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Forum nameThe Lesson
Topic subjectOutKast/A Tribe Called Quest Versuz (link)
Topic URLhttp://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=5&topic_id=3028367
3028367, OutKast/A Tribe Called Quest Versuz (link)
Posted by obsidianchrysalis, Fri Nov-13-20 05:03 AM
https://thegrapevine.theroot.com/can-we-kick-it-with-outkast-and-a-tribe-called-quest-1845619064

I don't know about this. Tribe is my favorite group but I don't think Tribe can hang with OutKast's catalog.

3028369, i'll believe it when i see it
Posted by thebigfunk, Fri Nov-13-20 07:49 AM
but it'd be fun as long as the spirit was right. The whole battle aspect is weird anyway. It's best when folks realize that from the start, keep the theme to have fun but ultimately just swap music and stories and praise for each other. (And if you're Patti, have a bit extra in your cup...)

If it happens and if that's the spirit it's approached in, it'll be one for the ages... but i'm not holding my breath.

-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~
3028371, it's dumb people are running with this story
Posted by CherNic, Fri Nov-13-20 09:12 AM
pending. in the works. TUH
3028381, I hate being this person but...
Posted by LeroyBumpkin, Fri Nov-13-20 11:28 AM
...I would have rather seen Tribe/De La.
Tout it as a Native Tongues reunion.
Have the Jungle Brothers and Black Sheep show up.
Latifah and Monie Love.
Busta.

But I guess a Native Tongue reunion doesn't hit certain demographics like Tribe/Kast.

I'm also assuming the fact that De La's catalog isn't available to stream kept that from happening.
3028398, No, you summed up what my take is
Posted by obsidianchrysalis, Fri Nov-13-20 10:04 PM
This would be like Nas and Rakim doing a Versuz - the one who created the style and the other who innovated it. In this case and the potential battle, the battle isn't exactly peer-to-peer.

OutKast mentioned Tribe as a major influence and both groups are pairs but any similarities end there.

I don't know a natural pairing with OutKast. They're kind of peerless. Maybe Rae and Ghost but I don't think their catalog matches up with. Run DMC, maybe? But their primes never overlapped. By the time OutKast became a thing, Run DMC was a legacy act.

De la and Tribe is the pairing I would most like to see and I imagine most of those who are fans of both groups. Both groups are legitimately peers.

You may be onto something with De La's complicated streaming licensing agreements. I would hope that's the reason more than a promoter legitimately thinking OutKast and Tribe's catalogs mesh well enough for a battle.
3028399, Well said here. Was thinking the same thing.
Posted by Brew, Fri Nov-13-20 10:40 PM
>I don't know a natural pairing with OutKast. They're kind of
>peerless.

I agree with you and everyone else who said a more apt pairing for Tribe would be De La, for a bunch of obvious reasons.

And I had the same thought as you did above when I began to try and think of who, then, to pair w/OutKast. They *are* peerless. Which is kind of amazing to consider.
3028411, Yep.
Posted by LeroyBumpkin, Sat Nov-14-20 10:07 PM
>I don't know a natural pairing with OutKast. They're kind of
>peerless.

Kast has love from the underground, critics, clubs, radio, pop.
Tribe has the underground and critics.

I personally think Busta is a better fit than Tribe cause he hits on all of those notes too.
But I see they're going group for group.
3028413, De La vs. Tribe, and Kast vs. The Roots
Posted by DJR, Sat Nov-14-20 10:37 PM
That would be the way to go.
3028415, I thought about The Roots to go against OutKast too.
Posted by Brew, Sat Nov-14-20 11:48 PM
Because The Roots are as peerless as OutKast is.

But they are really two entirely different groups. And 'Kast has way more "bangers" and/or hits than The Roots do. That would be a tough battle.
3028420, The Roots would get MURDERED against any of these groups because
Posted by handle, Sun Nov-15-20 01:21 PM
The Roots would be murdered because all of these other groups have much larger and casual fan bases.

Verzuz is a popularity contest, not a quality contest.

I'd love to see a remove the "top 3 in popularity" contest: Take the 3 most successful or most loved albums from each group and do the Verzuz and exclude songs for those albums.

For Tribe I think we'd leave out the first 3, Outkast would be after ATLeins.

The Roots would exclude Illadelph, TFA and Phren.

That would be fair-er, IMHO.


3028421, Eh, it’s mainly the “heads” that care about this stuff
Posted by DJR, Sun Nov-15-20 02:15 PM
The people that don’t even like hip hop but remember Ms. Jackson and Hey Ya don’t even know what this is.

I think the Roots could hold their own.
3028425, You say that like Kast being more popular makes them less dope
Posted by spirit, Sun Nov-15-20 04:38 PM
Just because they're more popular doesn't make them less dope. I think Kast makes better songs than The Roots, although I love both.

Peace,

Spirit (Alan)
http://wutangbook.com
3028430, Maybe the thing to do with Kast is...
Posted by obsidianchrysalis, Sun Nov-15-20 08:46 PM
In all due respect to The Roots, they don't have the same career arc or aims as OutKast. OutKast is world-famous and acclaimed on a level The Roots never sought or tried to claim. I hope this isn't meant to disparage the group because what the band has managed to carve out over the past thirty years is arguably harder than what OutKast managed to pull off.

Lil' Wayne or Jay-Z would have the hits needed to compete but neither MC's are groups (obviously) or have the diversity of musical and lyrical styles as OutKast.

Maybe the thing to do with Kast is to just bring in artists they've collaborated with or artists who have interesting stories about OutKast to come in and play songs.

Or have Big and Andre play their favorite songs that contain their favorite verses or bring up great memories.

I think that's what's been impressive about Versuz - just hearing the unheard stories and histories behind the groups.
3028441, them niggas (Roots) absolutely sought fame, they just didnt blow UP
Posted by CherNic, Mon Nov-16-20 09:23 AM
they're great and well respected in their own right but cmon let's not act like they didn't want uber success
3028442, they definitely chased it on a few occassions
Posted by mista k5, Mon Nov-16-20 10:28 AM
who wouldnt want it?
3028465, Well, if they chased it, it wasn't very hard
Posted by obsidianchrysalis, Mon Nov-16-20 02:23 PM
But the point was that The Roots' level of career accolades and fame isn't nearly on OutKast's level. That isn't to knock down The Roots a peg. I'm sure 15 and BT are fulfilled by the career they have. Few groups that sound to make their name solely by skill and art have sustained a career in music, much less hip-hop. For as skillful and awesome OutKast's music was, their street vs sensitive story made them more accessible than The Roots. Not that The Roots were trying to outright 'sell' their personas in that way.
3028443, good thing theres no downvote button but... BEP?
Posted by mista k5, Mon Nov-16-20 10:30 AM
only rap act i can think of that blew up to the scale of outkast at their height. definitely differences between them but that might be their most equal match up all things considered.
3028466, I forgot about them but you're right they may be the only one
Posted by obsidianchrysalis, Mon Nov-16-20 02:24 PM
That might be a good battle because both had hits but went about their music from different approaches.
3028470, Yuck. If it’s gotta be “hits”, how about Naughty?
Posted by DJR, Mon Nov-16-20 04:51 PM
At least they had hits and were dope.
3028471, thats not a bad option
Posted by mista k5, Mon Nov-16-20 05:10 PM
OPP came on at lunch and had me thinking the same. i dont know if they have enough hits to go up against kast though. i could buy that they were relatively as big as kast at some point though. everyone knew hiphop hooray and opp.
3028472, they dont even come close lmao these choices are laughable
Posted by CherNic, Mon Nov-16-20 05:59 PM
3028473, in height of peak?
Posted by mista k5, Mon Nov-16-20 06:32 PM
like i said, not in the amount of quality and quantity of big hits for naughty. im dubious about them stacking up to kast in overall quality. the argument is known songs for the casual audience. OPP is one of my earliest hiphop memories. that was a moment when certain hiphop songs were very much dominating radio.

BEP i stand by and thats over tribe and de la in this format. i would prefer kast a million times over BEP in basically every way BUT hit by hit you have to admit BEP would stack up well against them to a general audience. they both had hiphop based pop songs that blew up to the point you got tired of them. big difference being that kast hits were actually dope before they got played out lol


if we open it up to just quality of their overall discog then its a different conversation where it goes de la > tribe > kast as has been previously proven =)
3028478, difficult to compare discogs when the number of albums varies so much
Posted by CherNic, Tue Nov-17-20 10:16 AM
Audience matters as well. BEP doesn't match with these audiences. And Naughty doesn't have the same reach.

I don't see this even happening lmao so it's all hypothetical. Just interesting to see the artists people think could match up and the reasoning
3028458, i like the idea of kast vs tribe
Posted by mista k5, Mon Nov-16-20 01:20 PM
i really dont know that it will happen.

tribe would definitely be the underdog. the quality of their music is dope enough that they could win if that was the measuring stick.

popularity and quantity of biggest singles isnt really a contest though. few acts in rap stack up to kast in this regard.
3028391, Considering Big Boi got an album coming I'm not surprised.
Posted by phemom, Fri Nov-13-20 04:46 PM
It would be great if Tip wanted to release something too. Tho Versuz should not be a part of people's album rollouts it is....so every one we get from now on is gonna have an album release with it.

That makes it less fun to me....but whatever.

I wonder if any of the songs that Tribe & Kast recorded together (it got mentioned when the last Tribe record dropped) would get played in this scenario?
3028424, It's 20 songs on 20 songs, not every song either act has
Posted by spirit, Sun Nov-15-20 04:36 PM
Tribe DEFINITELY has 20 bangers that can compete with Outkast's 20 best songs.

I look forward to this very much. I predict a Kast win, as a southerner, but I think it will be very close.

Peace,

Spirit (Alan)
http://wutangbook.com
3028429, Tribe SLAYS kast each and every way possible...
Posted by My_SP1200_Broken_Again, Sun Nov-15-20 06:27 PM
...Tribe should be battling De La


3028450, look at this fool
Posted by CherNic, Mon Nov-16-20 12:23 PM
3028451, lol truly.
Posted by Brew, Mon Nov-16-20 12:24 PM
3028469, hahaha
Posted by tariqhu, Mon Nov-16-20 04:25 PM
3028519, no they DO NOT
Posted by blackfoot_female, Thu Nov-19-20 07:56 PM
.
3028521, LOL get 'em
Posted by Brew, Thu Nov-19-20 09:03 PM
This deserves a lot more vitriol than it's received thus far.
3028526, if it bothers you....
Posted by My_SP1200_Broken_Again, Fri Nov-20-20 08:33 AM
....just imagine what DE LA would do to them. 🤯🤣🤣










3028452, Question for those who have been keeping up with Versuz...
Posted by Oak27, Mon Nov-16-20 12:37 PM
Has the quality of the playback improved? When I was watching back when these first started it suffered from quality of the music being played. We were basically getting a choppy feed of whatever room/studio the artist was in and hearing the music coming from their speakers. It was quite shit. What's it like now??
3028455, it's way better now but that makes me like it less lmao
Posted by CherNic, Mon Nov-16-20 01:06 PM
It's a production at this point. Usually both artists in the same room/studio. Might get some strippers, might get a Ray J or Dionne Warrick appearance


I haven't watched the last few live. It's a bit much.


But Gucci vs Jeezy is a big part of my undergrad experience plus Gucci legit hates Jeezy so....who knows what this will turn into
3028457, give me 3/5 songs from each to listen to please
Posted by mista k5, Mon Nov-16-20 01:17 PM
i know the names but cant say ive ever listened to either of theirs albums. im sure they both have singles/features ive heard before but i honestly couldnt pick out either if i heard them featured on a song.

Gucci vs Jeezy
3028459, Never liked Gucci enough to check him out, here's some for Jeezy
Posted by Oak27, Mon Nov-16-20 01:33 PM
Mostly from Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101 and The Recession since those are my fav. Jeezy albums.

Thug Motivation 101: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-afrR24mqMQ
Circulate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVxmLWpZ3U4
Go Crazy (Remix) (single you've prob heard): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAE5KhQQzd4
Amazin': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eKIGWLjQLs
Soul Survivor (single you've prob heard): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gczBgNB-p1w
Put On (single you've prob heard): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylsYtNlw8QI
And Then What (single you've prob heard): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fC08BivCEac
Vacation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYBfeOOCCLQ
Go Getta (single you've prob heard): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyyNAEIAyIg
Word Play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXeOrppzfww
My Hood: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsc5gAeLQ5U
3028461, eh. IDK if I can lol
Posted by CherNic, Mon Nov-16-20 01:39 PM
of course So Icy. Put them both on the map really. Well Jeezy was in that group Dem Boyz on Bad Boy South then blew up

This will be tough b/c they both have a crazy feature list on top of their own tracks. Jeezy was THEEEE remix guy for a minute.


off the top of my head Bottom of the Map, Get Ya Mind Right, Seen It All, I'm So Hood Remix, Dey Know Remix - Jeezy. I also like Trap Star, J.E.E.Z.Y, Top Back Remix

I Think I Love Her, Lemonade, Pillz, Freaky Gurl, Wasted.....idk this one is harder. I like I'm A Dog, I'm A Star, and First Day Out The Feds too *shrug*

Apparently the Gucci song The Truth is where he admits to killing Jeezy's homeboy "Go dig your partner up, nigga, bet he can't say shit"


3028462, i appreciate it
Posted by mista k5, Mon Nov-16-20 02:08 PM
so icy almost made me bail lol

only listened to the first two songs you listed for each.

jeezy has a very similar sound to ti without the accent. beats are basically the same, voice is different but similar flow. overall i doubt i could get into him. ill probably check out a couple of songs that oak27 listed.

gucci kind of reminds me of memphis sound with kind of like a juvenile flow. definitely more interesting for me. i might actually check out an album of his. maybe ill check out the rest of the songs you listed of his first.
3028463, Hahaha might want to skip "My Hood" then
Posted by Oak27, Mon Nov-16-20 02:18 PM

>jeezy has a very similar sound to ti without the accent. beats
>are basically the same, voice is different but similar flow.
3028464, I admit this battle has a bit of sentimental value
Posted by CherNic, Mon Nov-16-20 02:22 PM
Like...I can't explain the feeling of being in Atlanta when they were at their hottest. Same with TI's stupid ass, Luda, etc

Same reason my fave Versuz was TPain and Lil Jon. Not only did they have amazing personalities and a lot of fun, their music was my college soundtrack.
3028490, TI can rap way better than Jeezy.
Posted by spirit, Wed Nov-18-20 04:20 PM

Peace,

Spirit (Alan)
http://wutangbook.com
3028489, Dem Boyz?
Posted by spirit, Wed Nov-18-20 04:19 PM
I thought Jeezy's old group was Boyz N Tha Hood.

Peace,

Spirit (Alan)
http://wutangbook.com
3028500, song was called Dem Boyz my bad
Posted by CherNic, Thu Nov-19-20 09:00 AM
3028520, Gucci's best verse might be on the Black America Again remix
Posted by blackfoot_female, Thu Nov-19-20 07:57 PM
he killed that
3028460, I feel like Jeezy v. Rick Ross would have made way more sense
Posted by Oak27, Mon Nov-16-20 01:38 PM
but they also hate each other too, unless that beef has been squashed? I haven't paid much attention to rap beef in nearly a decade.

>But Gucci vs Jeezy is a big part of my undergrad experience
>plus Gucci legit hates Jeezy so....who knows what this will
>turn into
3028456, i think the last one i watched was snoop vs dmx
Posted by mista k5, Mon Nov-16-20 01:07 PM
that quality was great. you could watch on apple music. not sure if thats been the standard format since or which other ones they have done since.
3028467, I feel like they had to up the production for sponsorship dollars.
Posted by LeroyBumpkin, Mon Nov-16-20 04:22 PM
Cause the best one to me was Badu and Jill Scott.
I loved their setup, and the lack of production made it
feel like we were watching them facetime with each other vs. a performance.

But I get it. It was getting too popular and they had to make something off of it.
That meant bringing a sense of consistency with the presentation, audio, etc.
3028454, Kast got this if it goes down
Posted by Nick Has a Problem...Seriously, Mon Nov-16-20 12:57 PM
My two favorite groups of all-time