Dysfunktion Junction

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On Speakerboxxx and The Love Below, Big Boi and Andre come together only briefly. (Andre co-wrote four tracks on Big Boi's album; Big Boi co-wrote and guest-raps once on Andre's.) Their synergy, on Speakerboxxx's Ghetto Musick and The Love Below's Roses, still produces OutKast's usual joyous, comic, hip-hop funk, with Andre's cross-genre futurism balanced by Big Boi's pop discipline. Separately, The Love Below rivals Prince's Black Album for both its exploration of Eros (a song called Spread) and its occasional self-indulgence (a Coltrane-inspired cover of My Favorite Things). It's the most adventurous album so far this year, but it is work, and if Andre compromised his vision, it's hard to imagine how. Speakerboxxx proves that Big Boi is the smoothest, funniest rapper in the game, but it's a more traditional, beat-reliant rap album, and there are a few moments when Big Boi's baritone could use one of Andre's melodic gusts.

Neither man will speculate about the possibility of more OutKast albums. "We could come back and do other albums after this one," says Andre. "But I'd have to find new inspiration." Until then, Andre and Big Boi will just be riding around, circling each other.