He wrote dope lyrics, it's not just all "I'm smokin' a joint, drinkin' and ridin' around all the time." You can tell he's a writer. He sat in the oven for a long time and put his dues in. When it was time to have our own label, it was the right time. DJ's neighborhood, so he used to come around while beats were being made. He's like the third member of our production team, Earth Tone Three-including me, Big Boi and Mr. And our first artist is Slimm Cutta-Calhoun.
I hear you guys are starting your own label.Īquemini Records. Wondering what a mother-in-law would think of you in that situation. There have been a lot of "baby-mama" songs written, but this is sort of a different approach-it's not from a "I hate my baby-mama" type of thing. A sample is a continuous loop that doesn't really give you those "moments." You know how a player will play a certain note, a certain way? You can't recreate that with a sample. That's just the way we do it because we like to get a free-form feel, to catch certain attitudes. I've heard great albums that use all samples. Most of your peers in hip-hop sample, yet you guys are known for predominantly using live instruments. They're ballin' outta control they have no direction. If you just look at the youth right now-they are wildin'. At the time, we were going through a lot of things. You've mentioned that song was written when your life was real hectic. The first single, "Bombs Over Baghdad," seems the perfect example of that kind of new rhythm. Music basically stays the same-there's no such thing as new notes, but you can always create new rhythms. The tempo and the rhythm are different, too. We have love songs on the album, where the melody is stressed a lot more. We're getting more into the actual art of songwriting instead of just coming up with a "hip-hop" song. How is "Stankonia" a musical progression for the band? They'll have to come different, after talking to HITS' crossover goddess Michelle "My Bell" S. But it's not fun anymore once everybody can do it that way. "It's too easy to get the equipment, the keyboards and whatever else you need and duplicate what's selling. "I think hip-hop as a whole is still good, but people have the formula together now," adds Dre. The mark of a great artist is the consistent and passionate pursuit of innovation, which is highly evident on the new LaFace/Arista album, "Stankonia," streeting 10/31. The last of which, the critically acclaimed "Aquemini" ( LaFace/ Arista), not only earned them a Grammy nomination, it also garnered the "classic" ranking of five mics by Source magazine-an honor that had only been handed down seven times before. Their progressive vibe and musical risk-taking has resulted in three Platinum albums. "We're trying to get better as musicians and songwriters," explains Big Boi. In a music world so often dominated by big-name producers and flossy MCs, Andre "Dre" Benjamin and Antwan "Big Boi" Patton of Outkast have brilliantly lived up to their name always marching to the beat of a different drum-a LIVE drum, for starters.