Player's Anthem 2007

Any doubt as to why Andre 3000 is one of the best MCs, (when he actually decides to MC) should be silenced by his guest verse on UGK's "International Player's Anthem." It makes you wonder why he insists on his uneven singing so much and torpedoing Idlewild when he can deliver such poetically arresting vignettes as the one that opens this song. But he's clearly not alone in this department.

Off the top of my head both Mos Def and Lauryn Hill have veered off into inconsistent artistic experiments when clearly dabbling in rhyme is probably their main strength. Obviously artists want to experiment, but sometimes some things need to be fully developed and just aren't ready for primetime. See Lauryn Hill Unplugged and Mos Def's last album True Magic for further clarification.

This song has been around for a few months now, but now that the predictably tight Bryan Barber-directed clip has arrived, Andre 3 Stacks' lyrics are reinvigorated by the visual treatment. The losers in all of this? UGK. Andre's verse, the sheer number of cameos by Southern rap royalty and the style of Outkast's long time director, plus their own middling verses only serve to push them to the background on their own song. A shame really, as Bun B has definitely been taking advantage of the greater attention the group has been getting with his work in the vocal booth. Regardless, this track, with its lovely Willie Hutch sample, is one of the best to surface so far this year. I choose you, indeed.

UGK featuring Outkast - International Players' Anthem