I don’t know if anyone else has felt this, but I don’t see OutKast’s ‘Roses’ pop up in a topic of conversation anywhere these days. ‘Hey Ya!’… well, everyone knows it. And I’ll see ‘The Way You Move’ or ‘Prototype’ on TikToks and Instagram posts. Never ‘Roses’ though. Can’t understand it myself, ’cause I remember when it was being played everywhere. In the UK at least, once ‘Hey Ya!’ seemed to be fading away from airplay, ‘Roses’ came right in and got the roof raising again. The video was a mainstay on MTV Base. I’d be singing the chorus with friends during my years in primary school. It was funny stuff. I’ve got a lotta love for it still, never heard it to the point where it fell out of favour like I did with the other big OutKast hit of that time.

I guess, possibly like many, many people, the big appeal for my initial interest in the song came from its entertaining music video. Featuring cameos from Katt Williams, Paula Abdul and a bunch of recgonisable faces, it shows André 3000 performing the song onstage in a school auditorium with his “Love Below” troupe, while the ‘Caroline’ character in the song’s lyrics watches on among the other students. Big Boi and his Speakerboxxx crew crash the proceedings and a hilariously chaotic fight ensues. Katt Williams whisks Caroline away with his charming ways, leaving 3 Stacks screaming after her as he’s carried out of the building. When it was played on the TV, the video’s intro was usually cut out, which left out the reason why Big Boi’s gang goes to the school in the first place. It’s ’cause Caroline gives a “Maybe” response when Big Boi asks if she’ll be his valentine. Nice to have that plot hole sorted out.

The song is essentially a roast of this girl called Caroline, who’s not based on a real person but is rather a representation of all those beautiful women who possess ugly personalities. 3000 pulls off a majorly expressive vocal take, stretching out his syllables, wailing and adlibbing in the background (particularly in the background during the final chorus), providing his own ooh-ooh backing vocals at points. Might even come off as unhinged at times, the way he changes his delivery so much. Must be symbolic of how these Caroline-types make the guy feel. Big Boi joins in and reinforces the song’s theme with the only appearance he makes on the Love Below half of the duo’s 2003 double album. He makes his mark in the time he has. Though the ‘crazy bitch’ outro he delivers might be pushing it a bit. I can take it, though.