"Damn, and that wasn't nothin' but the intro. Here we go."
Four years since the release of Outkast's "Idlewild" Big Boi has blown critics away with his debut solo album, "Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty." Averaging a Metacritic score of 90 thanks to rave reviews from Pitchfork (92), NOW Magazine (100), and the L.A. Times (88) it seems as though Big Boi hasn't fallen far from the tree of Outkast's record success. "Idlewild" aside (receiving an average score of 72), Outkast is no stranger to high reviews with "Stankonia" receiving an average of 95 and "Speakerboxxx/ The Love Below" receiving an average of 91; In fact, "Stankonia" was the highest rated album of 2000 and Outkast was the highest rated hip-hop artist of the past decade. Even after a label dispute regarding Andre 3000's appearance on the album causing Big Boi to completely change his track listing, he still managed to pull through and blow everyone out of the water. Thankfully, Andre 3000 still manages to make an appearance as a producer on "You Ain't No DJ" and, although removed from the final track list, on "Lookin' For Ya," which can be found on YouTube thanks to Big Boi.
Listeners, undoubtedly, will still feel like they're listening to Outkast even with the absence of Andre 3000. However, even so, Big Boi's sound is a little different from what can be heard in his half of "Speakerboxxx/ The Love Below." Big Boi has always had a harder more gangster sound between the two members of Outkast, but has always managed to successfully pull off a very smooth, jazz type feel as well. Songs such as "The Way You Move" and "Church" from "Speakerboxx" definitely have a softer, smoother sound to them when compared to his more gangster rap songs like "Ghetto Musick" and "Last Call." These sorts of songs, while not entirely absent, are definitely overshadowed in Big Boi's solo debut. "Be Still" featuring Janelle Monae definitely calls back to Big Boi's softer roots, but overall the song is unimpressive. For people who have followed my blog you'll know that when I reviewed Janelle Monae's "The ArchAndroid" I raved about her creativity and range vocally. However, in "Be Still," while she sounds incredibly smooth and has a beautiful voice, nothing about this song shows off how much talent she has; This song, to say the least, is boring.
"Sir Lucious Left Foot" definitely has more strength in its faster, potential club hits such as "Shutterbug" and "Shine Blockas," as well as its harder, more gangster songs such as "Tangerine" and "Night Night." "Shutterbug," which by far will be the song the album is remembered for, shows that Big Boi still has the same impressive flow in 2010 that he had in "Humble Mumble" from "Stankonia" in 2000. While "Shutterbug" will definitely be the most well known song from "Sir Lucious Left Foot," "Tangerine" is without doubt Big Boi's most impressive song. The steady guitar, the slow but heavy bass drum, and the clapping meld together to make an incredibly sensual and seductive back beat. Big Boi and T.I.'s flow create the same sort of atmosphere that can be seen in songs such as "The Next Episode" by Dr. Dre. What's that atmosphere you say? A strip club. You can't argue me on this one, Tangerine is a strippers name and I won't hear anything saying otherwise. "Tangerine" just has the feel of a completed song; nothing is missing and it seems to accomplish exactly what its striving for. Big Boi and T.I. create an impressive tandem and the overall feel of the song is just awesome.
Big Boi, however, does fall short in one aspect with "Sir Lucious Left Foot" and that's with his guest appearances. He has a stellar cast of featuring artists such as Janelle Monae, B.O.B., T.I., Jamie Foxx, and George Clinton, but with several of these artists Big Boi fails to utilize them as well as he could have or should. I've already mentioned how Janelle Monae's vocals are boring and lackluster, but the most disappointing of these guest appearances has to be George Clinton's. "Fo Yo Sorrows" is an incredible song that really shows of Big Boi's talent lyrically and his incredible flow. He addresses Hurricane Katrina quickly by saying "'member when the levee scream, made the folks evacua-ezz/ Yeah, I'm still speakin about it 'cause New Orleans ain't clean/ When we shout "Dirty South", I don't think that is what we mean/ I mean, it means the rough, the tough, the dangerous, we reign supreme." However, although George Clinton is on this track, his appearance is very brief. He chimes in during the songs intro as well as the bridge and outro. In both instances he talks about how much he likes smoking weed, something that is far from news to anyone who know George Clinton (I mean, just look at the picture of him, come on). Unfortunately, it seems as though Big Boi only really makes use of the lesser known guest appearances on his album such as Gucci Mane, Too Short, and Cutty. While these artists make a solid contribution to the album, they're not nearly as exciting as some of the other names that grace the album. Even Sleepy Brown, who had an incredible appearance on Big Boi's "The Way You Move," while appearing on a track seems to go unnoticed in "Turns Me On."
Outside of the unfortunate misuse of his guest appearances, Big Boi sounds incredible on this album and is definitely at the top of his game. He still has the flare and spark that made him so intimidating in "Stankonia," yet seems more polished and refined both as a rapper and a creative artist. Even with several road blocks in the midst of the albums creation, Big Boi manages to turn out a fresh sounding and beyond impressive solo debut. "Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty" is an album that should be in every hip-hop listener's collection. With a solo debut album coming up potentially this year, the ball is in Andre 3000's court. Hopefully he'll be able to produce a solo album of the same caliber as Big Boi. Take a listen to the album here.
"Sir Lurcious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty": 89/100
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