approach to music. This is album of the year. (Yeah, I said it Kanye!) It’s a killer combo of ass-shaking beats, dizzying lyricism and rich, lush production. It’s all the best parts of the dirty south, and this west coast b-girl can’t get enough!

Killer Production

It’s easy to forget that OutKast, along with Organized Noise and Goodie Mob, pioneered the dirty south style. Before they exploded on the scene in the early nineties with Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, rap was all about the two coasts. Fast forward 15 years, the south has dominated the game for years, hugely influencing the direction of commercial rap music. A hallmark of the dirty, dirty is rich, layered sound, the result of their own production style. On this new album, Big Boi’s style is so damn smooth and effortless, it belies his true artistry as a lyricist and producer.

Variety of styles

Another OutKast tradition is a wide variety of musical styles being represented and this album is no exception. This song reminds me of Hey Now in the best ways- it’s just not what you expect from Andre or Big Boi and it shows their ability to work completely outside their genre. It’s an art to make a retro song with a modern feel, and they both seem do it with ease. Janelle’s voice is haunting in Be Still, I love when Big Boi and Janelle collaborate.

OutKast Picks

This video really highlights my favorite parts of OutKast- the style, humor and killer lyricism. They have been described as avant-guard artists, know for a fearless, experimental mixture of sounds and styles. They mix low-brow with high-brow, hip hop culture with art. And the result will having you shaking your moneymaker as you enter their hip hop revival meeting featured at the end of this clip:

We the type of people who make the club get crunk

One reviewer described OutKast:

Their music brought hip-hop to a new level of diversity and experimentation, blending multiple genres unabashedly and with aplomb. Attaining both commercial and critical success, Outkast created a spaced out, post-conscious style that will influence musicians across the board for years to come.  (from hullabaloo.com)

Yes, all that was said about dude who wore football pads and feathers for  a “space, futuristic type of thing:”

An OutKast classic that gets lost in the shuffle:

Finally, a recent-ish Big Boi song featuring Andre 3K. xo!