Oddly enough, Big Boi would want to kick the album off with "Ya'll Scared", a song that is one of my personal least favorites on this particular album, but still a really dope track. The other issue, one that will seem much more significant once you look at the order and sequencing of the album, is deciding which song would kick off the album. Andre wanted to experiment some with his voice and pitch altering, and while some of that was allowed on the album, it was limited and in spurts. The biggest issue would seemingly be Andre and his need to experiment, and Big Boi's concerns that it could alienate their audience, which at this point was mostly urban. As Big Boi mentioned following the album's release, the two seemingly lived in the studio, letting the creativity marinate over a two year period, but the album was not without a small bit of internal conflict, as expected with artists of this caliber. Big Boi and Andre set up shop shortly after the success of ATLiens and would have many musicians coming in and out the studio, working tirelessly to create great tracks. The birth of his child, along with the relationship itself, led Andre to become more eccentric, more fearless, and more daring as an artist and MC. Along with this inspiration, Andre 3000 would be reinvigorated musically in a brand new way, as he welcomed his first child with Neo Soul songstress Erykah Badu. Deciding to forego utilizing Organized Noize for a majority of the music on this project, Andre and Big Boi would employ a large group of musicians to help create music with a large live instrumentation sound and feel while still using drum programming and keyboards. This cover is my personal favorite out of their whole discography and in many ways, it fits the album perfectly.Īfter the success of ATLiens, the duo would be afforded more creative freedom, and this would be the result. Along with the interesting name of the album, the duo would come with one of the more iconic covers in hip hop history, a painting that's truly rooted in imaging from blaxploitation films. Affectionately titled Aquemini, the album would allow Outkast to enter a new stratosphere as artists and mainstream names. Because of these distinct differences that we began to see via their sophomore classic album ATLiens, the two began work on a third album meant to highlight their individual styles, and they titled it after their two astrological signs.
These two are distinct individuals, different in theory and personality, but brought together by their love of music and creation. However, the biggest form of this connection can be found in the career of Andre Benjamin and Antwan Patton, otherwise known as Andre 3000 and Big Boi. Take the influence that Prince, quite possible the greatest Gemini artist, passed on to many of the Aquarius artists, such as D'Angelo for example, probably one of his biggest descendants in terms of music and creativity and known to be inspired by the Purple One. While that's just my personal story, we've witnessed the greatness that an Aquarius and Gemini can make together via music, or even in inspiration. I personally can attest to this, as my experiences with an Aquarius gave me a long term relationship and most of all, the greatest gift in the world, my daughter. Sure, there lies connection with any astrological sign, but the apparent aligning of the stars so to speak with these two signs seem to create something magical. The Aquarius and Gemini connection has been touted throughout astrology for years.