Outkast
Idlewild
Review by Marissa J. Lonardo AKA MJ

When your last CD is one of the 3 best selling Hip-Hop Albums in history its hard to top that success. But Andre 3000 and Big Boi really known as super group Outkast; have made a great effort with the latest Album, the unofficial soundtrack to their movie "Idelwild."

Outkast’s continually sets themselves apart from the legions of Hip-Hop MC's out, and this CD the gap widens. With the movie as the backdrop with many skits and 25 tracks, you can say you are getting a lot for your money.

Although the album is really based on the movie, a nice touch is that even if you don't see the movie, the album still makes sense. But if you don't know I will share with you some facts, the movie is set in the prohibition era and its theme throughout is good music and fun.

"Mighty O" the first single is very nice, it’ll take you back to the days of call and response. "In Your Dreams" featuring, Killer Mike and Sleepy Brown is a great song that makes you want to dance but with nice lyricism, especially on a fast beat. "Greatest Show On Earth" featuring Macy Gray is a song that only Outkast can put on a CD and not get dissed; the song is out there but good. Equally as out there "Mutron Angel" is cool, with nice vocals. "PJ & Rooster" straight from the movie really takes you back to the days of yore, with nice use of the keys.

Stand out tracks include the guest featured Snoop Dogg and Lil Wayne "Hollywood Divorce" & "Idelwild Blues" (Don'tchu Worry 'Bout Me) is a throwback but bringing the funk in a major way. Some misses include “Morris Brown, although Big Boi addresses some issues, the song has to much going on that the lyrics get lost in the song. Also the last song is confusing "Bad Note" with one note playing continuously until the way end of the song, when there is jumbled talking, and then the disc ends.

Many skits and songs sprinkled all the over the album help with the overall flow that is continuous and a great touch. The album is basically summed up as an R&B infused Hip-Hop offering, if Hip-Hop was around in the 1920's. I would recommend this album to anyone who is an Outkast fan and anyone with an open mind, and since the cover of the album, moves when u look at it in different positions, it will also move you if you pop it in to you music player, fo sho.