BEST OF 2003 CONTINUED (PRETTY SOON I WILL BE DONE AND WE WILL SAY, 2003 IS OVER. NOW, LET'S GET TO 2004):

A personal mix CD with selected track from:
Outkast’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (Arista) Kelis’ Tasty (Arista) and Bubba Sparxxx’s Deliverance (Interscope)

Hip-hop acts have always been hell on spell check. Outkast is spelled incorrectly…intentionally. Eminem is a made-up word. Chingy? I don’t even know what that is and to be honest, I don’t want to catch it, either.

But the defiance of all things spelled well is more indicative of rap’s philosophy and essence. It’s an imaginative genre with very little respect for the rules or the law (or Microsoft Word, for that matter). These scofflaws are constantly pushing the boundaries, while simultaneously infiltrating the mainstream and meeting the ever-growing demand for their music. All too often, nay-sayers and critics complain that rock music tends to look backwards on the previous generations for inspiration and sometimes, blatant thievery. They say that hip hop is a genre continuously progressing and looking for new forms of expression. It’s the sound of the future (I thought, up to a couple of years ago, that it was that annoying phone line modem noise).
They may be right but as far as I’m concerned, it seems that I can only handle partial samplings of the future at a time. I’ll explain.

Only three hip-hop releases in 2003 really appealed to me with their respective catchiness, their production (by Outkast, the Neptunes and Timbaland), and their original ideas (very little sampling; mostly live instruments). Outkast, Kelis, and Bubba Sparxxx individually paved the way for true creativity in music. Outkast with their sunshiny eclecticism, Kelis with her spicy dairy products, and Bubba Sparxxx as the real…well, not so slim Shady standing up. Granted I’m not the rap authority but their crossover appeal--the fact that I truly dug them despite my indie rock predilection--says a lot about their allure. In fact, "Hey Ya" from Outkast’s The Love Below is hands-down song of the year.

Here is a mix compilation I have made of selected tracks from the three CDs (because my personal shortcoming is that I see hip-hop as a group of singles, instead of one consistent album). This is how I enjoy music sometimes; by trimming the excess phat.

1. Jimmy Mathis – Bubba Sparxxx
2. Trick Me –Kelis
3. Keep It Down – Kelis
4. Ghetto Musick – Outkast
5. Deliverence – Bubba Sparxxx
6. Hey Ya – Outkast
7. Church – Outkast
8. Milkshake – Kelis
9. Back In The Mud – Bubba Sparxxx
10. The Rooster – Outkast
11. Comin’ Round – Bubba Sparxxx
12. The Way You Move – Outkast
13. Dracula’s Wedding – Outkast
14. Protect My Heart – Kelis
15. Rolling Through My Hood – Kelis