Two decades after establishing Atlanta’s reputation as a hub for hip-hop’s most out-there talents as half of Outkast, Big Boi’s invention and eclecticism are now, curiously, signifiers of nostalgia on his third solo album. Virtual Japanese pop star Hatsune Miku’s cut-up voice on Kill Jill evokes Timbaland’s turn-of-the-century penchant for Asian samples; warm, rolling bass throughout is reminiscent of prime UGK. A sprinkling of electro bleeps throws Boomiverse back to the 1980s and on irresistible highlight Chocolate, Big Boi morphs into Missy Elliott in her house-dabbling phase. He’s careful to drop a Future reference here and borrow Kendrick Lamar’s cadence there to root it in the present, but Boomiverse’s self-conscious stylistic plurality is the new old-school. All Night, simultaneously too wacky and too obvious, is a moment to cringe at, but for the most part this is dad rap that can hold its head high.
