OutKast: ATliens
“It took your momma nine months to make it / But it only took an ICE agent thirty seconds to take it.”
I changed the second bar a bit, but if you recognize the lyrics, you know the reference. I can’t remember the exact date, but the first time I heard “Wheelz of Steel” I was hooked on the steel-scratching production. It was one of the wildest, coolest hip-hop beats I heard at the time.
In the late 90s, I was introduced to ATliens by Anh Thanh, my buddy’s older brother. Even though I was friends with Tùng, Anh Thanh and I bonded over music. Anh Thanh was working at the time; therefore, he could afford to buy Vietnamese and hip-hop CDs. He was very generous. He always loaned me his latest acquisitions. When he handed me ATliens, I didn’t even know about OutKast. From the album cover alone, ATliens was out of this world.
Right from the intro of “Two Dope Boyz (In a Cadillac)” is a greeting from an alien. The beat was pumping and the flows were just eccentric. I must admit. I did not understand what Big Boi and André 3000 were saying. Nevertheless, I loved the hook on “Elevators (Me & U)”: “Me and you / Your momma and your cousin, too / Rolling down the strip on Vogues / Coming up, slamming Cadillac doors.”
Many years later when my English improved I realized that both Big Boi and André 3000 were lyricists. For example, I am just going to quote the entire second verse off “Babylon,” in which André 3000 waxes his storytelling:
I’m fascinated by the way your nipples peek at me through your blouse
Freaky me, freaky you, can’t help but be aroused
’Scuse me, Lord, lustful thinkin’, but that was the way we was brought up
Sneakin’ to watch ‘Playboy’ at night
We all must be caught up in worldly ways
Chemistry between boys and girls
Is a lot, like when we went to the woods and laid with the squirrels
During P.E., we’d be–explorin’ each others privates
Hunchin’ with all our clothes on until we felt excited, then… (Ah)
Oh, now it’s on from here on out
Put yo’ hands in the atmosphere, if you know what I’m talkin’ about
Now if too harsh then walk on out and I’ll see you on the next song
They call it horny because it’s devilish, now, see, we dead wrong.
I was blasting “ATliens” on my way to work. It brought back so many memories. I just couldn’t believe the album was released 30 years ago. Time is just fucking flying by. I hope Anh Thanh is doing well!