Big Boi Album: “Sir Lucious Left Foot...the Son of Chico Dusty [Clean]”

Big Boi, one half of the legendary OutKast, has finally delivered his much anticipated and hyped solo album Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son Of Chico Dusty. While being the less celebrated member of OutKast, it's clear that Big Boi is/was as much a part of their success as Andre 3000. He is equally as talented lyrically (although less poetic) as his partner in rhyme and just as creative.

This album has been brewing in the crock-pot for at least two years and with a switch to the Mighty Def Jam roster and a reunion with the man that originally put OutKast out, L.A. Reid, Big Boi does not disappoint in any sense of the word. Sir Luscious exceeds all expectations with his creative rhymes, eclectic beat selection and all around stankness.

Everything we have come to expect from OutKast is delivered on this album. The Dungeon Family makes a strong appearance on this album with Organized Noize & Mr. DJ contributing a few production pieces. Sleepy Brown and singer Joi (where has she been? We need her new album yesterday!) reappear to provide the soul and funkiness on a couple songs. Big Rube (again where has he been?) lends his poems to enhance a few songs and George Clinton gives the same futuristic presence that he provided on Synthesizer from OutKast's Aquemini.

Some soon to be great artists also appear on the album. Janelle Monae (Archandroid) returns the Tightrope favor on Be Still and B.O.B. (Adventures of Bobby Ray) effectively improves Night Night. Other appearances include T.I., Jamie Foxx, Yelawolf, Vonnegutt and Gucci Mane.

Big Boi delivers lyrically on this album showing he can hold his own. However, he did record a few songs with Andre 3000 that did not appear on the album because of label disputes. Royal Flush was released a while back with Raekwon and is an excellent track to seek out. The more recent collaboration is Lookin For Ya also featuring Sleepy Brown. That's another great track that was left off. No these omissions don't take away from Sir Luscious, however you just wish they were (officially) included.

Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty is an instant classic and is an early contender for album of the year (along with Eminem's Recovery and a few other albums). The lyrics are crazy, the production is lively and quite simply amazing, and the guest spots only enhance songs while never overcrowding them. The album flows quite well and there's not a song on the album that is skip worthy. All fans of hip hop should go out and support this album. The lyrics are included in the book as well which is always a welcome addition. 5 stars.

*grab the deluxe edition that includes a bonus DVD and two extra tracks! Also track down Something's Gotta Give ft. Mary J. Blige. It was released in 2008 but still is a good addition to the end of the album as well as those Andre 3000 tracks listed above.*

Seriously. Every song here has a pop hook (meant in the truest sense of the word) that transcends "hip hop". Like "Crazy", "Paper Planes", or, oh yeah "Hey Ya" , these are songs that sound instantly familiar, but not because they've bitten something that's been done before, but rather because they have a timeless quality to them. "Follow Us" has a chorus that you swear you've heard before. "General Patton" and "Night Night" have beats so perfect that you wonder how no one has thought of them sooner. "Be Still" makes you sad that songs that deserve to be the most popular in the nation will never even crack the Top 100, but still amps you up enough to find out who guest singer Janelle Monae is and what her album's all about. Then "You Ain't No DJ" brings just enough dissonance to ensure there's a little dirt under the nails of the album. Amazingly, but not surprisingly, Big Boi's raps avoid corny gangsterisms or cliched mic-prowess boasting. It's also a relief to know that Big Boi values his craft enough to use the endless delays that ensnared this record as an opportunity to continuously hone it into a stone classic. Then consider that the version available in the store, with previously released instant classics like "Shutterbug", "Fo Yo Sorrows", and, of course, "Shine Blockas", doesn't even include two absolute monster bangers featuring Andre 3000 that were left off by Def Jam ("Royal Flush", also featuring Raekwon, and "Lookin' For Ya", about which, after it leaked, Big Boi famously stated "You know, I'm no stranger to that Internet, baby.") For sure, Big Boi is on some Smiths-type stuff, even relegating a track like "Theme Song", aka "Ringtone", that would be a lead single on most hip hop albums to mere Sir Lucious bonus track status. Big Boi has dropped the album of the year so far, but it also cements his place in the pantheon, since he's probably the first rapper in history to be a part of four separate unimpeachable classics (Aquemini, Stankonia, Speakerboxxx, and Sir Lucious). OutKast fans have seemed to traditionally root for Andre 3000, probably because he's the eccentric weirdo with a jones for Parliament-Funkadelic. After Sir Lucious though, you wonder if all along Andre 3000 was merely Bootsy Collins and it was Big Boi who was George Clinton.

I originally did not care two cents for this album but when I heard Shutterbug on the radio i INSTANTLY had to check out what Big Boi was working with for this album. I'm pleased to say he put out a very good album folks. With a current 88 on MetaCritic, this album has Universal Acclaim! I haven't bought a CD I thought deserved my money in quite a few months now but went out and bought this album. Big Boi deserves it for the quality on this album. It's great and I'm sure you'll love it just as much as I'm loving it right now.

...comes from the South. I almost forgot how progressive the music from the South was. I feel like I did back in 94 and 96. Man, it's been a long time.......Clear!...Come on Hip Hop...Come on back to us baby...

Seven years after Big Boi and his OutKast counterpart André 3000 released the double disc Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, Big Boi is finally back with another disc of his own material. With OutKast's most recent release, Idlewild, falling to less than ideal reviews and Big Boi himself often playing second fiddle to André 3000's less inventive, but more radio-friendly style, many listeners don't realize just how talented Antwan "Big Boi" Patton truly is. Unfortunately for Big Boi, neither does his former label, Jive Records.

Work on Sir Lucious Left Foot originally began a year after OutKast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below was released with an original release date set for 2007. At the time, André 3000 was very much a part of the project, recording many songs along with Big Boi. With various singles making their way to the internet, Jive began to feel the remaining material wouldn't sell the numbers they were looking for. After battling back, Big Boi was released from his contract with Jive but as a result, much of the material originally intended for this record is now absent, as is André 3000 who appears as nothing more than a co-producer.

Following a brief intro, the album leads off with "Daddy Fat Sax," which is equally inventive and addictive. The smooth groove of "Turns Me On" chases "Daddy Fat Sax" with further proof Big Boi has no problem coming up with hits of his own. Showing off a plethora of influences from seemingly every genre of music including classical and country across fifteen tracks, Sir Lucious Left Foot takes the listener on an incredible journey that Def Jam Records was willing to provide. Although not every song is going to make the waves his OutKast hit "The Way You Move" did in 2003, Big Boi is easily one of the more underrated rappers today. Instead of falling back on Auto-tune or leaning on the vocals of countless guests, Big Boi forges his own masterpiece and it is absolutely one to remember.

Similar Artists: OutKast, 8Ball

Track Suggestion: "Turns Me On"