How Outkast Set Southern Hip Hop Free 

Kast totally redefined their sound and took insanely bold chances with every album but still went platinum every time, incredible

ATLiens is one of those albums where any track can be your favorite track.

Andre's speech at the '95 The Source awards was the beginning of the end for NY's hip hop dominance. They didn't know it at the time, but NYC just insulted at least 50% of their fanbase, because Southerners were proud of Outkast and they didn't like the disrespect... so they withdrew their support of NYC artists and kept their buying dollars local. I know, because in the late '90s, I began to see Southern fans who openly scoffed at NYC artists and only rocked with their local heroes. That's when No Limit and Cash Money blew up... the South made them go multi-platinum... just like they did for Biggie, Nas, Jay and Wu-Tang... but since Southern fans kept their dollars in the South, that made NY take a hit, and they've been down ever since. Everybody wants to point out all of these other excuses, but they never thought about the huge effect that the South had on the market for NYC hip hop.

This album is crazily slept on when people talk about the greatest albums in hip hop.

This album and Midnight Marauders invoke such deep feelings of happiness and heavenly nostalgia

"Andre Flutethousand" Lol. Classic

Finally, I've been waiting for an OutKast video for a while now. Outkast is arguably the best duo imo.

Would love to see videos about 90s Houston Rap or 90s Memphis rap, so influential today but never get the love they deserve

Wheelz of Steel is one of the dopest songs ever made & ATLiens is an absolute classic. I love this channel! Every video is well made & really interesting. Thank you so much for all your hard work.

Love how you find that amazing balance where production heads, hardcore fans, and younger / unaware people, all can get something out of and enjoy your breakdowns / dives. Keep up the great work B, you’re truly on a roll, man! And on the OutKast / production specific tips, anyone who has not seen the documentary, The Art of Organized Noize, do yourself a favor and seek it out / watch it… you won’t regret it.

That album is on my top 10 list..the beat from “elevators” is incredible and 13th floor helps you understand that you are on this planet for a short time with the verse “Trees bright and green turn yellow-brown Autumn caught em, see all them leaves must fall down, growin' old.”

This is the album that shifted my tastes and interests. As a southerner myself, this is a landmark, not just of southern hip hop but southern culture itself.

Outkats's different attitude only made it better when they used sampling or interpolation. My personal favourites are on Aquemini 😎👍🏼 Great video again my friend.

Thank you for this. I was sitting here tearing up because I felt for years no one on the other coasts understood our music and you broke it down succinctly. The reason it hits home for me is my wife is a singer and was a part of the family. She has credit on Even in Darkness. This entire group of people collectively created a sound that is still unmatched to this day. So thank you!!!

Outkast to me is maybe the greatest rap group in history just cuz i can't remember anyone else who redefined his sound and took a different approach with more musical risks with each album and did it so fcking well EVERY FUCKING TIME. They even went full R&B and Pop with Speakerboxx/Love Below and they didn't caught a single bad feedback cuz they executed it so fcking well. The run from ATLiens to Stankonia may be the greatest 3 album run in Hip Hop or even music history in general..In my eyes they will never get the credit and the flowers they deserve for what they did

This album and aqueminai (sp) are perfect no skip albums. I still play both today. Dungeon family baby!

OutKast's music kept evolving and they kept it fresh. Also notable for ATLiens - no skits

Great video as always! Rhyming ‘Virginia’ and ‘continue’ is an all-timer.

The Source speech was so legendary. And the First Sign for the Amazing Album ATLians. Amazing Video 💯💯💯

It’s Digging the Greats, and he’s starting the year off with a banger 🔥🔥🔥🔥. Elevators Me + You is such an eerie, yet vibey song in terms of production 🔥

There's just something magical about the way you do your videos. Is like a painter that paints a flower and for the first time they show you that flowers true beauty. Thanks man, I enjoy a lot your videos, as soon as is possible I'll get on your Patreon

I've been dying for you to do an Outkast video since your channel started, in fact I was just blasting Aquemini the moment I woke up an hour ago it's my favorite album of theirs. Thanks for this!

The “(Intro) You May Die” is such a beautiful track and sets the mood for what’s to come within the album. I learned how to accept life listening to this ATLiens. And I know this album will be here for me when I need it the most.

I bought this album with my pocket money in the holiday after my senior year at school. My friend worked in the store and played it while i hung around in the store. Once i heard it I had to have it and is still one of my favourite albums today.

Great work! I love the smooth tie-ins to your other videos.

I’ve been waiting on you to do a video about Kast!! I’m hype for this one!

thank you for doing this video.. as a fromer college DJ.. i had the honour of being part of the hip-hop scene of the ATL. OutKast, goodie mob and all of the dungeon family i have seen them all perform LIVE.

Because of your awesome video on this great album and what i saw yesterday about Camp Lo, im going and grabbing 2 of the best front to back albums in hip hop history and get to my daily chores. Have a blessed day!

I LOVE THE SONG "MAINSTREAM" !!!! VERY UNDERRATED SONG. THANK YOU FOR HIGHLIGHTING IT

Fantastic work. Thank you very much

Another Banger!! Love how you educate and entertain while dropping gems about our favorite music. 🙏🏾👏🏾💪🏾

Great video! Can’t wait for more about Organized Noise production!!! Thank you for your work!

Love your videos man

I'm from the South and the Kast has always been my favorite group...

Hell yea. Been needing an outkast video

Thank you 🙏🏾 I've been waiting on this one. I'm the biggest fan on the planet

Thank you for this video... been bumping outkast lately and miss them alot. 😢

The fact that players ball is Christmas record makes it even better

Thank you for your for all your hard work and effort you put in to all your videos sending you all the love and respect from the uk

ATLeins absolutely changed my life to put it simply

Every time I hear this album it takes me straight back to 96 one of my favourite albums ever... really good informative video breaking the tracks down

Your videos are ALWAYS well-researched and produced at a HIGH level. *I love your videos.* To your point about counting the song “Mainstream.” First, I didn’t realize that the sample was in 3 as long as I’ve been listening to this song! I learned something new today. Also, if you count it in 6, it’s much more palatable as far as counting goes (make no mistake: the song is DOPE in its own right).

I still can remember the feelings I had listening this record for the first time at the record store. Discovering this new futuristic, sweaty and polished kind of hip hop. I'm still frequently listening to ATLiens and Aquemini.

Thank you for this beautiful analysis. I grew up listening to these men when I was still in GRADE SCHOOL!! God bless you and everything you do!

I remember getting the cd at the time. Still bumping tracks in my playlist till today.

that rhythmic feel you started to talk about at the end sounds very much like what great jazz players do as they relate pulse to polyrhythm. Mike Longo was a great educator and Dizzy Gillespie's pianist before he passed on. Mike said that Diz used to talk about jazz time as three dimensional--as a reality that could not be captured on the page. That pulse was created by multiple layers of eighth note, quarter note, and half note triplets mixed into the gumbo along with other tuplets. Once the rue has been cooked to perfection, the layperson doesn't taste all the separate polyrhythms--rather their tongue just appreciates the end product, that scrumptious swing. Best way to hear that in action is to look up West African drumming, like CK Ladzekpo. I'm trying to convince the peeps over at the jazz podcast "You'll Hear It" to invite you on over for an episode about Hip Hop and Jazz. At the end of the day, it's all Black American Music (kudos to Nicholas Payton)--and we should learn from the continuum instead of siphoning off the pathways--could clear up a lot of ignorance around all that music, ya know?

I am always so stoked when a new Digging The Greats video pops up in my alerts! Thanks for this one, the first three Kast albums are amongst my favorites in any genre. Those guys were fucking geniuses. And yes, please, make a couple of vids about Organized Noize, Dungeon Family, Laface and the early ATL scene in general. A real vibrant period in music history, and I'd enjoy watching your analysis and breakdown. Keep up the awesome work man!

this channel needs its own netflix series, production and how translatable you make genuinely complex things. You deserve ya flowers bro x

Thank you for the history lesson; great video!!!!!!!!!!

This is probably the best video I’ve seen breaking down OutKast’s production. Us Atliens thank you 🙏🏼

EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT choice. OutKast is in a very rare conversation of best 4-5 album run in MUSIC HISTORY…not just hip hop. Well done.

My all time favorite album from any genre.

I remember buying this Album!!!! It's Amazing

Crazy seeing this video. I was listening to ATLiens this morning after a long time.

Preston Crump on the bass!!! Mainstream is such a great song! This is why ATLiens is my favorite Kast album. No skips

thank you for your videos man your honestly putting in the work, n research. i really appreciate it i love the information and your calm tone, honestly a lot of respect for u man. in your flow chart vids they be reminding me of how i be ranting to my homies 😂 anyways thanks for the content man i look forwards to these i love the deep dives🦫🦫

As a Georgia native I thank you for sharing this! 🙏🏾

You did it again. You make me wanna go back and listen to ATLiens again. I love how you broke down Mainstream too.

One of the greatest duos part of one of a hell of a super group.

Great video much love to the south from New Orleans ❤️🫶🏾🎤

that Mainstream/Decatur Psalm section might be my favorite part of the album! much respect spending a little extra time on the "Mainstream" production

My favorite ‘Kast album in an outstanding classic album lineup.

my favorite album of all time, nothing to throw away, just banger after banger after banger

Players Ball is an amazing track, great to see it featured

Big Boi's flow is like a tap dancer, the way the rhythm is always changing but stays in the groove. Andre 3000's flow is like a sand dancer, with the same fundamentals as the tap dancer, but slower and a bit smoother, using the grain from the beat so glide his lyrics. Both are unmatched at their abilities, that's why they work so well together. Like Ike and Tina.

ATLiens is legendary. But don’t forget Southernplayalistic! That really put the south on the map!

oh my word yes, videos on Organized NOIZE and Dungeon Fam videos, I cannot wait!

Hell yeah!!!

They are my favorite hip hop group of all time. And ATLiens is my favorite Outkast album! From start to finish, that album is perfect!

This album into Aquemini just blew my mind and still does to this day. Nothing like them since.

Nice video! I love this album. It was mind blowing when it came out. Regarding live instrumentation in Hip-Hop, I hope you do a video on Too $hort, Ant Banks and the Dangerous Crew. 🍻

ATLiens is one of my favorite albums of all time!

Great video.

This was dope! This still is my favorite group and the info on this is on point. Next I’d love to see UGK- Super Tight or 8Ball $ MJG- Comin’ Out Hard

You channel is incredible... Treal treal treal... Namaste...

ATLiens Is One Of My Favourite All Time Albums🙌🏾

Damn, it's been a while since i've listened to this album. Hearing these classics gave me natural highs all over again.

I had the 12’ single in 93 I was 13 I loved it.

Nice video!

This album contains one of my top 5 lyrics of all time, which is *ahem*: "Yea we take no shit, like ummm stopped up commodes".

So good

ATLiens is one of my favorite albums!

11:49 I'm about to now. I may even go through their catalog together.

We love your musical knowledge. Fan from epsideo one. Greetings from Hamburg, Germany, that is 😍

This train analogy is by far the best way to explain what is playing laid back or rushing or "drunk" while still following the beat...I'll use that with singers I produce ;) Thank you !

ATLiens is in my all time top 5 hip hop albums. Timeless art. 🙏

The narratives around hip hop are unparalleled.

I’m in for the spin-off videos

You are doing God's work young man ..I feel so peaceful and at home watching these

Outkast video, let's go.

Dude!!!!!! You know how your ISH,you can’t teach music knowledge you are born with it …….. Hats off sir Hats off . Keep doing what you do it’s needed these days with the music we currently have 😮😮

Thank you 👏👏👏👏 I would love to see something on a Tribe called red (The Hallucination) Stadium Pow Wow

We need an episode on the dungeon family asap🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

I shit you not, I just bought this album on vinyl on Monday. An absolute classic that released my Jr. year in HS. Damn near none of my friends liked it. Didn't get the concept. Thought it was all weird. Well, I not only banged Two Dope Boyz and Elevators every day in the car on the way to school, but we used Wheelz of Steel for my highlight tape we sent out to college coaches. This album is personal for me.

😮 thank you for this this is .my favorite camp of all time (dungeon family) what they did to music is amazing and no one could copy it gotta lov da south

I’d already heard ATLiens in the mid 90’s but my cousin gave me “Aquemini” on cd for a Christmas gift when it came out and it was a revelation. I listened to that album front to back a hundred times. OutKast is unique.

great video

imo this is their best album. great video btw

Solid observation on Mainstream. Aint even pay attention to the count til now 😮

First album I bought with my own money was Aquemini. They are two of my favorite artists of any genre of all time.