Consisting of Big Gipp, Cee-Lo, Khujo, and T-Mo, Goodie Mob first formed in 1991 as a vital part of the hip-hop collective known as The Dungeon Family, led by the multi-platinum selling production team, Organized Noize. Under Organized Noize, the Goodie Mob became one of the few Southern-based rap groups to gain nationwide notoriety in the 90s. Most importantly, Goodie Mob is one of the few Southern rap groups aside from Outkast and the Geto Boys to earn respect from Hip-hop’s fickle fans and critics who count their 1995 debut, Soul Food, as among the genre’s best albums ever.

Unlike many of their peers whose music and memory have been regulated to the dustbins of hip-hop history, Goodie Mob’s music has stood the test of time. Their catalog, which consists of the power-packed LPs, Still Standing (1998), World Party (1999), One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show (2004), and Age Against the Machine (2013), is still reaching across the generations to inspire both young and old, alike. The many acts that draw inspiration from the Goodie Mob include Outkast, Future, Earthgang, Lil Baby, Big KRIT, and Travis Scott. Their music even inspired the late great Tupac Shakur to aspire to join the Goodie Mob at one time in his life. 

“Tupac used to call our office before Suge [Knight] went and got him out [of prison],” recalls Big Gipp. “And he was like Gipp, man when I get out; I’m going to come to Atlanta and get down with the Goodie Mob.  He always spoke about wanting to be and do records with the Goodie Mob, we just never got the chance to.”

Thirty years ago, significant magazines such as The Source, XXL, Rap Pages, Rolling Stone, and Vibe praised the Goodie Mob’s Soul Food for creating a masterful mix of soul, funk, gospel, and hip-hop along with cutting-edge, socially conscious lyrics that elucidates and inspires fans across the globe. And now, on its twenty-fifth anniversary, fans still can’t get their fill of Goodie Mob’s good ol’ fashion Soul Food.  Unfortunately, many of the themes of mass incarceration, police brutality, racism, and political repression that the Goodie Mob addressed thirty years ago are happening today.            
“We were fortunate as very young men to have been blessed with the type of foresight to try to inform and enlighten, but not necessarily speak these things into existence,” says Cee-Lo. “I would’ve hoped that people would’ve taken heed to our warning, then maybe we could have avoided some of what’s going on.”  

Bettering the world with music is the thing that Goodie Mob does best. It is no wonder that in these troubled times with racial tension at an all-time national high fueled by a megalomaniacal leader dog-whistling thinly veiled racist rhetoric, Cee-Lo, Gipp, Khujo, and T-Mo always make sure their voice is the voice of the people.