Goodie Mob Albums (5)
'Livin' Life as Lumberjacks'
Release Date 1/25/2005
Tracks 13
Label Koch
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
And then there were two, and they were...lumberjacks? Making the episode of Crank Yankers with Ludacris come true (the one where he calls the head of Def Jam and claims he wants to change his name to Peanut Head), the Southern outfit Goodie Mob are now called Lumberjacks, or at least they're threatening this since Livin' Life as Lumberjacks is a "Goodie Mob Presents" release. What really makes the L.L. Bean move oddball is that the Mob are as street-level, syrup-sippin' South as ever on Livin' Life as Lumberjacks, perhaps more so. Another concern is that the "Say Wha?" name change is going to alienate hip-hop buyers, and in turn make them miss the crew's most solid album since 1998's Still Standing. With Cee-Lo long gone from the group and Big Gipp just out the door -- he shows up on a couple tracks but he's no longer an official member -- the Goodie Mob are now a tight, forward-looking duo. Rather than dwell on the Gipp departure in the way their last album put Cee-Lo's leaving up front, Livin' Life as Lumberjacks saves its state of the union track for the end of the album and leads up to it with a steady parade of on-point, confident bangers. "Turn Your Whips" makes for a good crunk kickoff single, but what surrounds it is deeper. "Puttin On2Nite" is funkier and more inspired, while "Gothic Funk" is a lyrically excellent tale of struggle, overcoming, and funk that's "aged eight years in oak." The album is front-loaded with instantly apparent highlights, while the second half stretches its legs more. From the David Banner-esque "Bet Dat" to the "where we at" closer, Livin' Life as Lumberjacks gets more classic Goodie as it draws to a close, maintaining the album's well-thought-out flow. Keeping it 13 tracks and skit-less, the album is as fat free as its direct lyrics. Overcoming the halved membership, the mere six months since the last album, and the proposed whack new name, Livin' Life as Lumberjacks is good old Goodie, new-energy Goodie, and fan-pleasing Goodie all at once. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
'One Monkey Don't Stop No Show'
Release Date 10/21/2003
Tracks 16
Label Koch
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
"Monkey" can be Southern slang for an obstacle, and the title of Goodie Mob's fourth proper CD simply means they're going to keep going as a three-piece. Ain't no thing. But if the public thinks the remaining members of Goodie Mob are portraying departed member Cee-Lo as a monkey, that'll bring attention their label won't mind at all. One Monkey Don't Stop No Show is strong enough not to need the controversy and strong enough to put its kickoff single at the end of the album. A laid-back gangsta track with Kurupt and Sleepy Brown, "Play Your Flutes" is the single and proof that the Mob have plenty of life left in them post-Cee-Lo. They sound more like a group than they did with the couldn't-be-anything-other-than-an-individual Cee-Lo, a group that's lazily climbing back to the heights of their debut. Despite the expected "Goodie's still going" lyrics and the title track, the album is refreshingly unconcerned with the departure and kicks off with five languid but grooving numbers. Poke at the skip button while checking it out at the store and nothing hits home, but give it a lazy Saturday to fully sprawl and it works. Putting introspective tracks up front, bangers in the middle, and glittery funk at the end is an interesting arc for a rap album and one that works for Goodie. Upfront lyrical triumphs like "God I Wanna Live" and the deep and dirty "Shawty Wanna Be a Gangsta" are good reminders of what the three have contributed in the past. It also makes the lesser hard tracks in the middle of the album sound fresher than they should by building some tension. The middle isn't horrible, just ignorable, and the three closing tracks are A-list. Producers Organized Noize live up to their lofty reputation on their handful of tracks, but it's DJ Speedy that steals the show with his combination of Southern sounds and near-Bad Boy sparkle. Uneven, especially compared to their earlier records, and less ambitious than the "bring it on" misinterpretation of the title might make you think, One Monkey Don't Stop No Show recasts the group as a cohesive unit and puts them back on the "ones to watch" list. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Fresh for the end of the millennium, Goodie Mob cut loose and put the bounce back into Southern rap with their third album. As listeners might gather from the title, World Party is just that -- a party record, with fewer message tracks than were found on Goodie Mob's first two albums. In their place are hands-in-the-air party songs like the title track, "Get Rich to This," "Chain Swang," and the great TLC collaboration "What It Ain't (Ghetto Enuff)." The production, mostly by Organized Noize or Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie (aka the Madd Rapper), isn't quite as strong as it has been in the past, but Goodie Mob's laid-back rhymes and vocal choruses make up for the deficit. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Goodie Mob's debut album was a production masterpiece that ranks as perhaps the most Southern-sounding Southern rap album ever recorded; similarly, lead rapper Cee-Lo is one of the most Southern MCs on record, with a raspy, nasal, rural-sounding drawl that's utterly distinctive. The follow-up album, Still Standing, is mostly more of the same great stuff, with producers Organized Noize refining the soulful, organic blueprint laid out on Soul Food. There are some more up-tempo percussion tracks here, with a few detours into more typical Southern bounce tracks; it's mildly disappointing to hear Goodie Mob following trends instead of setting them, but they're well-executed all the same. When the results are more imaginative, as on the hit single "They Don't Dance No Mo'" and "Ghetto-ology," it's a terrific expansion of the group's sound; so is the heavy, guitar-driven rocker "Just About Over." The hardcore themes that occasionally popped up on Soul Food are a smaller presence on Still Standing; even so, while the group may be progressive in sentiment, they still aren't gentle in language. And their trademark social and spiritual awareness is very much in evidence. "The Experience" is a nimble meditation on the word "nigga"; "Black Ice," "Fly Away," and "Inshallah" have the deep gospel feel that makes Goodie Mob so unique; "Beautiful Skin" professes deep respect for women who respect themselves; and "Gutta Butta" and "Greeny Green" are reflections on neighborhood pride (by way of not littering) and materialism, respectively. Cee-Lo is even more of a breakout individual presence on Still Standing, and his unique style can sometimes overshadow his bandmates; plus, a few tracks just aren't that engaging. But overall, Still Standing is an excellent follow-up to a major artistic statement. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Over the years, Southern rap has come to be associated mostly with hit-factory labels like No Limit and Cash Money, or in its early days Miami bass music. In general, it's never been afforded much critical respect, but that started to change in the '90s, when Atlanta established itself as the home of intelligent, progressive Southern hip-hop. Despite some excellent predecessors, Goodie Mob's debut album, Soul Food, is arguably the city's first true classic, building on the social conscience of Arrested Development and the street smarts and distinctive production of OutKast. In fact, the production team behind the latter's Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, Organized Noize, is also present here, and really hit their stride with a groundbreaking signature sound that reimagines a multitude of Southern musical traditions. Soul Food is built on spare, funky drum programs, Southern-fried guitar picking in the Stax/Volt vein, occasional stabs of blues harmonica, and strong gospel overtones in the piano licks and meditative keyboards. There's an even stronger spiritual flavor in the group's lyrics, based on a conviction that religion has been the saving grace of African-American culture as it's endured centuries of oppression. The album even opens with lead rapper Cee-Lo singing an original spiritual called "Free." Goodie Mob is firmly grounded in reality, though -- they rail against a system stacked against poverty-stricken blacks, and are more than willing to defend themselves in a harsh environment, as on the gritty street tales "Dirty South," the eerie single "Cell Therapy," and "The Coming." The meat of the album, however, lies in its more reflective moments: the philosophical "Thought Process"; "Sesame Street," a reminiscence on growing up poor and black; "Guess Who," one of hip-hop's greatest mama tributes ever; and the warm title track, which is about exactly what it says. If soul food was aptly named for its spiritual nourishment, the same is true of this underappreciated gem. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
