Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

Following Outkast's first Grammy Award win at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards (2002), André 3000 felt urged to do something different from his previous projects and moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. He was relatively unsuccessful, landing a minor role in Hollywood Homicide (2003) and a one-episode appearance in the drama series The Shield. Big Boi had already recorded some songs before André 3000 contacted him, but after their conversation he decided his next project would be Speakerboxxx. Speakerboxxx and The Love Below were originally conceived as individual solo efforts. However, Outkast's management deemed the decision unsuitable, as Arista Records sought to capitalize on the momentum caused by the duo's then-recent Grammy Award victory. In a compromise, André 3000 and Big Boi integrated their solo records into a single double album, Meanwhile, the original track listing for Speakerboxxx, published before The Love Below was completed, included "Oh No", featuring Bubba Sparxxx and BackBone; "Do Dirty", featuring Killer Mike; "808", featuring Bun B; and "Rats & Roaches", a collaborative effort between Big Boi and André 3000. ==Music and lyrics==

Speakerboxxx/The Love Below is a 135-minute double album comprising a total of 40 tracks, including 11 interludes. It is a concept album with the intention of each disc showcasing each member's individual perspective and musical style. Big Boi's Speakerboxxx is an experimental Southern hip hop and progressive rap record with lyrical themes such as single parenthood, philosophy, religion, and politics. while independent critic Roni Sarig observed the emotional range in Big Boi's lyricism as wider on Speakerboxxx than on its predecessors. The track's eclectic musical style, encompassing electroclash, According to Brent DiCrescenzo of Pitchfork, "Unhappy" musically conveys Big Boi effectively asserting himself as simultaneously traditional and perverse. Brown is also featured on "The Way You Move", a Latin-influenced R&B song pairing a "Dirty South synth-drum bounce with a faux Phil Collins hook". On the psychedelic soul track "War", Big Boi refers to the 2000 United States presidential election, War in Afghanistan, murder of Daniel Pearl, Iraq War, Black Panther Party, and Post-9/11. "Church" is a lyrical critique of organized religion. Both tracks use an identical "bouncy" beat, The disc's abounding theme is love, specifically falling in love and self-love. Sarig suggested that the end of André 3000's relationship with Erykah Badu influenced much of the lyrical content, which he saw as concerned with the search for true love. a funk-neo soul ballad sung similarly to Prince, Clinton, and Sly Stone. Alternative R&B track "She Lives in My Lap", André 3000 described the song as being "pretty much about the state of relationships in the 2000s. It's about some people who stay together in relationships because of tradition, because somebody told them, 'You guys are supposed to stay together.' But you pretty much end up being unhappy for the rest of your life." "Roses", the sole song on The Love Below on which Big Boi appears, "Pink & Blue" contains samples of Aaliyah's 1994 song "Age Ain't Nothing but a Number" and reverses its lyrical theme, being directed towards an older love interest rather than a younger one. On "Vibrate", André 3000 uses pro-environmental metaphors for masturbation. The dub-jazz track is built on muted trumpets and backward drumbeats. The Love Below closes with "A Life in the Day of Benjamin André (Incomplete)", described as an "autobiographical epistolary". ==Marketing==

Imagery . For the album cover and accompanying imagery for Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, Big Boi and André 3000 were photographed separately, due to rising creative differences between the two, following prior disagreements over their imagery. Big Boi was photographed by longtime collaborator Jonathan Mannion, while Torkil Gudnason photographed André 3000. After listening to the entirety of Speakerboxxx, Mannion devised ideas for imagery based on the record's lyrical themes. Meanwhile, Gudnason had a more fashion-oriented approach towards his photo shoot. On the cover of The Love Below, André 3000 is shown posing with a gun and portraying Cupid Valentino, one of his alter egos present on the album. On CD pressings of Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, Big Boi's image was used as the front cover, while André 3000's cover was placed in the back. Furthermore, the liner notes were divided into two segments, one for each record, with separate imagery. before being postponed to August 19. It was ultimately released on September 23, 2003, by Arista Records. As it was marketed as a double album comprising Big Boi and André 3000's solo discs, Outkast also promoted the album individually, arriving separately to 2003 MTV Video Music Awards on August 28 and staging separate performances and interviews. The strategy elicited intense media speculation over their disbandment, which the members consistently denied. In subsequent months, Outkast appeared on covers of The Source, The Fader, Entertainment Weekly, Vibe, Complex, Rolling Stone, and Q. On October 31, 2003, they performed together on Total Request Live, before performing on Saturday Night Live the following day, at the 2003 American Music Awards on November 16, and at the VH1 Big in '03 Awards on November 20. André 3000's solo performance of "Hey Ya!" at the 46th Annual Grammy Awards on February 8, 2004, ignited controversy, as its imagery was described as "racist" and disrespectful towards Native American culture. He subsequently performed the song at the 2004 Kids' Choice Awards on April 3. Outkast performed together at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards Japan on May 23; Big Boi held solo concerts at the Shinkiba Studio Coast in Tokyo the following day, and at the launch of Calvin Klein's fragrance Eternity Moment in New York City on June 3. The duo performed "Roses" at the BET Awards 2004 on June 29, and a medley of "The Way You Move", "Hey Ya!", "GhettoMusick" and "Prototype" at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards on August 29. André 3000 then performed at Fashion Rocks on September 8, while Big Boi performed "GhettoMusick" with Patti LaBelle at the 2004 World Music Awards on September 15. In September 2023, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below was reissued on two limited-edition vinyl pressings, in commemoration of its 20th anniversary. ==Singles==

In March 2003, MTV News reported "Church" and "Prototype" would be simultaneously released as the lead single from Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, and would be accompanied by a Bryan Barber-directed 30-minute short film comprising both songs' music videos; however, those plans never came to fruition. However, the promotion of the single was soon halted as Outkast focused on subsequent singles "Hey Ya!" and "The Way You Move", hence "GhettoMusick" peaked only at number 93 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. In select countries, the song was released as the album's double A-side fourth and final single alongside "Prototype" in November 2004. "Hey Ya!" and "The Way You Move" were released as the second and third singles on August 25, 2003. "Hey Ya!" was the first to reach the summit on the US Billboard Hot 100, where it spent nine consecutive weeks, eight of which "The Way You Move" spent at number two, before reaching the top for one week. Internationally, "Hey Ya!" reached the top 10 in numerous countries, as well as number one in Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Norway, and Sweden, Croatia, Denmark, New Zealand, At the 46th Annual Grammy Awards, "Hey Ya!" won Best Urban/Alternative Performance, and was nominated for Record of the Year. Barber directed both songs' accompanying music videos, which were produced to appear in sequence as a long-form video. "Hey Ya!" shows André 3000 portraying all eight members of the fictional band The Love Below performing to a rapturous crowd in London, to recreate The Beatles' first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, while "The Way You Move" depicts Big Boi and Sleepy Brown in a garage specializing in Speakerboxxx audio systems, before the setting is transformed into a lavish party. it had also been nominated for Best Short Form Music Video at the 46th Annual Grammy Awards. It became their third consecutive top-10 single on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number nine. The song fared similarly internationally, reaching the top 10 in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Its accompanying music video, Outkast's sixth consecutive to be directed by Barber, is a contemporary adaptation of the musical West Side Story, and depicts the rivalry between two high school crews—The Love Below, led by André 3000, and Speakerboxxx, led by Big Boi—as they battle for fictional Caroline's attention. The video was nominated for The Michael Jackson Award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video at the 2005 Soul Train Music Awards. "Prototype" was released as the fifth and final single from Speakerboxxx/The Love Below on September 27, 2004, and was released as a double A-side single with "GhettoMusick" internationally. Like "GhettoMusick", "Prototype" failed to enter the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 63 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. ==Critical reception==

Speakerboxxx/The Love Below was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 based on reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 91, based on 26 reviews. Reviewing for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine called both discs "visionary, imaginative listens, providing some of the best music of 2003, regardless of genre". He credited Speakerboxxx with "reclaiming the adventurous spirit of the golden age and pushing it into a new era", while referring to The Love Below as "the great lost Prince album." Kris Ex wrote for Blender that the double album "holds an explosion of creativity that couldn't have been contained in just one LP", while writing for Los Angeles Times: "It's not just that the collection stands so far above much of today's contemporary hip-hop and R&B; but that it surpasses the high level of genre-defying craftsmanship that the duo has cultivated for nearly a decade." According to Andy Gill of The Independent, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below set "a new benchmark not just for hip hop, but for pop in general", featuring "so many musical tributaries coursing into both Big Boi's progressive-rap pyrotechnics and Dre's freaky jazz-funk love odyssey that even their old tag of 'psychedelic hip-hop soul' starts to look restrictive". Stylus Magazines Nick Southall called the album "a series of spectacular moments and memorable events". John Mulvey of NME described its two discs as "two Technicolor explosions of creativity that people will be exploring, analysing and partying to for years". Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine wrote that it is "greater than the sum of its parts, and this kind of expertly crafted pop and deftly executed funk rarely happen at the same time—not since Stankonia, at least." In his review of Speakerboxxx/The Love Below for Rolling Stone, Jon Caramanica was less enthusiastic, particularly about André 3000 expressing his "right to be peculiar in a hip-hop context". Matt Dentler from The Austin Chronicle stated that Outkast performed stronger as a duo than individually, explaining: "It's like Lennon and McCartney solo albums: plenty of solid tunes, but the pen held together is mightier than a solo sword." Ethan Brown from New York shared those sentiments, elaborating: "Big Boi's Speakerboxxx is bolder—he wants to go where most hip-hoppers fear to tread and take the MTV audience along with him. It strikes at the essence of what has made OutKast so important to pop: the accessible, democratic nature of its strangeness." On the contrary, Matt Harvey of BBC praised both counterparts, describing Speakerboxxx/The Love Below as "hilarious and thought provoking, goes on for hours (without ever getting boring) and is the most ambitious piece of pop [of 2003]". In The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), Roni Sarig wrote that "for sheer breadth, ambition, and musical vision, there's little doubt Speakerboxxx/The Love Below is a classic." ==Accolades==

Listings Awards and nominations Critically acclaimed, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below was nominated for a myriad of industry awards. At the 46th Annual Grammy Awards on February 8, 2004, it won Album of the Year, the most prestigious Grammy Award, and Best Rap Album. Outkast thus became only the second rap artists to win Album of the Year, after Lauryn Hill in 1999. Geoff Boucher from Los Angeles Times declared the album "the first pure hip-hop project" to win the award. While accepting the Best Rap Album award, André 3000 said: "Thank you", showed a peace sign, and left the stage. Carena Liptak of The Recording Academy retrospectively called the acceptance speech "perhaps the shortest" in the history of Grammy Awards. Speakerboxxx/The Love Below also won Best Album of the Year at the 2004 Soul Train Music Awards, and Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album at the American Music Awards of 2004. Internationally, Speakerboxx/The Love Below won Album of the Year at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards Japan, while being nominated for the Brit Award for International Album in both 2004 and 2005, and for Best Album at the 2004 MTV Europe Music Awards. ==Commercial performance==

In the US, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart dated October 11, 2003, with first-week sales of 509,600 copies. Following three consecutive number-two debuts, the album became Outkast's first number-one on the Billboard 200, before descending to number two the following week. During its first month, the album sold over one million units. It returned to the summit in its sixth week, having spent the prior three weeks within the top four. During the Christmas week of 2003, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below sold 374,000 copies, rising back to the summit, where it stayed for three additional weeks throughout January–February 2004. In total, the album spent seven non-consecutive weeks at number one, and 56 weeks charting. Shortly after the album's 20th anniversary, the RIAA certification was updated to 13-times platinum on September 29, 2023, signifying 13 million album-equivalent units; Speakerboxxx/The Love Below thus became the highest-certified rap album of all time. In Canada, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below debuted at number six on the Canadian Albums Chart dated October 11, 2003, and was certified gold by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) in its first week. It subsequently peaked at number four on the Canadian Albums Chart on February 14, 2004. In the UK, the album was a sleeper hit, debuting at number 44 on the UK Albums Chart before peaking at number eight in its 16th week, as well as peaking atop the UK R&B Albums Chart in its 15th week. It was certified triple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in July 2023, denoting album-equivalent units of 900,000. Across Europe, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below reached the top five in Ireland and Norway, and number six on the European Top 100 Albums, while reaching the top 20 in Denmark, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland. In June 2004, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) certified the album platinum, for sales of one million units in Europe. The album was also a commercial success across Oceania, peaking at numbers nine and three in Australia and New Zealand, respectively, and being certified double platinum in both countries. According to IFPI, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below was the 11th best-selling album worldwide of 2003. As of September 2023, it has sold over 11 million copies worldwide. ==Legacy==

Despite initial scepticism from both the industry analysts and Arista Records over the performance of Speakerboxxx/The Love Below due to its double album conceptualization, the album achieved immense commercial and critical success. Gabriel Szatan of Dazed praised Speakerboxxx/The Love Below for expanding the horizons of artistic expression within hip hop, elaborating: "For a relatively young and exceedingly creative genre, big league hip hop was also pretty conservative in its accepted conventions in the 90s and early 00s. OutKast permanently stretched those boundaries, showing eccentricity should be cherished. Nowhere was that done more gleefully than on their flawed, frantic yet furiously fun final masterpiece." Upon its release, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below was frequently compared to The Beatles' 1968 eponymous double album in critical commentaries, Although both he and Big Boi were insistent on denying the intensified rumors of Outkast's disbandment, André 3000 began increasingly expressing his desire to pursue a solo career throughout the promotional cycle for Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. In an interview for Blender, he stated: "In a perfect world, this would be the last OutKast record." Idlewild was originally conceived as a visual counterpart to Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, composed of music videos for the album's tracks.{{cite news|last=Moss|first=Corey|date=June 23, 2003|url=https://www.mtv.com/news/v9om34/outkast-solo-albums-being-turned-into-movie-musical|title=Outkast Solo Albums Being Turned Into Movie Musical ==Track listing==

All tracks on The Love Below are written by André Benjamin, except where noted. All tracks are produced by André 3000; "Roses" is co-produced by Dojo5. Notes • signifies a co-producer • The original pressings of The Love Below did not include "The Letter", and "My Favorite Things" was a hidden track. "Vibrate" did not include its six-second spoken outro, while the ending of "A Life in the Day of Benjamin André (Incomplete)" featured a radio interview instead of a fade-out. The revised edition was released in early 2004, and was made standard for all future pressings and digital editions. Sample credits • "Intro" contains an uncredited sample from an Emergency Broadcast System announcement by Don Pardo. • "GhettoMusick" contains samples from "Love, Need and Want You" by Patti LaBelle. • "She Lives in My Lap" contains samples from "Mind Playing Tricks on Me" by Geto Boys, and "Pistolgrip-Pump" by Volume 10. • "Pink & Blue" contains samples from "Age Ain't Nothing but a Number" by Aaliyah, and an uncredited sample from "Why Can't We Live Together" by Timmy Thomas. • "My Favorite Things" contains interpolations from John Coltrane's recording of the same title. ==Personnel==

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. ;Speakerboxxx • Big Boi – executive producer, lead vocals (all tracks), producer (tracks 4–7, 11, 14, 16), programming (tracks 4, 7, 11, 13, 15), keyboards (tracks 4, 7, 11, 13), background vocals (track 8) • André 3000 – executive producer, lead vocals (track 2), producer (tracks 2, 9, 18), keyboards (tracks 2, 18), programming (track 18), additional vocals (track 13) • L.A. Reid – executive producer • Bernie Grundman – audio mastering (all tracks) • Killer Mike – lead vocals (tracks 7, 14) • Devine Evans – sound design, engineer • Sleepy Brown – lead vocals (tracks 9, 11), backgrounds vocals (tracks 2, 3, 6, 7, 14), additional vocals (tracks 4, 5) • Konkrete – lead vocals (track 11) • Big Gipp – lead vocals (track 11) • Ludacris – lead vocals (track 11) • Jay Z – lead vocals (track 14) • Khujo Goodie – lead vocals (track 16) • Cee-Lo – lead vocals (track 16) • Mello – lead vocals (track 18) • Slimm Calhoun – lead vocals (track 18) • Cutmaster Swift – producer (track 1), cuts (tracks 6, 14) • Mr. DJ – producer (tracks 3, 8, 13, 14) • Carl Mo – producer (tracks 5, 6) • Jazze Pha – additional vocals (track 4) • Lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz – additional vocals (track 18) • Myrna Crenshaw – background vocals (tracks 2, 7–9) • Joi – background vocals (track 2) • Debra Killings – background vocals (tracks 3, 9, 14, 16), bass (tracks 3–6, 8, 9, 14, 18) • Tori Alamaze – background vocals (track 4) • John Frye – audio recording, audio mixing (all tracks) • Moka Nagatani – audio recording (tracks 2, 4, 13) • Vincent Alexander – audio recording (tracks 5, 11), recording assistant (track 2) • Matt Still – audio recording (track 9) • Chris Carmouche – audio recording (track 11) • Warren Bletcher – recording assistant (all tracks) • Marvin "Chanz" Parkman – keyboards (tracks 3, 8, 9, 14, 16), organ (track 2), piano (track 6) • Kevin Kendrick – keyboards (track 9) • Donnie Mathis – guitar (tracks 3, 6) • David Whild – guitar (tracks 4, 7, 8, 14) • ZaZa – guitar (track 5) • Preston Crump – bass (track 3) • Aaron Mills – bass (track 9) • Victor Alexander – drums (tracks 7, 8) • Hornz Unlimited – horns (tracks 4–6, 18) • Rajinder Kala – congos (track 3) • Regina Davenport – A&R direction and coordination, production coordinator • Theresa Wilson – A&R administrator • Michael "Big Blue" Williams – management • Joe-Mama Nitzberg – creative direction • Jeff Schulz – art direction and design • Jonathan Mannion – photography ;The Love Below • André 3000 – executive producer, lead vocals (all tracks), producer (all tracks), programming (tracks 1, 9, 12), keyboards (tracks 1, 9, 12), guitar (tracks 4, 7, 8, 18), tenor saxophone (track 8), acoustic guitar (track 9), background vocals (track 19) • Big Boi – executive producer, lead vocals (track 10; uncredited), background vocals (track 6) • L.A. Reid – executive producer • Brian "Big Bass" Gardner – audio mastering (all tracks) • Kelis – lead vocals (track 15) • Norah Jones – lead vocals (track 19) • Killer Mike – background vocals (track 10) • Sleepy Brown – background vocals (track 19) • Joi – additional vocals (track 4) • Myrna Crenshaw – additional vocals (track 4) • Marianne Lee Stiff – additional vocals (track 7) • John Frisbee – additional vocals (track 7) • Rosario Dawson – additional vocals (track 8) • Rabeka Tunei – additional vocals (track 9), recording assistant (track 9) • John Frye – audio recording (all tracks), audio mixing (tracks 10, 14, 17), pre-mixing (tracks 2–8, 10–13, 15, 18, 19) • Robert "HipHop" Hannon – audio recording (tracks 4, 5, 9) • Pete Novak – audio recording (tracks 4, 5, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 17, 19), audio mixing (track 15), pre-mixing (tracks 4, 5, 12) • Matt Still – audio recording (track 7) • Terrence Cash – audio recording (track 8) • Reggie Cozier – audio recording (track 13) • Darrell Thorp – audio recording (track 13) • Brian Paluralski – audio recording (track 15) • Padraic Kernin – audio recording (track 18), recording assistant (track 18) • Neal Pogue – audio mixing (tracks 2, 7–9, 18, 19) • Dexter Simmons – audio mixing (tracks 4, 5, 12, 13) • Warren Bletcher – recording assistant (all tracks) • Josh Monroy – recording assistant (tracks 4, 5, 9) • Russell Buelna – recording assistant (tracks 4, 13, 14, 19), mixing assistant (track 15) • Chris Carmouche – recording assistant (tracks 8, 13) • Jared Robbins – recording assistant (tracks 9, 15), mixing assistant (track 15) • Jeff Moses – recording assistant (tracks 12, 14, 17) • Greg Burns – recording assistant (track 13), mixing assistant (track 13) • Chris Steffen – recording assistant (track 13), mixing assistant (track 13) • Donnie Whittemore – mixing assistant (tracks 4, 12, 13) • Alex Reverberi – mixing assistant (tracks 5, 7, 8, 10, 14, 18, 19) • Malik Albert – mixing assistant (track 8) • Greg Price – mixing assistant (track 9) • Sean Tallman – mixing assistant (track 17) • Kevin Kendrick – keyboards (tracks 2, 5, 7, 9, 10, 14, 19), guitar (track 4), piano (track 17) • Marvin "Chanz" Parkman – keyboards (tracks 8, 19) • Darryl Smith – guitar (track 2) • Tomi Martin – guitar (track 8) • Moffet Morris – upright bass (track 4) • Kevin Brandon – double bass (tracks 4, 14) • Kevin Smith – electric bass (track 5) • Aaron Mills – bass (tracks 7, 8, 17) • Hornz Unlimited – horns (tracks 2, 14, 19), trumpets (tracks 5, 8) • Cutmaster Swift – cuts (tracks 5, 8) • Jef Van Veen – drums (tracks 2, 14) • Benjamin Wright – string arrangement, conductor (track 13) • Charles Veal – violin, concert master (track 13) • James Sitterly – violin (track 13) • Mark Casillas – violin (track 13) • Gina Kranstadt – violin (track 13) • Marisa McClead – violin (track 13) • Mark Cargill – violin (track 13) • Richard Adkins – violin (track 13) • Tibor Zelig – violin (track 13) • Yarda Kettner – violin (track 13) • Louis Kabok – violin (track 13) • Patrick Morgan – viola (track 13) • Robin Ross – viola (track 13) • Michel Vardone – viola (track 13) • March Vaj – viola (track 13) • John Krovaza – cello (track 13) • Martin Smith – cello (track 13) • Lisa Chien – cello (track 13) • Catherine Chan – cello (track 13) • Kelvin Brandon – contra, bass (track 13) • Kevin O'Neal – contra, bass (track 13) • Gary Harris – saxophone (track 17) • Fulton Yard Unlimited – digital editing (track 14) • Regina Davenport – A&R direction and coordination, production coordinator • Theresa Wilson – A&R administrator • Michael "Big Blue" Williams – management • Joe-Mama Nitzberg – creative direction • Jeff Schulz – art direction and design • Torkil Gudnason – photography ==Charts==

Weekly charts Monthly charts Year-end charts Decade-end charts Centurial charts All-time charts ==Certifications==