It's the beginning of August 1996. Yung DNC has been out of town for a few weeks. When he gets back, his three frens axe if he's heard the new Outkast single yet. Yung DNC has not. His fren pops in a cassette titled "Elevators" in the tape deck in his Honda DX. Yung DNC's world is never the same.
I was aware of Outkast after Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik. I even liked them alright. But outside of Goodie Mob, Wu Tang and Mobb Deep I still hadn't really embraced anyone outside of my West Coast roots. Elevators, and the rest of the ensuing ATLiens album would permanently put an end to the West Coast stranglehold on my heart. Elevators was the fucking shit.
For me ATLiens was absolutely groundbreaking. Big Boi has the perfect southern flow buttfuck, Andre 3000 sounded like no one I'd ever heard, and the production sounded like nothing I'd ever experienced. You'd be hard pressed to find a group of any genre that I flat out love more of their shit. Elevators, ATLiens, Rosa Parks, Ms. Jackson, So Fresh So Clean, BOB, Players Ball, the list goes on and on, and that's without getting to anything off the Speakerboxx/Love Below album that made them mainstream superstars. No group I can think of has consistently put out quality albums that stretch themselves musically while still speaking to the streets.
Elevators is the soundtrack to one of my most memorable nights in high school. B.O.B. is the soundtrack to one of my most memorable nights in college. Outkast will always be cooler than a polar bear's toenails to me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqB_UVlhlPAhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drsQLEU0N1YStaying put in the ATL we get Young Jeezy. Jeezy was part of the creatively named Boyz n da Hood who had one solid album, then Jeezy launched his solo career. Considered one of the three pioneers of Trap, Jeezy put together a solid enough career but he's going to get smoked in this matchup.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gczBgNB-p1whttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCUS3yeND9c
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Stalin finally looks at the thread and votes in 2023