"Take Off Your Cool"

Emerging from Atlanta in the mid '90s, the Rap duo known as OutKast released a handful of genre-bending CDs before hitting it "big" with the release of Stankonia in late 2000.

Their long-awaited follow-up, the double CD Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, was released in the fall of 2003 and was an instant hit thanks mostly to the song "Hey Ya!." The collection plays less like a double set though, and more like two solo releases (although the duo both contribute to each CD), packaged together and featuring the name OutKast.

Speakerboxxx, Big Boi's contribution is, dare I say, the least adventurous of the two. It contains hyper-kinetic rap, hip-hop, R and B and is most notable for the hit "I like the Way You Move."

The Love Below, Andre 3000's collection contains 20 tracks that for the most part are impossible to label. A mixture of rap, R and B, rock, jazz and other contemporary styles, The Love Below is a gutsy release from the duo that has, for the most part, appealed to the rap crowd. "Hey Ya," changed all of that. So did the follow up single, "Roses." OutKast became a household name and reached heights few artists will ever see.

Although The Love Below contains many lasting tracks, the most memorable is "Take Off Your Cool," a simple two and a half minute long duet between Andre and Norah Jones. Driven by a sole acoustic guitar (although bits of keyboard pop up in the background), the song sets the mood quickly with a series of open chords lazily strummed by Andre while the duo playfully scat. Jones' vocal after the intro is sultry and inviting. It's also repetitive. The song has few lyrics yet never seems lacking.

The song's beauty is its simplicity. And I really can't say it any simpler than that.