Despite fizzling on the charts, “B.O.B.” was an instant success with critics and remains a fan favorite.īut “Ms. If anything, the album’s lead single “B.O.B.” - a frenetic, ominous electro-tinged track - seemed like a bellwether that Stankonia might prove too challenging for listeners: “B.O.B” missed the Hot 100 entirely and failed to detonate on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, only reaching No. Its heady mix of ’70s soul, psychedelic funk, Public Enemy-styled aural chaos, drum’n’bass, Funkadelic, Prince and even salsa is engrossing but dizzying, beguiling but befuddling. Yes, they were Southern rap stars after Aquemini, but with Stankonia, OutKast was suddenly thrust into the same pop cultural conversation that included Janet Jackson, *NSYNC and Britney Spears.įor an album that would see OutKast vastly expand its audience, Stankonia sure doesn’t sound like a pop crossover album. 12 peak of “Elevators (Me & You)” on the Hot 100, the duo’s pop culture crossover was limited. But beyond the headlines the Rosa Parks lawsuit garnered, and the No. The duo had been steadily increasing its profile since the release of its 1994 debut Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, with follow-up LPs ATLiens (1996) and Aquemini (1998) enjoying critical acclaim and hitting No. It was hardly an overnight success story, though. Jackson.” Today, it’s regularly cited as one of the greatest albums of all time.
![outkast stankonia album artwork outkast stankonia album artwork](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/47/Outkast-speakerboxx-lovebelow.jpg)
2 on the Billboard 200, the album remained on the chart for 46 weeks and earned OutKast two Grammys: best rap album and best rap performance by a duo or group for “Ms. Which isn’t to say the 2000 article was wrong, per se if anything, it speaks to the sea change in popular success OutKast would enjoy over the next decade, fueled in large part by the critically lauded commercial breakthrough that was their fourth album, Stankonia, a 73-minute odyssey that catapulted their careers to the next level.