Outkast Liberation

First Name: Prome
E-mail Address: *******@uga.edu
Song Breakdown: Outkast: Aquemini: Liberation

Possibly the most gangster Outkast songs of all time. The percussion instruments combine with a somber piano to create one of the most representative O.K songs. Here are a few of the traits in this song that embody Kast as a whole. First, the beat is soooo tite, but lets forget about that for a little bit. The track opens with Andre 3000 singing/rapping like he does, followed by Big Boi rapping about his family and smoking herb. Note that Big's voice is raised so it almost doesnt sound like him. This technique is repeated throughout Outkast albums (see "Tomb of the Bomb" off Speakerboxx and "Red Velvet" off Stankonia).

Liberation is yet another example of O.K. creativity in the hip hop game. Next, Cee-lo comes in, reppin the DF, and blows the track awaywith his raw and dirty voice. His voice balances well with the previous verses of Dre and Big, as he stricly sings and brings some extra soul to the track. After Cee-lo comes another vocalist repeating "shake that load off" for 8 measures (This is my favorite lyric to be discussed in part 2).

In the background a female vocalist belts "freedom," another trait used by Kast-thefemale voalist. Then Erika comes in, another featured artist. To send off the track Big Rube puts a piece of his brilliant mind into the mix, taking the song into a different direction as his deep and fluid lyrics add the final emphasis to an already beautiful song. Then its time to just let the beat go for 2minutes and think about all the tite s***that just happened.