#TBT: OutKast's Early Deep Cuts

OutKast might be best known for their later material like "Ms. Jackson" and "Hey Ya!," but this duo's discography runs deep.

Their first few albums, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, ATLiens, and Aquemini are hip-hop classics that melted southern twang with funky experimental fusion. With hits like "Elevators (Me & You)" and "Rosa Parks," OutKast began to pave their way to mainstream success, but it was lesser-known gems like "Babylon" and "Mainstream" that speak volumes of their limitless art.

Back in April we took a look at their debut album Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, and now we wanted to dedicate this Throwback Thursday to the greatest duo to ever do it. OutKast may be certified hit makers, but they have plenty of worthy deep cuts too. Here's 10 of them that got our bass thumpin'.

Hearing Big Boi and Andre rap about pimpin' doesn't get old, and "Claimin' True" is a testament to that. If you dig "Player's Ball" but want something that's a little less played, this is your cut.

"Funky Ride" may be listed as an OutKast song, but the duo actually isn't anywhere on the track. At any rate, the Organized Noize cut is a great R&B track that is well worth your attention, even if Big Boi doesn't kick a verse on it.

Andre may have said, "No drugs or alcohol so I can get the signal clear" on ATLiens, but on "Hootie Hoo" he was "tight like hallways, smoked out always."

This track is one of Andre 3000's finest moments:

"I came into this world high as a bird
From second hand cocaine powder
I know it sounds absurd
I never tooted but its in my veins
While the rest of the country bungies off bridges
Without no snap back
and bitches they say they need that
To shake they fannies in the ass clubs
they go the other route
turn each other out
burn each other out
where a bonified nigga like me
can't even get no back rub these days
ain't that bleak on they part
but let me hold it down
cause they shut you down
when you speak from your heart
now that's hard
while we ranting and raving bout gats
nigga they made them gats
they got some shit that'll blow out our backs
from where they stay at"

Along with a couple of their Goodie Mob cohorts, Andre and Big Boi talk about the dangers of the mainstream. All four MCs kick some of their finest bars, and the hook ties it all together:

"Think it is when it ain't all peaches and cream
That's why some are found floating face down in the main stream"

Here's some more of that deep, deep Andre 3000 for you:

"Me and everything around me, is unstable like Chernobyl
Ready to go at any moment, jumpin like a pogo stick
I never lived up to my expectations, so I accept the patience
Expect the worse but now I'm pacin
Back and forth, inside, I'm melting like water on wicked bitches
A monster truck done came and ran over my picket fences
I had the best of life in my clinches but monkey wrenches was thrown
Like chairs kings sit on, my prayers seem to long
I fall asleep before the endin, don't even get to say Amen
I hope He understand I be on bended knees
At times, I think I'm crazy, so I say forget it
Or maybe it's the devil infiltrating and like Riddick...Bowe
I've been fighting this since them fetus days
I count from one to twenty, when I'm through, repeat the phrase
It's just a phase, it's gon all pass, but that gets old too
I'm weakening like a deacon doin dirt
What am I supposed to do?"

Organized Noize produced a lot less of Aquemini than the previous two albums, but one beat they delivered on was the hard-hitting "Return of the 'G'." Andre kicks things up with some unorthodox words, and it begins as a rather unorthodox hip hop record to boot.

Before Kendrick Lamar or Snoop Dogg ever got an official feature with George Clinton, OutKast was collaborating with him on "Synthesizer." The 5-minute cut samples Sly Stone and is funky to the bone.

This is Aquemini's "Funky Ride," "SpottieOttieDopaliscious." It's soulful and out of place, but all too beautiful. The duo actually is on the track, too, and they have some fine moments, including Big Boi's spoken word...

"One moment you frequent the booty clubs &
the next four years you & somebody's daughter
raisin' y'all own young'n now that's a beautiful thang
that's if you're on top of your game
and man enough to handle real life situations
Can't gamble feeding baby on that dope money
might not always be sufficient but the
United Parcel Service & the people at the Post Office
didn't call you back because you had cloudy piss
So now you back in the trap just that, trapped
Go on and marinate on that for a minute"

The album closer, "Chonkyfire," is every bit as funky and experimental as the rest of the Aquemini record. It's alien and weird, but a perfect track nevertheless.