Take It Outside: Common vs. Andre 3000

Instead, I’d rather introduce you to Jay Electronica. Check out the lyrical gymnastics of “Exhibit C” and you’ll see why I LOVE what this guy is doing.

Apparently I’m not the only one – right now Jay might be best known as Erykah Badu’s babydaddy. Their child Mars Merkaba should be about a year old by now.

I’ll say one thing for Badu, she has good taste. She’s been known to hitch her wagon (so to speak…) to some of the best rappers in the game – and turn them into weirdos in the process. Let’s see how two of her most well-known exes measure up.

It’s like Rick Ross ate too many Smurfs. But I blame Badu for the Blue Man Group look. But more on that later…

Now if you were to ask Andre, I’m sure he could break down the meaning of his album cover and delve into how “deep” it is. All I see is a shirtless crossing guard wielding a pink gun, which looks like those $2 water pistols you could buy at the grocery store in the ’80s. It might be ridiculous but at least it’s not boring.

He recruited Kanye West and with a little help from J Dilla, they crafted what would be Common’s best album. “The Corner” was conscious without being preachy; “Go!” was seductive without being nasty; and “Faithful” was tender without being sappy. Add on the ferocious wordplay of tracks like “The Food” and Common easily regained his position as one of hip-hop’s shining stars.

The Love Below, Andre’s contribution to OutKast’s 2003 Speakerboxxx/The Love Below project, is as close as we’ve gotten to a solo Andre album – which is a shame. Jay-Z recently called him the “male Lauryn Hill,” and that’s a pretty accurate description. A brilliant concept album exploring love and its consequences, The Love Below flourishes thanks to its meshing of musical genres. “Prototype” has its roots in contemporary R&B, “She Lives In My Lap” is straight from Prince’s funky playbook, “A Day In the Life of Andre Benjamin” boasts the lyricism that make OutKast famous, and the blockbuster “Hey Ya” was a pop masterpiece.

It’s funny because this album SHOULDN’T have worked. Dre can’t sing a lick and half the time his ad-libs sound absolutely ridiculous. But the fact that it does is a testament to Dre’s skill and creativity.

Common 1, Andre 3000 1

Sales: Be is Common’s best-selling album, ringing up a little under a million copies. That’s pretty good for an artist who usually has pretty modest sales.

Speakerboxxx/The Love Below has sold 11 million copies stateside. You read that right. 11 million – making it the best selling hip-hop album in U.S. history. No contest here.

Common 1, Andre 3000 2

Don’t ask me what’s going on here – I have no idea. I think Common wants to trade his crochet-knit cap (?!) for Erykah’s Scrooge McDuck hat. It does match his patchwork pirate jacket better.