Elevators

It was more than 12 years ago when Big Rob J and I were sent to the Sandalwood Estates to interview Outkast for VIBE about their then sophomore album, ATLiens. I was 20 years old then (and so were Big Boi and Andre). V the TV series was on big screen and Big Boi was rocking this bright red short set when he showed up late because he'd had to buy a lawnmover. That was his very first house. Andre was a newly weed-liquor-and -meat-free man, and Rob and I were at the beginning of a journey, one that would take far longer than either of us thought, one that's still going on today.

While Southernplayalistic got Atlanta's People's Choice award for bringing A-Town culture to the national stage with a lyrical East-Coast-style elegance that never been hear before, Outkast was heading into newer territory on ATLiens. Andre produced a good half of that record. As I would interview him a good three times in that year, it was the first time that I was talking with a rapper whom I felt was treading the same creative ground as a musician that I was seeking to take on as a scribe. Tip and De La had put me on the path but they were New York. 'Dre was a cat who said "M'aam" I don't know why that was a big deal for me but it was.

I think about this as Big Boi and Andre' will both drop their first real solo albums in the coming year, their first efforts completely free of one another. I'm very curious to see how they turn out and how the public takes to them. While the streets have always taken to Big Boi (constant mentions of weed, blowjobs, strippers and tricked-out rides tend to do that) Big Boi is now in a place where he is, in a sense, starting all over again. "The Way You Move" was five years ago after all. His Purple Ribbon label had a hit and some misses, and Andre', due to "Hey Ya" and a slew of production credits and flawless verses on tracks that would have been nothing without him, has become a worldwide celebrity free of Outkast status.

As the media spent the entire press run for Speakerboxx/The Love Below predicting the group's eventual demise (Idlewyld didn't help things at all), I'm preparing myself for these records to signal the beginning of two of hip-hop's most successful artists as a duo. With a growing faction of young bucks creating noise that Andre' just might steal the crown (couples with the millions of women who are now in love with the boy) his success as a solo artist and producer is etched in stone. Personally, I think he'll become Raphael Saadiq of hip hop, producing tracks for A-List artists and dropping records that will always raise the bar, even if they go over the masses heads. Big Boi will also have a strong following as well, particularly if he plays to his strengths and takes the elder statesman path that continues to make artists like Snoop and Scarface bankable stars.

But all in all this blog isn't about the future. As my own creative lift is on the rise again, I know that things will never be the same. And that's a good thing. Talking with MMG, Rob, Lady Pcoq, the B-Man and a host of others, I've been reminded that there's a void out there that we (both generally and specifically) are destined to fill. For the first time in a long time I know that we can do it. Yet, for some reason, that makes me a little afraid. But as someone once told me in discussing being an artist: "If you aren't scared, you're crazy." Out.