Goodie Mob, based in Atlanta, Georgia, is widely considered one of the founding hip hop acts of the Dirty South movement. Goodie Mob's earnest and reverent approach made them one of the more admired groups of their era, and undeniably one of the most respected groups in the often irreverent and scoffed at Dirty South scene, if not the most respected. The Atlanta group's first album, Soul Food (1995), stands as one of the earliest Southern rap albums to emerge on a major label and, along with OutKast's debut, essentially proved that rap was no longer a West and East Coast phenomenon. Besides being pioneering, Soul Food also stood out for its quality -- the album dealt with serious themes and featured an undeniably unique aesthetic, attributed as much to producers Organized Noize as group members Cee-Lo (Thomas Callaway), Khujo Goodie (Willie Knighton, Jr.), T-Mo Goodie (Robert Barnett), and Big Gipp (Cameron Gipp) make up the group, which has been functioning since 1995.
"GOODIE MOb", as it's written on their album covers, stands for "GOOD DIE Mostly Over bullshit". Cee-Lo notes in a song off the Soul Food album that, "[If] you take out one 'O' it stands for 'GOD Is Every Man Of blackness.' "
Its members were all born in Atlanta, and the group is based there with the rest of the Dungeon Family, a collective which includes OutKast and P.A. (Parental Advisory). Goodie was first heard featured on several songs from OutKast's first album Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik.
Goodie Mob's sincerity continued with Still Standing, their 1998 sophomore album, as did their still-unique sound. By this time, the Dirty South movement had been put in motion and the group suddenly found themselves with a considerable following, most newcomers astounded by Goodie Mob's thoughtfulness relative to their Southern peers. As the '90s came to a close, Goodie Mob's close allegiance to fellow Atlanta rappers OutKast proved noteworthy in the wake of that group's breakthrough with Stankonia. No longer was Goodie Mob a cult phenomenon but rather a mass phenomenon. This commercial consciousness that had first surface on 1999's World Party had now become a more glaring issue for Goodie Mob, a group that had always prided themselves on sincerity rather than calculation.
The pioneering yet increasingly conflicted group sadly broke up at this point, and the members embarked independently, beginning with Cee-Lo, who debuted in 2002 with Cee-Lo Green and His Perfect Imperfections. A new album from the remaining three was promised in December of 2003. Pushed-back more than once, One Monkey Don't Stop No Show finally arrived at the end of June 2004. Big Gipp was next to leave the group, leaving Khujo and T-Mo to carry on as a duo. Their early 2005 album Livin' Life as Lumberjacks was a "Goodie Mob Presents" affair and the first step towards a permanent name change to Lumberjacks. The street-level mixtape Nuttin But Dat G appeared around the same time, collecting unreleased tracks by the original, four member Mob.
It has been reported that all four Goodie Mob members are back on good terms and have reentered the studio to release a brand new album. Cee-Lo and Big Gipp have both referenced this in multiple interviews. No details concerning the possible album's release have been given.
The four members recently appeared on stage together on October 1, 2006 following a Gnarls Barkley show, stating that they were back together and on good terms. They are working on an album.
