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It speaks to the instincts of loyalty and protection provoked by having so little – as Cee-Lo summarises on ‘Thought Process’: “It would be nice to have more but I kinda like bein’ poor / At least I know what my friends here for.”. The tenderness of the song’s subject matter is almost offset by the caustic, through-gritted-teeth delivery of Khujo, who seems unwilling to let the mask of masculinity slip for even a moment. One of the album’s most sentimental moments, ‘Guess Who’ pays tribute to the maternal influence of women such as Cee-Lo’s mother, who passed away not long before Goodie Mob began recording. Amplified by Organized Noize’s dark, vintage, deeply-rhythmic production, Goodie Mob salvage real beauty from the detritus of defeat, sustaining the soulful yet gritty sound popularised by the likes of James Brown or Curtis Mayfield (whose studio in which the group recorded much of their debut). Cee-Lo’s plea to a higher power in the album’s opening chapter ‘Free’ is almost crushingly fatalistic, flirting with the idea of death as the realisation of a freedom which will not be achieved in life.ĭespite this, Soul Food is far from a miserable experience. It’s the same kind of existential pain which teased the blues out of the Mississippi soil over one hundred years earlier – the endless labour, the gut-churning hunger, and the gnashing jaws of poverty. The group detail the daily slow-burn struggle, not often thriving but simply surviving, hustling for the next elusive pay check. Soul Food celebrates the resilience needed to navigate a life of near constant pressure. Their production offered an entirely appropriate backdrop to Goodie Mob’s soul-searching tale of a salvation forever slightly beyond reach. Wade, Ray Murray, and Sleepy Brown had already honed a musical style that could squeeze the soul out of any instrumental lineup. The basement of Rico Wade – one-third of the local production trio Organized Noize – played host to these young hopefuls and encouraged lengthy freestyle sessions in the subterranean heat. Incubated by the same community networks of Atlanta – most notably recording crew “The Dungeon Family” – the group released their debut album Soul Food following early appearances by central figures Cee-Lo and Big Gipp on OutKast singles such as ‘Git Up, Git Out’. OutKast led the charge but Goodie Mob proved their success was more than a regional fluke.
It was a movement that would not only surpass the cloudless groove of Los Angeles and the bitter fatalism of New York but offer something entirely new to hip hop’s increasingly restless audience. Decades of musical history passed down through ears and bloodlines had finally resurfaced in the most sophisticated rap to ever emerge from the states of Georgia, Louisiana, Florida, and Texas. The Geto Boys and UGK had already entered the hip hop hall of fame, leaving a trail of nationwide copycats in their wake. Master P’s No Limit Records approached its most prolific phase. A young duo named OutKast stood defiant before a jeering crowd at the ’95 Source Awards. In the mid 1990s the south was riding a wave that was set to wash the slate clean.