The record also received rave reviews from music critics, who praised the album's musicality and unique lyrical themes. Four of the album's tracks had already or would later become singles, although some were limited (promotional) releases and not available commercially. It peaked at number two on both the Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Lyrically, Aquemini explores various subjects including individuality, human nature, addiction, self-inflicted struggles, technology, and interpersonal relationships, as well as blending science fiction concepts and urban narratives.Īquemini was certified platinum in November 1998, only two months after its release, and was certified double platinum on July 2, 1999, by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Featured guest artists include Raekwon, George Clinton, and Erykah Badu. The album reflected a greater level of creative freedom for the group, which led to the members self-producing the majority of the tracks and employing a large number of session musicians who filtered in and out of the studio throughout its recording, exerting a major influence on the album's compositional development. Released as the follow-up to the duo's commercially successful 1996 album ATLiens, Aquemini expands on the previous record's outer space-inspired compositions by incorporating live instrumentation and drawing on 1970s funk, southern soul, gospel, country, psychedelic rock, and other influences. The group recorded the majority of the album in Bobby Brown's Bosstown Recording Studios and Doppler Studios, both in Atlanta, Georgia. The title is a portmanteau of the two performers' Zodiac signs: Aquarius ( Big Boi) and Gemini ( André 3000), which is indicative of the album's recurring theme of the differing personalities of the two members. It was released on September 29, 1998, by LaFace Records. This was one of the best experiences I’ve had listening to a new hip hop artist and it was really enjoyable kinda wish I listened to them earlier.Aquemini is the third studio album by American hip hop duo Outkast. It is kinda disappointing cause Andre 3k doesn’t have a solo project (besides the love below) and makes me wish he had some solo work cause he is really entertaining. Big boy still holds his own as a great artist. Andre 3000 is easily a top 5 rapper of all time for me now after listening to their discography. I really enjoyed listening to OutKast discography and they have imo the best 3 album run in hip hop and some classics in their discography. I also feel like here they’ve perfected their sound that it seems like they are were experimenting with in ATLeins. The album didn’t have a lot of low points and it was consistent enjoyable and good. I was excited to listen to this album especially after listening to ATLiens which was a great album, this album did not disappoint and it was very good as you can tell from my rating. Definitely better than I expected and it’s nice to see how good they are all but themselves. Overall as an album this is very enjoyable obviously I didn’t listen to all 29 songs in one listen, I listened to them separately so I wouldn’t get bored of the album cause it is very long. This just makes me wish he did some solo albums.ĩ. Of course this half is the more popular and the half with the more noticeable songs. Andre 3000 is experimenting with his sound here and he does some interesting things. Although my technical rating being lower for this album due to its fillers I enjoyed this half a lot more than the speakerboxxx half.