Aquemini is known as one of the best southern hip-hop albums ever for a reason. A lot of people think of Atlanta and the American southeast as the land of slow smooth drawls and fried food and sweet tea and people who walk a little slower (mostly from the heat, in my opinion), and that’s all true. But it’s also a place of stereotypes, and Atlanta hip-hop almost had no choice but to find its own way between the NYC and LA scenes to avoid being lumped into just another set of Southern stereotypes.

It’s perhaps stated best on “Slump,” when Big Boi talks about the competition “talking ‘cause they makin’ some flow / But still ain’t did nothing that ain’t been done before / You can’t be trying to showcase, just put it down for your spot / And improvise and work with that little you got”. This album feels like a result of the need to be original, and in many ways that effort was probably helped along by the unique inspiration of late 90’s Atlanta.

From the roundup Greatest Albums of 1998.