Stankonia is awesome. It's unforgettable. It's a landmark in hip-hop history. It is... a classic. These are some of the most basic instrumentals I've ever heard. Was there even any effort put into the beat for "Snappin' & Trappin'"? I don't know. But they make it work. The rapping.... man these features are aren't even THAT amazing. In fact, the only features here that are worth mentioning as standouts are the Erykah Badu feature, and the Cee-Lo feature. Oh, and the Sleepy Brown features all over this album. But... like I said.... they make it work to the point where it absolutely slaps and cannot be challenged in any way shape or form. That's what makes Stankonia so special. The lyrics here range from absolute mainstream to straight depressing, like on the track "Toliet Tisha", which describes a 14 year old dying from what seems to be a heroin overdose, due to the stress of being pregnant. With this really emotional verse from Big Boi. Or, it can be mainstream rap, that seems to represent what people despise hip-hop for in it's content, like on "I'll Call Before I Come" or "Gangsta S***". But god, it slaps. The mixing here isn't even that impressive. But... it's awesome. The lyrics are awesome. The beats are awesome. Everything about this slaps. It's just hard to explain. You have to listen to it to believe it. It's such an experimental record, and we started to see more of Andre 3000 singing here, which he's actually quite good at. It's just.... man, I really can't explain it. It's something so good, yet so confusing at the same time. You've gotta listen to this. It might have 24 tracks, and be over 70 minutes long, but they spent that time making something that slaps. And there are 7 interludes here. That's the only reason there are so many tracks. But I mean.... this is awesome. Listen to it.
REPLAY VALUE: VERY HIGH
_____________________
If we're talking about the physical CD, IT'S IN VERY GOOD CONDITION. A couple of scratches in the front and back case but nothing we can't expect from a 2000 product. It was conserved very well, the booklet it's impecable and the CD it's in excellent condition.