Aquemini

Aquemini
Studio album by OutKast
Released	September 29, 1998
Recorded	August 1997 - May 1998
Studio	Bosstown Recording Studios (Atlanta, GA) Doppler Studios (Atlanta, GA)
Genre(s)	Southern hip hop, Alternative hip hop, Conscious hip hop
Length	74:47
Label	LaFace
Producer(s)	Babyface (exec.), Organized Noize, OutKast, David "Mr. DJ" Sheats

OutKast chronology
Previous	ATLiens (1996)
Next	Stankonia (2000)

Aquemini is the third studio album by Atlanta hip hop duo OutKast, released on September 29, 1998 through LaFace Records. The title is a combination of Andre and Big Boi's Zodiac signs; Aquarius for Big Boi and Gemini for André 3000, which is indicative of the album's recurring theme of the differing personalities of the two members. Recording sessions mostly took place at Bobby Brown's Bosstown Recording Studios and Doppler Studios in Atlanta, Georgia from August 1997 to May 1998. Production was handled by Organized Noize, Mr. DJ, Donny Mathis and OutKast themselves. Aquemini includes guest appearances from both rappers and singers Raekwon, Goodie Mob, Masada, Witchdoctor, Buulll!, Backbone, Cool Breeze, Erykah Badu, Sleepy Brown and George Clinton. Released as the follow-up to the duo's 1996 sophomore album ATLiens, Aquemini expands on the outer space-inspired compositions by incorporating live instrumentation already introduced by the group's previous release. Lyrically, Aquemini explores various themes including human nature, addiction, and interpersonal relationships. 

Background

The commercial success of their previous studio album ATLiens allowed for more creative freedom for the group, which led to OutKast self-producing the majority of the tracks. The group employed a large number of live musicians for the album, who had a major influence on the writing development of the album's songs. On top of this, they were also able to afford longer studio sessions, sometimes "living" in the studio and working for weeks on end. During studio sessions, André 3000 would listen to Bob Marley constantly, taking influence from reggae songs. Both André and Big Boi would write their verses after constructing the beat, as they could then understand the tone of the song and write accordingly. Big Boi originally wanted to start of the album with Y'all Scared, but André and the sound team had wanted to make Return of the G the intro as they preferred the album starting with just the duo instead of a large posse. Because Big Boi missed a flight to attend the albums' mastering sessions, the sound team was able to keep Return of the G as the intro track, with Big Boi later came to terms with. Instead of Return of the G serving as the intro however, Hold On, Be Strong was used as an interlude, even though lyrics were supposedly recorded for it. Three singles were released, with Skew It on the Bar-B being the first and lead single. Skew It on the Bar-B features Wu-Tang Clan's Raekwon, with the three complaining about how Outkast's debut Southernplayalisticadillacmusik hadn't gotten the "five-mic" rating from music reviewer The Source. The next single was Rosa Parks, which managed to garner minor amounts of airplay and attention. Despite the success of Rosa Parks, they ended up getting sued by Rosa and her family due to them being uncomfortable with the sexual nature of the song, with a lawsuit going on for years until Rosa was paid an unspecified amount. The third and last single was Da Art of Storytellin' (Part 1), featuring fellow rapper Slick Rick. Coincidentally, Slick Rick had released his album of the same name on the same exact day. For some odd reason, the single version featuring Slick Rick hadn't appeared on the album, with his verse being completely absent.

Reception

Aquemini peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. It was released to rave reviews from music critics, who praised the album's musicality and unique lyrical themes. Aquemini was certified platinum in November 1998, only two months after its release, and was certified double platinum in July 1999 by the RIAA. It was ranked #500 in the book version of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Two of Aquemini's singles, Rosa Parks and Da Art of Storytellin' (Part 1) had managed to chart. Rosa Parks reached #55 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #19 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Da Art of Storytellin' (Pt. 1) peaked at #67 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in the United States.

Legacy

Aquemini had managed to be seen as one of the best albums of all time and some of Outkast's greatest work, with music website Rolling Stone ranking Aquemini at #49 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" in 2020. Along with this, Apple Music had ranked Aquemini at 41 on it's Apple Music's 100 Best Albums List.

Track listing

No.	Title	Performer(s)	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Time
1.	"Hold On, Be Strong"	-	-	Donny Mathis, OutKast	1:11
2.	"Return of the "G""	André 3000, Big Boi	Benjamin, Brown, Morodor, Murray, Patton, Wade	Organized Noize	4:49
3.	"Rosa Parks"	André 3000, Big Boi	Benjamin, Patton	OutKast	5:24
4.	"Skew It on the Bar-B"	André 3000, Big Boi, Raekwon	Benjamin, Brown, Murray, Patton, Stevens, Wade, Woods	Organized Noize	3:15
5.	"Aquemini"	André 3000, Big Boi	Benjamin, Patton	OutKast	5:19
6.	"Synthesizer"	André 3000, Big Boi, George Clinton	Benjamin, Clinton, Patton	OutKast	5:11
7.	"Slump"	André 3000, Big Boi	Bell, Benjamin, Patton, Williams	OutKast	5:09
8.	"West Savannah"	André 3000, Big Boi	Benjamin, Brown, Murray, Patton, Wade	Organized Noize	4:03
9.	"Da Art of Storytellin' (Pt. 1)"	André 3000, Big Boi	Benjamin, Patton, Sheats	David "Mr. DJ" Sheats	3:43
10.	"Da Art of Storytellin' (Pt. 2)"	André 3000, Big Boi	Benjamin, Patton, Sheats	David "Mr. DJ" Sheats	2:48
11.	"Mamacita"	André 3000, Big Boi	Benjamin, Brown, Hogans, Johnson, Murray, Patton, Wade	Organized Noize	5:52
12.	"SpottieOttieDopalicious"	André 3000, Big Boi	Benjamin, Brown, Patton	OutKast	7:07
13.	"Y'all Scared"	André 3000, Big Boi, Big Gipp, Khujo, T-Mo	Barnett, Benjamin, Gipp, Knight, Patton, Sheats	David "Mr. DJ" Sheats	4:50
14.	"Chonkyfire"	André 3000, Big Boi	Benjamin, Patton	OutKast	6:10
15.	"Nathaniel"	-	-	-	1:10
16.	"Liberation"	André 3000, Big Boi, Cee-Lo	Bailey, Benjamin, Burton, Crenshaw, Gilliam, Patton, Wright	OutKast	8:46