CORPORATE LINE: With Outkast’s seventh LP Idlewild, the musical companion to their upcoming major motion picture with the same name and the follow-up to their 11x platinum-selling LP the Love Below/Speakerboxx, hip hop’s dynamic duo are poised to open a new chapter in audio-visual expression.
What exactly is Idlewild and what does it mean? Idlewild is a fictional town in rural Georgia where the film is set.
“It was a city in Michigan,” explains André. “Brian [Barber’s] wife is from Michigan and there was a town in Michigan in the 30s and 40s called Idlewild. It was a place where prominent Black people that had money would go vacation. It was kinda like the Hamptons but for Black people. So we just took that name and took that sensibility and placed it in Georgia and called it Idlewild, Georgia.”
The plot revolves around two lifelong friends Percival Jenkins Jr., a mild manner mortician’s son and aspiring musician played by André, and Rooster played by Big Boi, a number runner and bootlegger who uses the mortician’s hearse to run moonshine. Rooster opens up a speakeasy called “the Church” and gets his friend Percival to work as a pianist. But their friendship is put to the test when Rooster’s club is in danger of being taken over by a local gangster.
THE GOOD:
“Morris Brown” f/Scar & Sleepy Brown – To the tune of a marching band, the duo of Boi and Andre make it funky. This is a track that could hold its own on any of the last two Outkast releases.
“Mutron Angel” f/Whild Peach – It’s a shame one of the best tracks on the album doesn’t feature the mad genius’ that compose Outkast.
THE AVERAGE:
“N2U” – Big Boi doing it R&B-style is often better than when he’s doing it straight-up hip-hop-style.
“Mighty O” – Dre and Boi are back together and kick out the rhymes. The hook will have you waving your hands in the air. It’s the first single—but it’s not the first pick for best song.
“Peaches” f/Sleepy Brown – A track that might work for the movie, but it does nothing for the album. Here “Peaches” sounds like a throwaway song.
“Idlewild Blue (Don’t Chu Worry ‘Bout Me)” – Andre misses the note as he takes on the blues. Again, this sounds like a song that is for the movie. Alone, on the record, “Idlewild Blue” is a skip over.
“Chronomentrophobia” – Funky with a sexy hook—it’s unfortunate that Andre’s rhymes are lackluster.
THE BAD:
“Makes No Sense At All” and Buggface” – both tracks come closer to the end of the album and contribute nothing. Both are filler—hopefully they contributed something more to the movie.
FRANKLY: Idlewild isn’t nearly as brilliant as the last two Outkast albums. In fact, listening to the album straight through is exhausting. There are a lot of songs that are lackluster. The interludes do nothing but slow the album further and create a jarring monotony. Outkast had a grand vision and from the sounds of it the vision was far too ambitious.
+ CC Morris
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