Songoftheday 9/15/22 - Sir Lucious gots gator belts and patty melts and Monte Carlos and El Dorados, so I'm waking up out of my slumber feeling like Rollo...

 

 

"So Fresh, So Clean" - Outkast

from the album Stankonia (2000)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #30 (two weeks)

Weeks in the Top-40: 7

 

Today's song comes from the hip-hop duo Outkast, who had gone all the way to #1 on the American pop and R&B charts and won a Grammy Award with their single "Ms. Jackson" in the beginning of 2001.  Andre 3000 and Big Boi's follow-up is the swagger of "So Fresh, So Clean". Written by the pair with producer David "Mr. DJ" Sheats, the track has the pair bragging on their greatness, but for damn sure this isn't the normal brand-porn boasting. There are so many classic lines in this record it's near impossible to narrow down to the best of the barrage, but any song with lyrics like "cooler than Freddie Jackson sipping a milkshake in a snowstorm" and "I'ma show you how to wild out like Jack Tripper" while name checking Kiki Shepard and Anne Frank is a force not to be dealt with. Using the groove and melody of the intro to Joe Simon's nugget "Before The Night Is Over" is genius, bringing something that's not immediately recognizable to the masses and transforming the record to something else. Sleepy Brown sings the chorus, though not on the label (something that will be corrected in time on a future hit). The music video brings the pair to a bunch of ordinary scenes that turn into parties, including a bevy of fellow Atlanta rap giants and actors...

 

 "So Fresh, So Clean" became the second top-40 pop hit from Stankonia in April of 2001. The song rose to #10 on Billboard magazine's R&B Singles chart, while making it to #13 on their Rap Singles list. On the radio, the track peaked at #8 on the R&B Airplay chart and #10 on the dance-oriented Rhythmic format. Internationally, the single hit #5 and #6 in the two halves of Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia), while reaching the top-40 in the United Kingdom (#16) and Ireland (#34). Outkast will return to the series.

(8/10)

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 Here's the duo performing the still-new track at a record company gig in 2000..

and lastly in concert in 2001...

Up tomorrow: So here we go, what timing. This guy surely ain't partying today.