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Their previous album’s most notable track, “ATLiens,” followed through with every ounce of cockiness it began with. Again, though, whether it was Big Boi’s boasts of, “ Doing doughnuts 'round you suckas like them circles around titties,” or André’s self-reflection of OutKast’s lifespan as a group, the bravado only went so far. Rather than razor-sharp haymakers thrown at every enemy in sight, “Rosa Parks” took Aquemini in a much more upbeat direction, though only to an extent. The name “Rosa Parks” ultimately carried a pejorative meaning, and referenced fellow emcees getting to “the back of the bus,” in a manner of speaking, so that OutKast could lead the movement. The album’s most radio-friendly track drifted away from the vengeful beginnings of the album. The duality of accepting the person you are becoming and perpetually reverting back to the person you always were the two conflicting faces of one of rap’s greatest Geminis. It was in that “impression of expression” that OutKast, for the first time, found a gift and a curse in their own style. It was the “impression of expression” that André found so important on “Return of The 'G',” and self-imposed questions like, “ Big Boi what’s up with André? Is he in a cult? Is he on drugs? Is he gay? When y'all gon break up? When y'all gon wake up?” were what seemingly kept an emcee of previously exuded confidence up at night.
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Never had such disdain for critics felt so self-conscious. When listening to the grooviness of the Girogio Moroder-sampled track, coupled with nothing short of sheer genius by an angered André 3000 lacing it with bars like, “ Return of the gangsta thanks ta' / Them n***as that got them kids / That got enough to buy an ounce / But not enough to bounce them kids to the zoo / Or to the park so they grow up in the dark never / Seein' light 'til they end up being like yo' sorry ass / Robbin' n***as in broad day as daylight get down,” there is an energy in the verse unlike any previous OutKast track, and yet it still feels so strange. The things in that verse were addressing all of that.” I'm a man so you can't say some of this stuff to me. So 'Return of the Gangsta' was trying to give them a sense of, 'Hey, I'm still a regular person.'Īt the end of the day, you've still got to go through the same neighborhoods so sometimes you have to say stuff to let people know what it is. I knew a lotta people felt like Southernplayalistic was some of our hardest work and they felt like we strayed from that. “With Big Boi standing by me I knew I had to address some of the shit 'cause I can't have my homeboy looking bad. In an interview with Creative Loafing some years later, André 3000 spoke about the creation of “Return of the 'G'”: The latter only served to amplify that uneasiness, with “Return of the 'G'” acting as a giant “fuck you” to every critic and outside voice aiming to tear the accomplishments of OutKast down. With the former, “Hold On, Be Strong,” the title played less like an outgoing message to the audience and more like an inwardly-directed mantra of self-assurance one that feels unfamiliar and uncomfortable as we the audience start to question the impenetrability of two of rap’s greatest superheroes. On Aquemini’s opening two tracks, “Hold On, Be Strong” and “Return of the 'G',” it’s insecurity and anger that erode the valiant foundations their previous albums stood firmly on. Through most of OutKast’s discography, no matter the subject matter, there was always an overwhelming sense of confidence in the way Big Boi and André addressed the world around them.