Speakerboxxx Let's start with Big Boi's Speakerboxxx which is more of a general hip hop album than Andre's disc. It isn't as experimental as some of Outkast's previous material but there is a fair bit of funk here as we have seen on Outkast's past albums. Killer Mike joins Outkast again and it makes for two quality tunes, with 'Bust' being my pick from the two. Like many hip hop albums I don't see the need for the skits here - it's a minor issue but one that wasn't needed. A few tunes are close to filler, but it's very consistent with a few great tunes like GhettoMusick. ★★★★ Best Tracks: GhettoMusick, The Way You Move [[CD 2]], Bust, Church, Reset, Last Call The Love Below Andre's album on the other hand is something a lil unexpected, and perhaps explains why the artists are separated for this release. This album shows Andre to be the more creative and diverse of the two (if we didn't know that already), as he creates a high quality R&B/pop/hip hop/funk album. I probably find this to be the disc I go back to more years on, with it being unique and there being more that I love on it. ★★★★☆ Best Tracks: Happy Valentine's Day, Spread, She Lives in My Lap, Behold a Lady, Dracula's Wedding, A Life in the Day Much of Outkast's albums are somewhat hit or miss for me except for their debut, so this album is a welcome change where I enjoy a larger percentage of what they gave us. And given it's two discs, Andre and Big Boi do a good job with each disc. There aren't the classics of the B.O.B.'s and the like, but for 35 tracks, most work very well.

This begins with the iconic freestyle, 'Mo City Don', that Z-Ro has said he is tired of performing and the great rapping never stops. In saying that, the production isn't as great. For want of a better word, it sounds a bit cheap. I feel like this, I'm Still Livin and Power are almost a trilogy as they have similar sounding beats before Crack kind of picked it up featuring some outstanding production. Going back to this years later it also features a wider range of subject matter compared to what we get on Ro albums these days. '1 Night' is one of my favourite songs from Z-Ro of all time. Beats: ★★★☆ Bars: ★★★★★ Hooks: ★★★★☆ Best Tracks: Mo City Don (Freestyle), I'm a Soldier, 1 Night *Written in 2K19

Large Professor is a certified hip hop legend and one of the best to produce. He was without a doubt the most important member of this crew and along with the other members of the group provides some of the best really early '90s beats and hooks, as well as rapping of course. As with all of Large P's music the message is positive and this is a must. Even the bonus tracks are fantastic. Best Tracks: Looking at the Front Door, Peace Is Not the Word to Play, Fakin the Funk, Looking at the Front Door (Uncut) (Unreleased), Time (Unreleased)

This is the only thing from KRS I love. I've checked out a BDP album or two but I find the beats boring, and his other solo work largely lack in the production as well. While I don't love everything here, the first ten songs or so entertain a heap, except for 'Uh Oh' which would have worked better as a two minute track as the beatboxing beat never changes. The beats still lack a lil at times, but there is enough great stuff here. Best Tracks: Outta Here, Mortal Thought, I Can't Wake Up, Sound of da Police, Mad Crew, Brown Skin Woman

While brilliant at times, ('Born 2 Live'/'Point O Viewz'), on occasions the fairly raw boom bap beats just don't excel quite enough ('Time's Up'/'No Main Topic') to grade this with the absolute best of the best. And while O.C. can rap, he doesn't have that distinctiveness in his voice that most artists do in the albums I consider to be toward the top of the class. I think this shows in that while I've listened to this a few times, I haven't really paid much attention to the lyrics at all. Despite the mostly negative review (it's been praised enough I guess), as the rating suggests I still highly recommended this, but not enough tracks blow my mind to grade this as a pure classic. Best Tracks: Word...Life, O-Zone, Born 2 Live, Point O Viewz, Ga Head, Born 2 Live (remix)