'It Was a Vibe.' How Outkast Made 'SpottieOttieDopaliscious' | The Breakdown

“SpottieOttieDopaliscious,” from Outkast’s 1998 album Aquemini, is one of the most memorable songs in the Atlanta rap group’s iconic discography. With cool as ice “smokin’ word” and unforgettable horns, the track is an undeniable vibe. Rolling Stone sat down with Outkast’s Big Boi and Sleepy Brown, who lent vocals to the song, to break down the hip-hop standard.
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[@charlesc.b2435]

In my humble opinion the HARDEST Instrumental without a sample in HipHop History, the percussion, baseline and horns on this record are NUTS! Never-mind the legendary Vocals with Outkast and Sleepy Brown!

[@armandocastro152]

Fact!!

[@TheTredoc]

When you got Reggae/ Dancehall as the flagship instrumental and vocalize, then you got a lead hit! One Luv ❤️!

[@awkwardblacktribe2100]

@@TheTredoc But there is a sample.

[@standfirm4583]

@@awkwardblacktribe2100 What is the sample?

[@awkwardblacktribe2100]

@@standfirm4583 Genesis Dancing with the Moonlit Knight

[@arize84]

I was in college in Atlanta when this album dropped. Walking around in the West End and watching vintage cadillacs booming with this track was a scene.

[@9321adri]

Me too. I was at Morris Brown taking the AUC shuttle to the West End. That was a great time to be in Atlanta. That year (1998) We had a joint homecoming concert with Morehouse and OutKast was the headliners. Great times!

[@brianbroussard1206]

1998… I was a freshman in college when this came out… Jammed this all the way back to school from Houston to Huntsville sipping syrup and smoking lol. My brother chose to buy the Tela album and I bought the Outkast… that was a helluva year as far as music is concerned

[@talltrini10]

@@9321adri What up Mo B! Da House c/o 97 myself. What a time to be in Atlanta!

[@tybeard8532]

I heard this song for the first time about 2 hours into a mushroom trip & all I can say is thank god for Outkast ❤

Change your life kinda song….

[@AfricanManikin]

The FIRST time on a trip with this sounds crazy

[@WilliamJan482]

I can imagine that must have been incredible

[@shawn1819]

Man. I done tried jus bout everything but psychedelics. But from wat ive heard that shi had to be epic

[@Kibilmac1]

This ENTIRE ALBUM tripping balls. But especially thus Track.

[@NJHC21]

You can not deny this song. It’s a damn masterpiece from top to bottom.

[@Traderjay77]

That phrase "smokin word" is a vibe!!

[@kennethbosejr.4933]

Frfr

[@Superstardark]

This is a song that has to be played from the beginning every time

[@lnapjr76]

And don't you dare cut it off early!

[@josemv25]

Who's starting songs in middle? Lol

[@francisko338]

I was in high school when Aquemini dropped & maaan, I wore that album OUT! Specifically SpottieOttie. --And to be in the marching band at the time, we knew we had to play it in the stands...and we did! Good times, great memories! Thanks, Outkast! #Aquemini25

[@ThePrepAquatic]

Same! ATL high school bands would kill this!

[@ynmonroe]

@@ThePrepAquatic In Florida too. South Florida to be specific. We had good bands that were really good; even middle school when I was growing up. I just remember my high school and other bands playing this song during half time, parades, and other performances. I then saw college bands also do the same. It was special.

[@Shalondria]

Where you went? High school? 😅

[@francisko338]

@Shay31288 Battery Creek HS, Beaufort, SC. We were a corps-style band at the time, but the black band members got together, practiced, & played it during a football game (unbeknownst to our white band director). He was tomato-face red MAD! 😂 He motioned for us to stop playing, but the crowd was hype, we were hype, & we continued.

[@bluv0802]

Booker T Washington Houston, Tx graduating when this came out!! Straight fire 🔥🔥🔥🙌🏾

[@reefk8876]

No samples, that’s part of what makes them great. Long live DF 👽🤘

[@UNCFIPP]

Its not a sample.. Its an interpolation.. An existing riff, but played with different instruments.. For a different "sound"

[@DurielMoore]

Organized Noize has sampled many different songs on all of their projects. They sampled what everyone else has sampled and what others wouldn’t sample

[@UNCFIPP]

@@DurielMoore and do it with magnificence

[@Bepeze]

The fact that the horn section was an original melody. That's hard to do. Most music is sampled and interpolated. And now this is referenced so much in music. Classic is an understatement.

[@marcusturner5085]

Sounds like it was inspired by Lee Fields & The Expressions - Never Be Another You . Genius nonetheless.

[@smoothsavage2870]

That's hard to do in Hip Hop. But we forget that original horn and string melodies used to be the standard in the music that came before it.

[@tribegoldie4282]

When I was a kid I always thought it was a sample.. super impressed, if hip hop artist had all been as creative as OutKast, hip hop would still be alive today, unfortunately it’s long dead

[@henryjones6957]

Hard to do? Don't get me wrong, Rap is my favorite genre, but jazz, soul and rock bands doing original melodies on a daily basis

[@NoName-el9ee]

Snowfall paid homage to the greatest rap group “Can’t gamble feedin baby on that dope money might not always be sufficient” That ish cold

[@TheL0615]

I knew I wasn’t the only one

[@1CHINTO1]

Caught that too.

[@HonestTaalib]

This song is so cold that I could watch a full-length movie about the creation of this song! I can't say that about too many songs. That's the magic of Outkast!!

[@jareedmangubat8490]

This one, deserves a docu.

[@csvscs]

Best song Atlanta ever put out

[@bb-double-yuh]

I was gonna say every OutKast album from SPCM to Speakerboxxx/The Love Below and even a few select on Idlewild was the best songs from Atlanta, but I guess Spottieottiedopalicious counts, too. Lol

[@Superstardark]

I'm not even from Atlanta and I agree.. respect

[@Superstardark]

@@bb-double-yuh YOU GUESS????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@villainova]

Nah, I'm from Atlanta and while this is a certified classic, so much hip hop has come out from the city in recent times. Trap rap was born here and it's hard to choose from anyone.

[@ramsesstafford4640]

​@@bb-double-yuhI 💯% Agree. To say that this one song is the greatest song ATLANTA ever put out is a diss to every song and album Outkast has ever made besides Spottieottiedopaliscious.

[@patrickgoodman7225]

SpottieOttie and Liberation have had a more profound effect on my mind and life than any other music ever produced. It's not even music... It's life that's been condensed down into an auditory wave length that crashes on my brain at the same same time as it cradles my soul. There are other things in this world that move me, but this entire album, from alpha to omega, moves me at the same time as it makes my roots grow. My Anthem.

[@kandykanelane8166]

the battle of the bands used to go craaazy when the college and high school bands would play this. shout out one time for the 99!!

[@brianridgill]

One of the best songs of any genre..Period..Those horns are criminal!!

[@lnapjr76]

The fact that Outkast (and Organized Noise, in general) used original instruments in their music always set them apart.

[@TonyBakercomedy]

“Aquemini” is a CLASSIC !

[@gallardosbull]

This entire album was driven, mainly by instrumentation and to this day is one of the best rap albums ever. Liberation is another great one, oh and ATLiens is right up there with it! That definitely don’t make ‘‘em like this no mo!

[@cedricparms8373]

I need the story behind Liberation!

[@SammyChampagne]

The whole album is a masterpiece in its entirety…

[@Unclejet24]

This video is so important. Thank you Rolling Stone for giving Big Boi and Sleepy Brown the opportunity to explain how this amazing song came together.

[@ybgee9332]

Classic album‼️‼️ literally every song is a banger. From 1-16.. “…but until they close the curtain….it’s him & I, Aquemini..”

[@floydpinkerton7954]

Yessir. SpottieOttie and Aquemini are dope as fuck. Jazzy Belle is one of my favorite tracks on that record.

[@klodinkediloni762]

@@floydpinkerton7954 that's on ATLiens....

[@southbroadway92]

@@floydpinkerton7954 Jazzy Belle was on ATLiens, their 2nd album

[@bigdog5880]

Outkast makes me so proud to have grown up in Fulton county Atlanta when the were putting all of this amazing music out. I get emotional when I listen to their music because it brings back so many great memories of that time period. These guys are my heros there will never be anyone like them one of a kind group.

[@dwrod24]

1996 was the year that I graduated high school! When OutKast came out I remember saying to myself… WOW!!!!! Dopest of all time and I am FOREVER GRATEFUL for them.

[@atravis1]

A masterpiece in hip hop history!!!

[@JVH3]

I was 11 when I first heard this song for the first time in 98' I knew exactly where I was and knew this track was magic.

[@B-MO_]

1998

[@Allen216.]

Same, I had my big cousin buy the CD I played it back to back

[@mindofanoutkastpodcast915]

My potna and I use to smoke blunts to this back in the day and just get lost in muzik n viiiiiiibe. Miss ya dawg R.I.P Infamous

[@TheTredoc]

As the legendary Bob Marley said "when the music hits you..." one Luv ❤️!!!

[@darianwilliams3452]

Outkast made some of the most iconic original music ever

[@archiemilan]

Damn I miss old Atlanta

[@ybgee9332]

“Cuz you had….cloudeh pisssss…”😂

[@KingofgraceSARA]

"Smooth like a hot comb on nappass hair" Damn+

[@grooove2]

I really love this song. The world needs more Outkaat music.

[@csvscs]

Love the metaphor of a drummer being a dog on a porch being let off the leash

[@BoldenFMA]

SpottieOttie... = Funk, Soul and Heavy Dub style reggae 👌

[@HonestTaalib]

The Dub Style is definitely there!!! That bass groove!!

[@stephanieg460]

Definition of a Classic 25 years later and it still feel like 98 whenever I hear it! The vibe stops you in your tracks and commands your full attention and respect! 🙌🏾❤🖤💚🎼🫂

[@tightenurscrews]

This song makes me feel like It was made for my soul

[@ericcoffee6841]

No samples on this song is crazy. Very talented group of musicians. This song definitely one of my favorites, became theme music for me a lot of nights 😂

[@coldchillinjuices]

This song has been my ringtone since it was released, and always will be. DF FILA

[@lynwoodcole3749]

This would be my pimp intro music if I ever wanted to make a WCW type entrance.

[@KingofgraceSARA]

I was like 18 when I 1st heard this track- my best friend just got her 1st apartment and a whole bunch of us- a true motley crew were blazing when this came on 🔥

[@smokekliffproductions5020]

This song was the single reason I bought the album... those horns changed the WORLD. One of the hardest moments in hip-hop history. 💯

[@Tractor-nr9fe]

Dre would've blew our minds with his insight added to this nostalgic classic....💯💯💯

[@exlution]

this one the best songs of ALL TIME

[@maggiee639]

This is one of my favorite songs, it’s so sexy and cool.

[@wizzledizzle3129]

I knew this song was a masterpiece when I first listened to it when I was 11 in 6th grade. Still one of my all time favorites. Takes me back to going to play basketball with my girlfriend at the time and then going to the mall and getting her sbarro and me teriyaki chicken after the game. Life was so simple and amazing back then.

[@calvinwells3076]

Still dat 🔥 2022

[@konraddsouza-lw1lh]

Indian dude here...The lady interviewing these guys is 😍.....what a beauty

[@zackorr421]

I grew up in Decatur. I hear Aquemini and it sounds like life. Kast till the last.

[@c.jaydinero4421]

One of the greatest pieces of music ever created

[@dhearn100]

I remember buying that CD on the Tuesday it came out in 1998. Still my all time favorite album.

[@Kibilmac1]

Nah that album came out in 1996 bro. It was on a Tuesday but not in 1998.

[@dhearn100]

@@Kibilmac1 You should be ashamed of yourself for one, not knowing when that album came out, but two, not even doing your research before spewing your ignorance

[@evangevelynagbai67]

Am glad you guys are still together and still putting more best into the music😍

[@KillaCam2534]

No cap, when I first heard this record I didn’t know what to make of it. I was that blown away because at the time I never heard a hip-hop record like that….shid it really wasn’t hip-hop. I timeless masterpiece.

[@unniq36]

This song was pure genius and gave a vivid image into Atlanta culture for ppl who never been. OutKast birthed Atlanta hip hop

[@bbqbourbonblues3257]

Outkast is one of the greatest hip hop groups ever! This track was so dope too! It is still in heavy rotation in my car as well as when I have my business events and will always be.

[@altonmckenzie8587]

Man damn damn damn damn.... As I get ready to go to Morehouse home coming next week... Memories

[@danielwilliams7670]

Watching them perform this song live together (Big Boi and Sleepy Brown) in 2023 was fantastic 🎉

[@TheTredoc]

Big horns 6:13 "big ship sailing on the ocean" Freddie McGregor!! One Luv ❤️!!!

[@slicksweet1]

Definitely a masterpiece. I been looking this song for YEARS! Everyone sampled it, but didn't say where it was from.

[@blackice3395]

Best group to ever do it!

[@MissKatieLane95]

This one is about me ! This is my HIT! I love this song so much ! BEST SONG OF ALL TIME! I love you OUTKAST ❤❤❤ FROM POLAND 🇵🇱

[@Phreshus]

Song seriously gives me chills every time I listen to it. Still

[@diabloecsobar8796]

When i was in college, i used to smoke to this album. When spottie came on, we sparked a fresh blunt to it. Elevators🛸

[@Iam_rndm]

I finally got it!!! After years of wondering how it was made. I just wish I would have been able to witness it all come together. At least this video brought me that much closer✊🏾💯

[@scoe3000]

This made my whole damn day.

[@rpgfan72]

Omar Phillips on the drums...😁 Drums is my favorite instrument.😁😎

[@bradcowen4952]

CLASSIC SONG!!!! One of my favorites of all time! 💪

[@oasisfullfilled7617]

I always said this will be my wedding song. The trumpets and horn is awesome.

[@martw74]

How have I missed this joint? word.... fire..... ahead of its time ❤‍🔥... incorporates a load of musical genres... brilliant.... im downloading it now...

[@jamesmarie]

OutKast’s whole albums were a vibe, man, just a vibe.

[@Allthequeenzhorses]

This album truly changed my life. This and liberation… amazing music breathing life to starving artist

[@ohiohatescancer952]

This has always been one of the dopest songs ever,but the way they break it down , this is one of the greatest songs ever to not be mentioned with them all timers

[@CaapriceTube1]

My FAVE FAVE FAAAAAVE OutKast Joint of ALLLLLL TIME!!!!

[@sunbaby1190]

This is hypnotic … too smooth. OutKast is brilliant. Trailblazers… no one like them 👏🙏

[@Dedricsworld]

Man I'm thankful for this interview..

[@BrandinoTheGod]

Man I still remember parking up the cadillac, sparking up some of that gas and blasting this song on repeat and getting lost in the vibe. One of my all time favorite songs of all time. Sometimes I forget about it and then get to rediscover it over and over. That song is a time machine right back to my twenties 💯

[@AmberCato-sf6ni]

One of my favorite songs ever

[@dopegirldopegirlyeahthatsm5582]

This song had every marching band going crazy during battle time

[@ryanwhite2278]

I still remember the exact moment I heard that song. I was visiting some of my boys at North Hall at NC State University. Everyone was in a dorm room kinda hanging out an as I walked up someone was playing the Aquemini CD....and that song came on. I was like ..... WHAT IS THIS!!!!

[@tateanabradford8146]

The first day I hear tha song I knew it was a vibe

[@redviagra]

One of the best rap songs ever

[@MikeD-hn9hf]

Gow refreshing to hear from two such articulate OGs

[@prairiephan]

Aquemini= dark side of the moon of rap

[@aeson33]

2022 got me in this again and damn I’m glad it was made.

[@djfoster7588]

1 of the best songs ever. Being a 704 kid. Lord

[@kievmiddeton2656]

Lol “THE NOISE WAS ORGANIZED” that’s cold

[@Superstardark]

This song is hot cinnamon rolls and sticky sweet flavored swishers

[@ramsesstafford4640]

I was fresh out of high school when Aquemini came out and me and my friends would debate back and forth and argue about were those actually real horns on Spottieottiedopaliscious and by me being a huge lover of jazz music and real instruments I've always thought the horns were real brass horns but a friend of mine thought it was keyboard horns because it sounded too precise. I was blessed to be growing up in Atlanta when all of Outkast's albums came out and their albums especially the first three are the soundtrack of my youth, great times. 👌🏽

[@butterflylovenj7300]

This was my song. I was hetting ready to graduate from high school when it dropped! It's definitely masterpiece

[@PeeterDeepWood]

THE GREATEST PEICE OF MUSIC EVER MADE

[@BmoreLioness]

For a lot of music, you know where you were or what you were doing when you heard a particular record. SpottieOttie is different. So different that it took you on a astral trip and you have no clue where you were or what you were doing when you heard that song. You were in the cloud. It still hits the same til this day!!! Nothing has changed about how you feel when you hear it. It's the same feeling you had from day one.

[@vegasmitch1472]

That CARL MO Remix i still in 2024 Bump!! REST Well Rico Wade!!

[@mountcomfort740]

Loved this album and this song

[@allofthenames77]

A timeless masterpiece!

[@isiahholland7113]

One of my favorite records ever. I recited record for a spoken word project in college.

[@NohoesLou]

best song of all time imo

[@ThisIsGABMuzik]

One of my favs

[@SkillfulScott]

Ahh yes 1998 I was 15 and listened to this at basketball warmups a complete vibe

[@Vapor16533]

This song is still dope to this day, I miss OutKast

[@michaelsummons3305]

This song is perfection ❤

[@antwoineanderson8715]

One of my favorites of all time!!

[@muhamta]

That's another reason why Outkast is the greatest rap anything, they didn't sample.

[@kutzoffdchain]

By The Label Saying No Sampling Seems Like It Brought The Best Out Of Them And More So A Challenge And They Deliver Timeless Phenomenals Az Usual💯🙏🏿