at a glance...

Hometown: Atlanta, GA
Formed: circa 1992

Members:
Cee-Lo (Thomas Burton)
Big Gipp (Cameron Gipp)
Khujo (Will Knighton)
T-Mo (Robert Barnett)

Related Artists :
Outkast, Witchdoctor, Society of Soul, Common

Notes:
Each of the four members of Goodie Mob hail from southwestern Atlanta, but their emergence as a group didn't come until they gravitated towards each other and fellow Dungeon Family members Outkast around 1992. They made their first appearance on Outkast's debut Southernplayalisticadillacmusik, adding powerfully articulate intensity to two tracks on the album. Their debut album, Soul Food, ushered in a new sound for hip hop with the introduction of an earthy soulfulness counterbalanced by an intense focus on socio-political themes and the improvement of their race and community. Their second album, 1998's Still Standing, drew critical praise as well as some attention from the mainstream music press. They've all appeared on Outkast's two subsequent albums, Atliens and Aquemini, as well as the soundtracks for the movies "Slam," "Fled," "Set it Off" and "Soul Food," as well as the AIDS benefit compilation, America Is Dying Slowly.

Links:
Read our Goodie Mob Feature

Any time a band calls its new album World Party, the clear intent is to "attain unity through positive music," i.e., sell records to a bigger audience. Once listeners are able to get past the fact that the band inciting everyone to revel in this case are Goodie Mob, one of hip hop's most fervently profound and not-so-accessible groups, they'll be hooked within a few listens. But this is not what you'd expect from the Goodie.

While Goodie do tone down their penchant for socio-political commentary, the primary point of departure are the beats, which receive a complete overhaul on World Party. Whereas the Organized Noize-provided beats on Soul Food and Still Standing were incredibly innovative, their tempo was not "jiggy" enough to get much radio or club play. To change all that, in come the hyped-up, stuttering drum beats and synthesizer loops made obscenely popular by the Cash Money Millionaires, who have somehow made 2 Live Crew cool again with mega-hits like "Back That Azz Up." The Organized Noize sound is still there, but the bpm meter is turned up considerably.

Regardless of whether or not the intelligence and spirituality of Goodie Mob even belongs in the club or on the radio, this album isn't simply a sell-out. The organic flavor of the music is maintained by mixing live bass, guitar and some percussion around those beats, making for a unique electro-rootsy combination on tracks like "World Party," which liberally borrows from the hook from Lionel Richie's "All Night Long." More importantly, that soulful, gospel-tinged vibe is still present. The uplifting "Rebuilding" picks up right where Still Standing left off, invoking a community spirit and encouraging perseverance in the ghetto.

Accommodations for broader appeal have been made, especially on "What It Ain't," a vocoder-laden collaboration with TLC, but those efforts are far outweighed by the mere presence of Cee-Lo's sermons ("Every time you hate me you educate me") and the fact that the aural adjustments don't cloud the funk.