Music: OutKast: Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

Big Boi and Andre 3000, the oil and vinegar that make up OutKast, have done a strange, strange thing on their fifth collaboration, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. They've un-collaborated. In a unique twist, OutKast has cast out all musical norms and rules of group unity and cut two separate albums. Different songs, different styles--different products. In fact, all they share is the little plastic CD case.

Truthfully, the little plastic case seems to be all that's holding the Atlanta hip-hoppers together these days. Big Boi's Speakerboxx and Dre's The Love Below could have certainly been released separately, and both have enough substance to sell well on their own. So why continue to huddle under the OutKast umbrella? Are Big Boi and Dre the mother and father in a wilting rap relationship, sleeping in separate beds but putting on a brave face and trying to make it work for the kids? Are we headed for a Dirty South divorce?

Perhaps the two aren't ready to part ways just yet, but stylistically it's a quite a divide. Speakerboxxx is definitely the Stankonia follow-up. Big Boi doesn't stray very far from the OutKast of old; tracks like "GhettoMusick" and "Church" conjure fond memories of their 2000 smash, but he's the only one abiding by the old formula. Based on his attire alone, no one has ever doubted that Dre is the free-spirit of OutKast. After The Love Below, it's a pretty safe bet.

Like a silk-scarf and pastel linen-wearing kid in a candy store, Dre runs amok on his effort, all but abandoning rap for soulful, falsetto crooning ("Love Hater") and humorous spoken-word skits ("God"). The man may very well be the eccentric product of a fantasy three-way involving Prince, Richard Roundtree and Bootsy Collins. Now that's sexy. Speakerboxxx/The Love Below could easily be criticized for its divergent paths and its questionable status as a true OutKast recording--if it weren't so good. Big Boi plays the straight man to Dre's unbridled experimentation, and the result is a twofold treat: one album to remind you of what you like about OutKast, and another to showcase some new flair. Honestly, it probably wouldn't have worked as a single release. Like any good couple, OutKast just needed some room to work out its differences.