ATLiens is the second studio album by the American hip hop duo Outkast. It was released on August 27, 1996, by Arista Records and LaFace Records. From 1995 to 1996, Outkast recorded ATLiens in sessions at several Atlanta studios—Bosstown Recording Studios, Doppler Recording Studios, PatchWerk Recording Studio, Purple Dragon Studios, and Studio LaCoCo—as well as Chung King Recording Studio and Sound On Sound Recording in New York City.

The album features outer space-inspired production sounds, with Outkast and producers Organized Noize incorporating elements of dub and gospel into the compositions. Several songs feature the duo's first attempts at producing music by themselves. Lyrically, the group discusses a wide range of topics, including urban life as hustlers, existential introspection, and extraterrestrial life. The album's title is a portmanteau of "ATL" (an abbreviation of Atlanta, Georgia, the duo's hometown) and "aliens", which has been interpreted by critics as symbolizing the duo's feeling of being estranged from American society.

ATLiens debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, and it sold nearly 350,000 copies in its first two weeks of release. The album was very well received by music critics upon its release, who praised its unique sound and lyrical content. It has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipments of two million copies in the United States. The album spawned the singles "Elevators (Me & You)", "ATLiens" / "Wheelz of Steel", and "Jazzy Belle". Since its release, ATLiens has been listed by several magazines and critics as one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time.

Background

In 1994, Outkast released their debut album, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, which was recorded when members Big Boi and André 3000 were 18 years old. Bolstered by the success of the single "Player's Ball", the record established Outkast as prominent figures in the Southern hip hop scene. After the album was certified platinum, LaFace Records gave Outkast more creative control and advanced money for their 1996 follow-up album ATLiens. The duo took the opportunity to recreate their image. On a trip to Jamaica with producer Mr. DJ, the two decided to abandon their cornrow hairstyles in favor of a more natural aesthetic, vowing to stop combing their hair. Dungeon Family member Big Rube observed an increase in the duo's confidence after returning from their first tour, remarking, "They started understanding the power they had in their music. They started showing a swagger that certain artists have—the ones that are stars." The members also underwent changes in their personal lives; in 1995, Big Boi's girlfriend gave birth to their first child and André 3000 and Total's Keisha Spivey ended their two-year relationship.

Despite its success, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik had some detractors, including hip hop tastemakers who were unaccustomed to the album's style. As the East Coast and West Coast hip hop scenes were already well-established at the time, many did not view the South as a legitimate and respectable scene. At the 1995 Source Awards, an award ceremony held by The Source magazine, Outkast won in the "Best Newcomer" category, but were booed upon taking the stage and delivering their acceptance speech; in response, André 3000 said, "The South got somethin' to say." He later recalled how the album was received by some listeners: "People thought that the South basically only had bass music. At first people were looking at us like 'Um, I don't know.'" Taken aback by the backlash, André 3000 and Big Boi channeled their frustration in the studio to improve upon their debut.

Recording and production

thumb|left|270px|[[PatchWerk Recording Studios|PatchWerk Recording Studio in Atlanta, one of the album's recording locations]]

After acquiring their own recording studio, the duo immediately started working on new material and assimilated themselves with music recording and studio equipment, as they sought to become more ambitious artists and less dependent on other producers. The two also became more accustomed to playing live, particularly Big Boi, and André 3000 significantly changed his lifestyle; he adopted a more eccentric fashion sense, became a vegetarian (he has since resumed eating meat), and stopped smoking marijuana. Having dropped out months before graduation, André 3000 returned to high school to earn his diploma during the recording of ATLiens.

Before beginning work on ATLiens, André 3000 purchased an SP1200 drum machine, an MPC3000 sampler, a TASCAM mixing board, and turntables with stacks of classic records. Although he had never produced a song before, he used techniques learned from observing the Dungeon Crew at work. "Elevators (Me & You)" was the first song the duo created together for the album. The duo refrained from sampling on the album, with Big Boi explaining "I feel like you cheat the listener when you sample. If it's an old school jam, leave it to the old. We wanna have our own school of music." The duo's songwriting style for the album had no solid structure and was mostly spontaneous; Big Boi noted, "Stuff'll just come to you. I'll be sittin' in the truck, and I'll start rhymin'. People look at me like I'm crazy, but that's how it starts." Although the group drew from George Clinton's outer-space inspired compositions, the band utilizes a more laid-back style as opposed to Clinton's hard funk leanings. Many tracks feature strong echo and reverb, taking influence from dub and reggae. Outkast also incorporated elements of gospel into the music; being from the South, the group felt obligated to "stay close to [their] slave roots". The final verse illustrates André 3000 dealing with a fan who pretends to have been childhood friends with him. The record's inner booklet features a 24-page comic strip foldout starring the members, who must defend "positive music" against the villain Nosamulli. It ultimately spent 33 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart. On June 24, 2003, the RIAA certified ATLiens double platinum, having shipped two million copies in the US. The song reached number 12 and spent 20 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was certified Gold by the RIAA on September 13, 1996, for shipments of 500,000 copies in the US, and Platinum on December 13, 2024, for shipments of one million copies in the US. The double A-side single reached number 23 on Billboard<nowiki/>'s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number 3 on the Hot Rap Songs chart. However, only "ATLiens", when charting separately, entered the Hot 100, where it reached number 35 and remained on the chart for 17 weeks.

| rev2 = The Philadelphia Inquirer

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| rev3 = Rolling Stone

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| rev4 = The Source

| rev4Score = Sonia Murray of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution called the album "more thoughtful" than its predecessor, noting, "What the second album lacks in adventurous arrangements it more than makes up for in lyrical dominance."

Kevin Powell of Rolling Stone felt that, like Outkast's debut album, ATLiens is "a gritty document of what's happening here and now, an up-to-the-minute briefing on Southern black ghetto life on which Outkast members Andre and Big Boi cast their feelings of alienation in familiar, realistic characterizations". Powell asserted that unlike East Coast hip hop's "hedonistic materialism" or "the gunplay and pimpism" of West Coast hip hop, "Andre and Big Boi display a unique ability to describe ghetto life while offering up life-affirming possibilities, something all too rare in today's hip-hop nation."

Legacy

In a retrospective review, AllMusic editor Steve Huey viewed the album as Outkast's "most focused work" and commented that "In addition to the striking musical leap forward, Dre and Big Boi continue to grow as rappers; their flows are getting more tongue-twistingly complex, and their lyrics more free-associative".

In The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), Roni Sarig felt that, strong rapping notwithstanding, the album's music "suffers as the duo make their first attempt at self-producing" and stated, "Although ATLiens promised expanded vistas with its interstellar motif, the record delivered something of a sophomore slump&nbsp;... At best, ATLiens is the sound of an ambitious group searching for its voice."

In 1998, the album was selected as one of The Sources "100 Best Rap Albums". In 2000, Exclaim! listed the album on their "100 Records That Rocked 100 Issues of Exclaim!" list. Hip Hop Connection ranked it number six on their list of "The 100 Greatest Rap Albums 1995–2005". Complex ranked the album fifth on their list of "The 50 Greatest Sophomore Albums in Hip-Hop History", its title 15th on "The 50 Best Rap Album Titles Ever", and the title track's beat 91st on "The 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Beats of All Time". Rappers Isaiah Rashad, Wiz Khalifa and Dom Kennedy, and DJ Jesse Marco have named ATLiens as one of their favorite albums.

Track listing

Track listing and samples compiled from album liner notes. All tracks produced by Organized Noize Productions, except where noted.

Notes

  • "You May Die (Intro)" features additional vocals by Joi, Screechy Peach and Trina
  • "Two Dope Boyz (In a Cadillac)" features additional vocals by Screechy Peach
  • "Ova Du Wudz" and "E.T. (Extra-Terrestrial) feature additional vocals by EJ Tha Witch Doctor
  • "Babylon" features additional vocals by Andrea Martin
  • "Wailin'" features additional vocals by Cee-Lo of Goodie Mob
  • "Mainstream" features additional vocals by Khujo and T-Mo of Goodie Mob
  • "Decatur Psalm" features additional vocals by Big Gipp of Goodie Mob and Cool Breeze
  • "Millennium" features additional vocals by ShaJuanna Edghill
  • "13th Floor / Growing Old" features additional vocals by Big Rube and Debra Killings

Sample credits

  • "You May Die (Intro)" is an interpolation of "Summer in the City" performed by Quincy Jones.
  • "Two Dope Boyz (In a Cadillac)" contains a sample of "D.E.E.P." performed by Outkast, and "Danger, She's a Stranger" performed by The Five Stairsteps.
  • "ATLiens" contains a sample of "Around the World" performed by Attilio Mineo, and "So Tired" performed by The Chambers Brothers.
  • "Wheelz of Steel" contains a sample of "Focus III" performed by Focus, "Saturday Night Style" performed by Mikey Dread.
  • "Jazzy Belle" contains a sample of "It's Yours" performed by T La Rock and Jazzy Jay, and "Prelude" performed by Lamont Dozier.
  • "Elevators" contains a sample of "Blue Suede Shoes" performed by Carl Perkins.
  • "Elevators (Me & You) [ONP 86 Mix]" contains a sample of "Come in Out of the Rain" performed by Parliament; the original contains SFX from the video game Super Mario Bros.
  • "Ova Da Wudz" contain a sample of "Judas" performed by Society of Soul.
  • "Babylon" contains a sample of "12 O'Clock" performed by Vangelis.
  • "Wailin'" contains a sample of "To the Establishment" performed by Lou Bond.
  • "Mainstream" contains a sample of "Sesame Street" performed by Goodie Mob and "Soldier In Our Town" by Iron Butterfly.
  • "Decatur Psalm" contains a sample of "Cebu" performed by The Commodores.

Personnel

Compiled from album liner notes.

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Year-end charts

{| class="wikitable sortable"

!Chart (1996)

!Position

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|US Billboard 200

|align="center"|77

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|US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)

|align="center"|19

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Certifications

See also

  • List of Billboard number-one R&B albums of 1996

References

Notes

Bibliography

  • "The Inside Story on Hip-Hop's Outsiders" by the Los Angeles Times