Still, the Mob found themselves missing each other, both on a musical and family level. Gipp released a solo album and and guested frequently on records by platinum-selling rappers like Nelly, Ali and Grillz, and Khujo and T-Mo revived their pre-Goodie Mob collaboration Lumberjacks for two LPs, including one with Pastor Troy. But while CeeLo had the lion’s share of the limelight, all of of Goodie Mob was keeping busy. Eventually, as his solo career continued to thrive, CeeLo even wound up an unlikely TV star, judging reality talent show The Voice alongside pop stars like Christina Aguilera and Adam Levine and becoming a household name in the process. In the meantime, CeeLo’s star was rising-first as a solo artist, and then as half of indie-soul duo Gnarls Barkley, a collaboration with producer Danger Mouse that yielded breakthrough international megahit, “Crazy” in 2006. But after several years of endless touring and a misunderstood third album with sales that failed to meet expectations, the group was dropped from label Arista and began to unravel, first with the departure of creative powerhouse CeeLo in 2000 and then Gipp in 2004.įor more than a decade fans clamored in vain for a reunion of Goodie Mob’s game-changing original lineup. Along with friends and collaborators OutKast, the Dungeon Family and producers Organized Noize, Goodie Mob started a bona-fide ATL-based musical revolution. As they exploded from the gates full of angst and urgency, the four-man group of CeeLo, Khujo, T-Mo and Big Gipp made two brilliant, critically acclaimed albums-1995’s Soul Food and 1998’s Still Standing-and coined the phrase “The Dirty South,” rapping about both the brutal and beautiful truths of ’hood life in Southwest Atlanta. The first time around, Goodie Mob was a huge part of the antidote, shattering stereotypes with cutting-edge music that was smart and grimy in equal measure. Southern hip-hop is vapid and mindless-at its best, fun, flash-in-the-club party music to shake your ass to at its worst, a bunch of poseur emcees cashing in on a violent trap-house culture they know only from story-song. In some ways, the conversation nowadays is a lot like it was when Goodie Mob burst on the scene back in the mid ’90s. After a 14-year hiatus of the legendary rap group’s original lineup, and CeeLo’s explosion as a pop-culture icon, the originators of smart, righteously indignant Southern hip-hop are back to claim their legacy, right the ship and venture boldly into new territory.

Goodie mob thought process