500 - Outkast - Aquemeni - Byron Bowers
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EPISODE SUMMARY:
There aren't many people better suited to do a deep dive into the eclectic and boundary pushing sounds of Rolling Stone's choice for #500 out the 500 best albums of all time than comedian and actor Byron Bowers. Much like Outkast, the hip-hop duo that released this week's album, titled Aquemini, Bowers hails from Atlanta, Georgia. And as rappers Andre 3000 and Big Boi embody two ends of a broad cultural spectrum, Bowers has worked hard to balance both the gangster mindset and the avant garde aesthetic through his comedy, which has led him to appear on The Eric Andre Show on Adult Swim, the reboot of BET’s Comic View and Jimmy Kimmel Live. He also currently plays "Meldrick" in the Showtime series drama The CHI. Josh and Byron have been friends for nearly a decade, and in this episode they pick apart the deeper meanings of the album's versatile wordplay, as well as think back on just how hard Byron was twerking in an Atlanta nightclub circa 1998.
SHOW NOTES:
09:35 – Interview starts
10:37 – What Byron listened to growing up
13:16 – Wanting to grow up to be a vampire
14:51 – Thoughts on current artists coming out
15:48 – How Byron’s musical taste has changed
16:33 – Listening to music in the car/funny car story
18:31 – First mention of the album
19:58 – Southern music at the time Outkast came out/Male twerking
22:33 – East Coast vs. West Coast vs. South
24:09 – What Byron’s life was like when he first heard Outkast
26:25 – Living the lyrics
28:35 – What’s the crunkiest song?
29:19 – Making Georgia proud
30:38 – Slump/Dabbling in drug dealing
34:38 – Return of the G sets the tone
36:02 – Josh’s introduction to Outkast
37:10 – Black Eyed Peas stories
39:19 – How Byron has changed over time
41:25 – The time Josh met Byron’s grandma
42:15 – Andre 3000 encourages self-expression
43:11 – The party’s always at the back of the bus
44:14 – Rosa Parks sues Outkast
46:40 – Skew It on the Bar B, not the best song
48:08 – Opening up the East to the South, vice versa
48:56 – Feeling weird in unfamiliar places
49:16 – Aquemini is a very influential track
50:45 – Listening to Synthesizer on acid
53:17 – West Savannah is an older sounding song
53:54 – The simplicity of being old
55:17 – Losing people to the game
56:50 – IF you go to jail…
59:15 – Why do rappers always help out their friends?
01:01:01 – Young Buck denies fucking a transexual woman
01:02:00 – Byron’s friend asks if he has a gun
01:04:39 – Spottottiedopalicious references Good Times/using
references in comedy
01:06:45 – Nathaniel/Liberation are Josh’s favorite tracks
01:07:51 – Josh impersonates Cee Lo
01:10:35 – Josh impersonates Erykah Baduh
01:12:05 – Bryon’s mom had a stroke
01:13:53 – Facts!
01:15:57 – How much do you improvise on stage?
01:18:31 – Big Boi has a strip club in his house
01:21:32 – Does finding a white audience mean selling out?
01:22:46 – Is the stage for misfits?
ALBUM STREAM - AQUEMINI:
NEW ARTIST INFLUENCED BY OUTKAST:
“Liquor Sto” by EARTHGANG