When we heard that the the first Outkast single from Idlewild was going to feature Andre 3000 rapping again, we were psyched. When we actually got the jam a week or so ago (first in fuzzy, radio-ripped form, then as a nice and crispy empeethree early this week), and saw it was called "The Mighty O," we're not gonna lie - after "Funky Ride," "Babylon," "Mamacita," "Call Before I Come," the entirety of The Love Below and all the other pimped out Prince purple the ATLiens have cooked up through the years, we thought this new soundtrack song was gonna be on some "O is for orgasm" shit. Turns out it's on some straightforward "O is for Outkast" shit, meaning it's wildly addictive and largely unprecedented (i.e. not straightforward at all).
A sliding organ pans L to R in the phones, a snare drum with the snare catch turned off rolls through the beat, and Andre 3000 and Big Boi each spit a long-ass, fuck-a-16-I'ma-keep-going verse. If it's predictable, it's because Dre - although definitely rapping - is more or less on the same ole 'on some other shit' shit ("Category? Ain't got none - you know I'm right"), while Big Boi rips a super-solid verse without making a big deal of himself one way or the other ("Slam your back to the curb, bruh/ Like sanitation worker cause you're trash/ I'm takin out the trash and all trash get mashed/ And compacted cause it's no longer valid/ Go head recycle, repackage then put it back in my cabinet/ Boy that's germs/ I'm fresh up out the store e'ry time/ That nigga the B-I-G go hard e'ry rhyme...).
Okay so the syncopated snappin and trappin thrill of the Big Boi verse doesn't really come of as well transcribed, but please believe "The Might O" works well every time we play it out the speakerboxxx, both on some "O as in Outkast" shit and otherwise. See you on opening night at the cinema, we've got our fingers ’n' toes crossed, and a seat reserved in the back row.