Outkast DVD

OutKast Uncovered is a documentary/videofest that tells the story of one of the great--and for too long unsung--hip-hop outfits. Hailing from Georgia, OutKast had been defying the dreary East Coast/West Coast hip-hop dichotomy that dominated the 90s over the course of three great albums until they finally hit the big time with 2000's Stankonia. With their Clinton-esque acid funk grooves and judicious use of electronica, they were both phat and skinny, while Dre and Big Boi's raps lurched between playa bravado and a more sobering reality check on ghetto life. OutKast... Uncovered contains a generous number of their videos, including hits such as "Rosa Parks" (funklicious, but, curiously a non-tribute to the heroine of the 50s civil rights bus boycotts--the lady herself wasn't impressed), "Bombs Over Baghdad" and "Ms Jackson". With a kast of thousands and multicolour invention (including, in "Ms Jackson", the best use of cats and dogs ever in a hip-hop video) the videos suitably match the imagination input level of the songs they showcase. Shame about the in-between links here, which provide little in the way of history, overview or critical perspective, merely random footage of the guys and their fans chatting inconsequentially to camera, spliced with all the production values of the average wedding video.--David Stubbs [show more]

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