REVIEW: Goodie Mob, Still Standing (LaFace)
- Lang whitaker
Jesus Christ once told his disciples that they should be in the world but not of the world. Similarly, on Atlanta rap group Goodie Mob's second album, Still Standing, the hip-hoppers discover the benefits of being in the world but not of the world on this, the best rap release of 1998.
Straddling the divisive line between hypocrite and helper, Goodie Mob delivers a pointed missiveat teh very community they reside in. Still Standing is a breathtaking showcase of maturation and expansion sprouting from Goodie Mob's first record, Soul Food. The four men (Khujo, Big Gipp, T-Mo, and Cee-Lo) use Standing to smartly side-step the now played out gangsta fury that cropped upthroughout Soul Food. Instead, on Standing they focus their sharp commentary and biting wit on the problems facing society, specifically the inherent flaws of the inner-city black community.
The album starts with "The Experience", a showcase for Cee-Lo's unusual testifying from his personal pulpit. His gold-toothed grin gives his intelligent rhymes an immediate credibility. Setting the tone for the rest of the record, Cee-Lo says, "You ain't a nigga because you black, you a nigga because of how you act." The son of two southern Baptist preachers, Cee-Lo is the most underrated talent in hip-hop today. HIs nasal singing and pontificating brings to mind the love child of Jesse Jackson, Martin Luther King, Al Green, and a helium baloon.
The genius of Goodie Mob is in the way all four members' voices weave together into a beautiful yet raw tapestry, exploring the dynamic spectrums like the Robinson Family. Playing off of Cee-Lo's divine drawl and Big Gipp's conversationist concerns, T-Mo delivers an ever shifting flow, while Khujo brings a possesed social conscience, referencing current events from the Ennis Cosby shooting to genocide.
For production, Goodie once again collabrated with the Atlanta collective Organized Noize (TLC, OutKast). Instead of relying on the cymbal heavy sound now prevalent in hip-hop, they've created a sound they termed "techno-gothic funk", where phat bass lines serve as a foundation for trip-hop beats and clean guitar noodlings.
Unlike many other rap groups, each member of Goodie Mob appears content playing his own part, recognizing that the sum is greater than its parts. Here's hoping everyone else realizes how great it is.
