Goodie Mob is an Atlanta quartet consisting of Cee-Lo Green, Big Gipp, Khujo & T-Mo. Their 1995 debut Soul Food is easily one of the greatest southern hip hop records ever made & their 1999 sophomore effort Still Standing is really good too, but the 3 albums that’ve followed have been either hit or miss. However after a 7 year hiatus, they’re reuniting with Ortanized Noize for their 6th full-length album.
Things kick off with “Are You Ready?”, where Goodie Mob talks about strengthening the Black community over a rock-flavored beat. The next song “Frontline” talks about anarchy over a rubbery instrumental while the track “Curry Goat” goes at the studio gangstas over a ghostly beat. The song “No Cigar” with André 3000 sees the 4 asking who wants the smoke over bouncy trap instrumental while the track “Prey 4 da Sheep” with Big Boi finds the 4 talking about those lost in the matrix over a laidback beat.
After the “DC Young Fly Crowe’s Nest Break” skit, the song “4 My Ppl” is an empowering tribute to African Americans over a rebellious instrumental with some occasional horns & then after the “Big Rube’s Road Break” skit, the track “Off Road” is a wonderful feel-good anthem that I can imagine being blasted at BBQs next spring/summer.
The song “Try We” gets confrontational over a cavernous beat while the track “Me Tyme” is them saying all they want to hear is that they’re thinking about over a smooth boom bap instrumental. The song “Back2Back” talks about getting flirtatious over symphonically sensual beat while the title track talks about talks about going to war over a instrumental with a well incorporated flute & guitar.
The penultimate song “Calm B4 da Storm” warns the listener that they haven’t seen nothing yet backed by multiple beat-switches & after the “Big Rube’s Amazing Break”, the closer “Amazing Grays” talks about making your time count over a chilling instrumental.
If you wanna hear a great comeback effort from one of the greatest southern hip hop groups of all-time, I HIGHLY recommend this album because I honestly think it’s their best since Still Standing. Organized Noize provides a fantastic musical backdrop for Goodie Mob as the quartet do a great job at tackling the social issues that we’ve been facing throughout this hectic year.
Score: 4/5
Legends Will Never Die 