OUTKAST - Stankonia 2xLP

Label: La Face

Atlanta, Georgia rappers Antwan “Big Boi” Patton and André “André 3000” Benjamin, best known as the Southern hip-hop duo OutKast, did not appear as disruptors of reality or deities of pop culture on the cover of their fourth studio album, 'Stankonia.' Big Boi, who stands with a lean, wears a plain white t-shirt, a diamond-encrusted ‘DF’ necklace, and the mug of a man who reveals nothing, not even his teeth.

André, who stands upright, has no shirt, posing with his mouth slightly ajar, arms stretched forward, and fingers spread wide as if a pianist or puppeteer. Behind them, in a monochrome shade of black and white, is an inverted American flag.

Unlike the cover art for their 1998 third studio album, 'Aquemini,' which reimagined the two rap stars as radiant mystics, Stankonia strips away vibrancy and comic book illustration for subtle imagery. The stillness of their stances fails to encapsulate how the 24-song, 74-minute magnum opus doesn’t stop moving.