Ten times out of nine, a songsmith who chooses the heartfelt route will falter not necessarily by way of lyrical sentiment but in the arena of not-being-shitty. Who really wants to listen to a guy pouring his heart out apologizing for being misunderstood unless the beats and the rhymes are dope? With "Ms. Jackson", like a swirling pop-rap/funk combination of say, Prince and 2Pac, Outkast gets the tone totally right.
The layers of synths create drama but not melodrama, and the layers of imagery within the words evoke more than vague, simplistic angst - for the most part, we're listening in on the sincere, thoughtful, witty and painful musings of two grown men who just want to make good with their babies' mamas' mamas, using some of the more unique imagery in hip hop's history of course.
Favorite lines? We like the idea of apologizing "a trillion times", as if the quantity would help the futile situation; "I love your mom and everything, but..."; rhyming divided with invited with despite it; "puppy love" vs. "full grown" love; the house with the tire swing; the knee pads line; and of course the whole thing about the picnic.
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