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. KidA
    Aug 5, 2006
    5
    Don't see me as a hater, I love Stankonia, but this album is just not that great
  2. ToddS
    Jan 3, 2007
    5
    Why is the an Outkast album? Big Boi and Andre do approximately 3 songs together on the entire 2-disc album. This isn't an Outkast album. It's 2 solo albums put together with Andre reinventing himself as the new Prince of the millenium, and Big Boi showing that he can't hold a solo album on his own (he has a guest featured on almost every track). Not a bad album as far as Why is the an Outkast album? Big Boi and Andre do approximately 3 songs together on the entire 2-disc album. This isn't an Outkast album. It's 2 solo albums put together with Andre reinventing himself as the new Prince of the millenium, and Big Boi showing that he can't hold a solo album on his own (he has a guest featured on almost every track). Not a bad album as far as commercial hip-hop is concerned, but nowhere near as great as their prior releases. Big and Andre need to ditch the marketing ploy and stop calling themselves Outkast for they have officially gone solo with this release.… Expand
  3. KeithG
    Apr 25, 2012
    4
    This album instantly takes me back to 2003 whenever I hear it, but I don't think it has aged well. It's still stuck in 2003. If you only download "Hey Ya", then you're not missing much from the rest of the album.
  4. chris
    Feb 13, 2004
    6
    number 1 problem with most double albums? bloatedness. while this album will surely become a pop culture artifact, i have quite a few qualms with it. speakerboxxx: has quite a few great hip hop tracks and a few incredible ones. the love below: has a few comedy routines (boooo!) and lots of (almost 80 minutes worth) jazz/r&b endeavors that don't have staying power. this album probably number 1 problem with most double albums? bloatedness. while this album will surely become a pop culture artifact, i have quite a few qualms with it. speakerboxxx: has quite a few great hip hop tracks and a few incredible ones. the love below: has a few comedy routines (boooo!) and lots of (almost 80 minutes worth) jazz/r&b endeavors that don't have staying power. this album probably would have been brilliant as a collaborative single effort. BUT.. in deserved recognition of their avant-garde credo, i recommend any of their previous 4 albums.… Expand
  5. Adonis
    Oct 22, 2003
    5
    I give it a 5 because only half of the cd is even worth hearing. How can you call youself an hip hop artist, when u sing (very badly at that) the entire album.
  6. jeremiahm
    Oct 25, 2003
    5
    Big Boi's album was decent. I dont know what is on the mind of andre. He loosing it more and more every year outkast comes out with a new cd.
  7. GaborA
    Aug 24, 2004
    6
    Speakerboxxx is the more similar to an older Outkast album but its not nearly as good and not only becuase of Dre's absence. Love Below is an embarrasment for the talented Dre. Its not that hes not rapping or anything its just flat out terrible. If a three year old came up to me with lyrics in crayon on paper that said "roses really smell boo boo" then i would scold him for writing Speakerboxxx is the more similar to an older Outkast album but its not nearly as good and not only becuase of Dre's absence. Love Below is an embarrasment for the talented Dre. Its not that hes not rapping or anything its just flat out terrible. If a three year old came up to me with lyrics in crayon on paper that said "roses really smell boo boo" then i would scold him for writing terrible lines. If your goal was to lose the old die hard outkast fans who nodded their heads to Synthesizer to prepubescent thirteen year old girls and the ficile cheering of the masses then mission accomplished. … Expand
  8. TheHams
    Feb 14, 2006
    6
    The Love Below is extraordinary. It alone deserves a 10. However, Big Boi's half sounds extremely over-produced. The beats are just horrible. Stankonia was much better.
  9. Gentry
    Aug 27, 2010
    6
    First, I don't like giving negative reviews. So, that is the primary reason this album receives a 6 instead of a 5 from me. I absolutely love many of the tracks on this disc, but it does need some editing in my opinion. Many of these songs find their way to my play lists, and many of them do not.

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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