This is due more to the silky smooth Sleepy Brown vocals and the Carl Mo/Big Boi beat than to Big Boi's generic-for-Big-Boi lyrics, however. And while “Hey Ya!” is still the more memorable single, “The Way You Move” makes for a fine alternative.
While Andre's “Hey Ya!” moved up the charts much more quickly, after about a month this track overtook its partner in temporary popularity (because that is all that Billboard truly measures).
THE WAY YOU MOVE (FEAT SLEEPY BROWN) The first single from Big Boi's half of the double album. I always believed that Big Boi (and his invited guests, by proxy) was trying too hard to retain the Stankonia audience, all without realizing that there are many songs from that album that absolutely nobody liked. Big Boi's showcased a philosophical pimp who paid much more attention to the political events of the world around him than one would believe, and he surrounded himself with guests who shared his views (Killer Mike, various members of the Goodie MoB, Sleepy Brown) and folks who would guarantee sales (Jay-Z, Ludacris, Lil' Jon), while Andre's only features three cameo appearances, one of which barely registers. When you subtract one or the other from the mix, you get a rapper (or in Dre's case, a 'musician') who is unencumbered by the trappings of the other's conventions, causing them to spiral out of control within their own ideas. Was both hailed and criticized by the general public: hailed because the music was good (at least, when it actually worked), but criticized because it isn't really an Outkast album. This led me to believe two things: (1) Andre's egomania had finally reached new heights, and (2) critics would be all over themselves sucking at the cock of Andre 3000. However, one strange fact stood out for me while I was reading through the liner notes: Andre helped Big Boi write and produce, but Antwan's assistance was largely ignored for. What I expected was two albums that didn't sound even remotely related, which is what I received.
LaFace Records marketed this project, rightfully so, as two solo albums packaged together: by Big Boi, and by Andre 3000. By the time album number five, the double-disc was announced, Andre 3000 had, apparently, moved on musically. (Shit, I may want to go listen to Aquemini after this write-up just so I can remember how good they once were.) Stankonia, Outkast's fourth effort and their most successful to this point, only drew the lines between Big Boi and Andre 3000 with a thicker Sharpie, although Andre was more willing to play ball, spitting verses as if Antwan put a gun to his boy's head, but still managing to craft memorable bits (such as 'Gangsta Shit'). Their contrasting points of view meshed beautifully, though, resulting in what I find to be the duo's finest hour. Awarded a GRAMMY® for Album of the Year in 2004, this was one of OutKast's (and pop music's) finest hours.This division on the front lines of hip first reared its ugly head on Aquemini, Outkast's third album and the first to directly reference the differences between the two men. In mashing up so many sounds so successfully, the album closed the door on hip-hop's boom-bap '90s period, ushering in an era of sonic cross-pollination between hip-hop and pop that persisted into the next decade.
Selling more than 10 million copies, Speakerboxx/The Love Below was OutKast's least classically hip-hop album to date it was an ambitious amalgam of funk, soul, R&B, disco, and rock (try classifying the snarky kiss-off "Roses"). Two of OutKast's most enduring and innovative tunes are here: Big Boi's "The Way You Move" (a '70s funk throwback in the style of Cameo and Chic) and "Hey Ya" (André 3000's kaleidoscopic, decade-defining rave-up). It was essentially two solo albums: André's The Love Below and Big Boi's Speakerboxx, packaged as a double record. While it showed the growing divide between André 3000 and Big Boi (and presaged their long hiatus), OutKast's fifth studio effort was a highwater mark for the group all the same.
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