Big Boi

Big Boi

In the dynasty of OutKast, Big Boi played Scottie Pippen to Andre 3000's Michael Jordan, an all-star in every regard overshadowed by his partner's neckerchief flamboyance. Sir Lucious Left Foot flips that script. BB's debut solo expands exponentially on his half of 2003 double fantasy Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, offering a fantastic voyage of 21st century Cadillacmuzik that finds Chico Dusty's son inhabiting the roles of the militant "General Patton," Southern scholar "Daddy Fat Sax," and the titular Sir Lucious Left Foot. While the main attraction had a hand in all of the production, he excels in his collaborations with Lil Jon (lucid R&B for the Jamie Foxx-led "Hustle Blood"), Scott Storch (nostalgic ghetto blaster "Shutterbugg"), and Andre 3000 (the ATLiens encounter "You Ain't No DJ"), who was otherwise barred from the album in one of countless label hurdles. "Fo Yo Sorrows" bridges Too Short's crassness with George Clinton's dope wisdom and waxes political on New Orleans' unintentional Dirty South, while "Follow Us" stakes claim to the throne: "Left foot, right foot steppin' over biters, it's like the game is haunted 'cause there's so many ghostwriters." The cameos (T.I., Janelle Monáe, Gucci Mane) hit all the right spots, the skits are delightfully juvenile, and Big Boi's idiosyncratic delivery and tightrope cadences throughout teeter toward Jedi mind tricks. Stank you very much.