Which Outkast album became the first hip hop album to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year?

Outkast’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below became the first hip hop album to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

Released on September 23, 2003, the double album presents the two members’ contrasting creative approaches. Big Boi’s Speakerboxxx emphasizes Southern rap and funk, while André 3000’s The Love Below explores soul, pop, funk, and other styles. The two discs were packaged and marketed together as one album.

The project included the hit singles “The Way You Move,” performed by Big Boi with Sleepy Brown, and “Hey Ya!,” led by André 3000. Both songs reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, making the album unusually successful across rap and mainstream pop audiences.

At the 46th Grammy Awards in 2004, the album won Album of the Year. It also won Best Rap Album. Outkast had previously released albums including Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, ATLiens, Aquemini, and Stankonia, but this was their Grammy breakthrough at the ceremony’s top level.