Speakerboxxx

Speakerboxxx/The Love Below is a double album released by the duo Outkast in 2003. It features solo albums from the two members. Speakerboxxx is Big Boi’s solo effort on the album (although “Ghetto Musick” and “Knowing” both have André 3000 on them). Most of the production is handled by Big Boi himself, with help from André 3000 and a smattering of other producers.

The double disc is the highest selling rap record of all time, going diamond and selling more than 11 million copes in the US. It was number 1 in the US Billboard 200, and the lead single from Big Boi’s side, “The Way You Move,” hit number 1 in the US.

Big Boi called in a huge amount of talent for his disc, with Jazze Pha, Jay Z, Cee-Lo Green, Killer Mike and Ludacris all featuring heavily. It’s a more traditional hip-hop record than previous Outkast efforts, and paves the way for his flourishing solo career, which included a lot of experimentation rooted in a foundation of hip hop.

A studio manager during the sessions, John Frye, gave a bit of insight into the process:

Yeah, they did start to work more and more separately as the years went on, but they always came together and critiqued each other’s music and made suggestions. It was never a rub. If one was in with me, the other would just come in the next time.