Sleepy Brown revealed that OutKast’s “So Fresh, So Clean” almost went in a different direction during its creation
OutKast’s iconic track “So Fresh, So Clean” nearly took a different direction during the time of its making, as Organized Noize producer Sleepy Brown recently disclosed in an interview with SPIN.
It was originally thought of being a solo Big Boi song, and almost had André 3000 not on it at all. According to Brown, André didn’t want to get involved with it right away.
“André didn’t like that record,” Brown revealed. “It wasn’t because he didn’t think it was dope — it just wasn’t matching where he was at at the time. We really just did it for Big.”
Brown and the Organized Noize team were thinking they needed a “hood theme” for the album, which Big Boi got behind completely. But once the bass line was added by Preston Crump, everything changed for André.
“When Dre heard that, he got excited and came up with ‘the coolest motherfunkers on the planet’ part,” Brown explained. “Thanks to Preston, that’s the reason why Dre even got on that record.”
Brown also credited the song’s catchy hook to the dying Organized Noize member Rico Wade, who contributed to the lyrics. Brown recounted laying down the initial piano melody and requesting Wade to write the words.
“Rico was really slick with words,” Brown shared. “I asked him to write it, and I just laid down a melody. He had it ready the next morning.”
