You Best Take Heed Of That

Big Boi “General Patton”

I’ve got to assume that Big Boi — a.k.a. Antwan Patton — has been sitting on that “General Patton” title for years, and was just waiting around for a track with the appropriate militaristic, operatic grandeur to serve the conceit. He made the right call. “General Patton” is a terrific balance of gravitas and strut, strength and swing. Big Boi leans into the beat hard enough for some lines to land like punches, but his cadence is rather bouncey, allowing for as much aggression as levity. That’s the upside of this song, anyway. The downside? The track carries on for too long after Big Boi has finished rapping, and — this is the really bad thing — it’s followed by a brief, deeply unfunny skit. I wish that a guy this brilliant knew enough to edit that stuff out.

Buy it from Amazon.