Although No (Talent) Limit continues to assault ears with the Southern "bounce" sound and a varied assortment of grunts, you shouldn't let that fact affect your receptiveness to hip-hop music coming out of the South. Goodie Mob combines earthy, soulful, funk music and uplifting narratives of lessons-learned to cook up Soul Food that stimulates both the mind and the ass.
The sheer intensity of every track puts listeners on alert. The Organized Noise team, now famous for producing sample-free Southern-fried funk for the likes of TLC and Outkast, are at their best here. There are no sacrifices made: heavy, thoughful lyrics stand tall amid thick keyboard and guitar loops.
All four MCs bring divergent styles to the mix. The rugged tales of Khujo and T-Mo and the coded wordplay of Big Gipp suffice on every track, but it's de-facto leader Cee-Lo who commands attention, drawing listeners in like members of a devoted congregation. On "Sesame Street," the rapper remembers a childhood of poverty: "I'm amazed that we made it this far/a poor black family is all that we are/wishing upon a star for trace of happiness/my mama do her best but she ain't makin' no progress/maybe it's test that we all gotta pass/my situation's making me grow too fast/13 and a half years old/standin at the bus stop alone in the cold/on my way to be/degraded for a fee/to help get my family off the street."
The album opens and closes with hymns of redemption, and is stacked with allegories of growing up black in the modern South. Seldom has the struggle to survive been vocalized with such drama, passion and wisdom.
If you like Goodie Mob, check out:
Outkast Southernplayalisticadillacmusik
Goodie Mob Still Standing
Goodie Mob World Party
Nightmares on Wax Carboot Soul
Witchdoctor A S.W.A.T Healin' Ritual
Outkast Aquemini
