Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
by Outkast
  • Record Label: La Face
  • Release Date: Sep 23, 2003
User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 401 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 356 out of 401
  2. Mixed: 23 out of 401
  3. Negative: 22 out of 401

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  1. TyS
    Oct 31, 2003
    3
    Bloated with 95% filler this is hardly an enjoyable listen .. Talk about self indulgence !! This should be a 5 track ep .
  2. VytB
    May 27, 2004
    2
    Only 1 good song! Hey Ya.
  3. SimonM
    Sep 2, 2005
    3
    Really, really terrible. 2 cd's of rubbish. There is a few good songs on each album, but overall, this is not the old outkast. Since the classic Ms. Jackson and So Fresh, So clean i've never heard them do anything quite as good. I wouldn't really recommend this album AT ALL!
  4. KeithR
    Feb 6, 2004
    3
    I'll keep this short. DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE. Outkast hasn't put out a good album since Aquamini... and even that album was sub-par. I am convinced 90% of these reviewers have never heard Outkast's real masterpiece. That masterpiece of course is their second release, ATLiens. That album is one of the all time greats... up there with Nas's "illmatic" and Wu-Tangs I'll keep this short. DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE. Outkast hasn't put out a good album since Aquamini... and even that album was sub-par. I am convinced 90% of these reviewers have never heard Outkast's real masterpiece. That masterpiece of course is their second release, ATLiens. That album is one of the all time greats... up there with Nas's "illmatic" and Wu-Tangs "Enter the 36 Chambers". Listening to an album like Speakerboxx makes me yearn for the days when hip hop was at its peak... hip hop circa- 1993 to 1996. Well those days are over and this album is just another example of that fact. Do yourself a favor and cop the ATLiens album and see Outkast at their full potential.… Expand
  5. DorianL
    Mar 15, 2007
    2
    2 for effort. This is the worst album of theirs that I have heard, this album made me lose alot of respect for Outkast although I have listened to them from the start. I just don't even want to listen to Idlewild. I still love the rest of their albums
  6. MininaenaeBob
    Jun 11, 2005
    2
    This c.d. was way overrated. Big Boi's c.d. was pretty good, but Andre's was crud. Prototype is the worst song I have ever heard. It really does suck. I don't know why it was so highly rated. It sucks.
  7. ivanv
    Aug 24, 2006
    1
    wat? 90..... this album was absolute shit. I would rather listen to a 50 cent album than this crap, Hey Ya was so terrible how could any1 like it? explain please
  8. AdamC
    Sep 29, 2003
    2
    I give it a 2 because it only has 2 songs worth a listen and both will be singles, save your money. At first this cd is very strange, after listening to it SEVERAL times trying to like it, I have managed to salvage only 2 maybe 3 songs worthy of air-play. Album of the yeah....doubt it, i rank it down there with DMX grand champ. These guys need to be together to survive. Better luck next time.
  9. Jamie
    Nov 2, 2004
    1
    They could've fit all the good songs onto one EP (Hey Ya, Roses and Good Day Good Sir)
  10. Jamie
    Nov 2, 2004
    1
    They could've fit all the good songs onto one EP (Hey Ya, Roses and Good Day Good Sir)
  11. ThaGMannn
    Oct 23, 2003
    1
    ok...so i pop in The Love Below in to my anxious cd player; my face radiating with an enormous grin, sweat drips down my face in anticipation of the album's ultimate billiance and magnificence. i press the play button--my heart stops and my eyes expand.........the music starts and i don't know what to think, all i know to do is to listen....to listen...to......"What DA (*insert ok...so i pop in The Love Below in to my anxious cd player; my face radiating with an enormous grin, sweat drips down my face in anticipation of the album's ultimate billiance and magnificence. i press the play button--my heart stops and my eyes expand.........the music starts and i don't know what to think, all i know to do is to listen....to listen...to......"What DA (*insert here*)!!!!!" This album was a complete mess, both of them. The love below is not worthy of being...period. I admit that i could have made up a whole bunch of random sayings and put them into a prince song; I definately don't need to pay $18.95 to do so either. The love below just made absolutely no sense whatsoever and i expected, and demanded (with what i just payed!), a LOT more from these albums. The lyrics in Dre's cd were completely oblivious to any meaning whatsoever and totally lowered his potential and actual skill to that of a sex-happy version of the butler from the fresh prince of bel-air. In addition to this utter nonesense, the songs on The Love below were way too short (in relevance to lyrics)--some only lasting a couple minutes (ex. Dracula's Wedding, Take your cool (or whatever its called)). And still those songs managed to have no real meaning. What i did like about it was the last track (or any part...not song...where dre actually rapped...which was about maybe 2 min collectively). I mean that was basically the reason y i got this album--i know big boi and dre can rap...especially when they do it together...though i'm not saying that they NEED each other. That's also y i thought that this album would have been a good investment--seeing the two different styles of rap (and yes i like both). The Love Below holds no bearing in the musical world--only a host of great, great beats put to a shameful waste. Speakerboxxx...well lets just say i was a lot happier when i took the love below out of my saddened and on-the-brink-of-suicide (or homiside...i'm not really sure at the moment), stompped on it a little, cursed it out, then gently placed the Speakerboxxx cd into my player. I knew it couldn't be nearly as bad as dre's cd, so i was able to listen with a lenient ear. To tell u the truth, i actually enjoyed the cd...or at least the first 5 or 6 songs. I mean...great beats, hot lyrics (i love how big boi flows...even if what he says doesn't really make sense anyways). Everything that i wanted outta $18.95 (i'm still kinda mad about that). But despite these qualities, i found that most of the songs were too short and didn't have enough lyrical content to be labeled a song...more like a really cool beat with a couple of words in it (aka...techno...). The funny thing about these cds (don't mind me talking out of place) is that what one had...the other one lacked. This saddened me because it just makes me imagine if they had done one, excellent quality, calibur album. i swear it would have been spectacular (even more so than bentley fondsworth...and yes i actually listened to that absolutely pointless and gay skit). Then, and only then, would i say that this album would have been worthy of being the album of the year. Anyways, back to Speakerboxxx, i also think it was too short as a whole album, due to little skits in between songs and that annoying "speakerboxxx" techno sounding whatever-it-was thing. A lot, (i'd say every song maybe except 2 or 3) of the songs were missing one vital thing--a good hook (where dre should have been). And even though the raps were pretty good on big boi's behalf, it would have been nice in some of the songs to have dre do a little rap...i mean that's y outkast is called outkast right? On the positive, i can't seem to stop listening to "Bowtie" (just cuz i'm a p.i.m.p./ and these things just come natural to me ;-) ). Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (as i aforemention)...was a piece of crap...constantly banging on a drum to be called music. Well...actually more like The Love Below was like that. But, to be absolutely honest i did enjoy two songs from that album--Behold a lady and Spread (kinda took it back old school a little) Speakerboxxx...there was something missing that just didn't make it a good album overall. And for reality purposes, it definately wasn't worth no $18.95! (i still can't get over that...i mean i don't make a lot of money to begin with so this really hurt me financially in addition to emotionally). I really wish that Outkast would have really listened to this cd themselves before exposing it to the innocent public...and get a little taste of their own poison--realize that this album was a waste of money ($18.95!!!! ahhh!!!) and time. I give this cd a 2 just because of the shear effort for trying to be original... there were instances of good music through both cds (i'd say about 15 secs every 30 min for The Love Below), this album was still a complete failure and did not live up to the expectations and true ability of Outkast. Wait...oh crap i gave them a 1!!...well its not like they deserved it anyways :-).… Expand

Awards & Rankings

2
#2 Best Album of 2003
5
#5 Most Discussed Album of 2003
8
#8 Most Shared Album of 2003

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
91

Universal acclaim - based on 26 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 26
  3. Negative: 0 out of 26
  1. Los Angeles Times
    Apr 17, 2012
    100
    OutKast's duo have made a cohesive statement that not only cries at the boundaries of rap music but vaults over them to a place where the music sounds like neon colors and the only rule is that you must free your mind. Your ears will follow.
    Read full review
  2. Mojo
    90
    The genius of past Outkast isn't diluted or diminished across these disks, rather it's doubled, expanded and explored. [Sep 2003, p.99]
  3. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    80
    Speakerboxxx--by itself the album of the year--makes the failings of The Love Below all the more evident.
    Read full review
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