Goodie Mob

Still a Warrior. Still Fighting. “STILL STANDING.”

Khujo, one-forth of the rap group Goodie MOb, wants his fans to know first what his name means. Khujo does not represent the name of the dog Cujo. But instead, his name refers to the leader of the Tribal Maroons who lead escaped slaves to freedom. Khujo also means change. If you count the letters K-H-U-J-O on the alphabet, add the numbers up and divide the total by 5, you get the number 13 which symbolizes change:

K(11)+H(8)+U(21)+J(10)+O(15)=65=65/5=13. And his birthday falls on the 13th, therefore his name bears special meaning. Being that his name means change, it is no surprise that Khujo represents the wind on their sophomore album “Still Standing.” And like the wind, Khujo’s rhyme style and lyrical content blows hard and in all different directions.

For Khujo, the theme of the album “Still Standing” means that “if you stand for nothing, you’ll fall for anything. Goodie MOb is still standing for something while others are falling. It is beginning to be the New World Order and we are still standing in the Old World Order, trying to get out of this crooked system,” says Khujo about the album.

Although it has been about 2 years since Goodie MOb hand fed the world their gold debut album Soul Food, the album “Still Standing” is definitely worth the wait. “It took about 2 years for some folks to know what we were saying on the first album. People are really just getting the old album.” On the album “STILL STANDING,” Goodie MOb has definitely grown musically using hooks that are lyrically crafty, thought provoking, and uplifting. “The verses are longer, the hooks are a collaboration of all of our ideas, and the beats can be described as techno-gothic funk.” This album provides inspiration for people to keep their heads held high even though times may be rough. “Expect that regardless of our burdens and what we go through, we’re still standing. Everybody thinks their burdens are the worse but Goodie MOb goes through the same burdens,” says Khujo.

Khujo who prefers to be called a messenger versus a rapper (“cus rappas wrap gifts”), realized his mission in music early on in life. Khujo performed as one of the Pips from Glady’s Knight & The Pips at Peyton Forest Elementary School talent show. He enjoyed performing in front of an audience and realized his love and talent for music. In middle school, Khujo was a member of a rap group called the “Party Crashers,” in which the group would literally “crash parties.” It wasn’t until high school that Khujo began to develop and nurture his lyrical content. “In high school, I changed what I rapped about because I was getting older and more mature and things (life) started making sense to me. I began to get conscious about the responsibilities of being a black man, and I wanted to wake my people up. I realized my purpose on earth. God’s purpose.” While in high school, Khujo was a member of a six-person group called “Six Sense,” which included Big Gipp and Ray Murray of Organized Noize Productions. Khujo went on to form “The Lumberjacks” along with T-Mo, and from there they met Cee-Lo. The rest is Goodie MOb history!

Expect perfect imperfection,”is the best and most accurate way Cee-Lo can explain Goodie Mob’s highly anticipated sophomore album “STILL STANDING.” Cee-Lo, the youngest of the four-man crew, is very much grounded in thought and in spirit. The son of two southern Baptist ministers, Cee-Lo has a very intellectual, spiritual, and mental thought process that far succeeds his 22 years of age.

After listening to any of Cee-Lo’s explosive verses, one truly feels as if they have just drank from a fountain of knowledge. Just like on SOULFOOD, Cee-Lo represents the water of the group, providing words and a Lyrical style that gives both depth and clarity to all listeners. “I provide depth in my rhymes, but not too much depth to where you can’t swim. Sometimes all you know about is what you don’t know. It’s intriguing. Large volumes of water can be intimidating, so if you go deeper, you don’t know what to expect. I have the will to go deeper, to seek knowledge. Knowledge is not coincidental, it’s given to you.”

On the new album, Cee-Lo’s lyrical talent extends from behind the mic, lending not only his inspirational words, but serving as producer of the song “Ghettology.” “There is a science behind the ghetto which explains why we are the way we are,” says Cee-Lo about the song. “Even though being a rapperis our job title, it does not make us exempt from our surroundings. Sometimes we are forced into predicaments because of our sorroundings.”

Goodie Mob has grown as a group and as individuals on STILL STANDING. I feel that as a group, we provide more conviction than compassion, without lacking compassion. We have become more directed. Our music is from the heart, therefore it is heartfelt. We didn’t plan this destiny but as it manifiested, we were open-minded enough to overstand and understand our identity and responsibility as a group, what destiny has given to us.” As an individual, Cee-Lo feels he’s getting closer to God one step at a time.

Cee-Lo began his musical career like many singers, in the church. He doesn’t look at himself as a rapper, just an honest person speaking honestly. A naturally gifted artist, Cee-Lo has always been involved in an expressive art form of some sort. “I started out drawing, then I began dancing, D-jaying, and I got into fashion because it’s an extension of who I am.” Even Cee-Lo’s musical taste displays his wide range of interests varying from Jackie Wilson, Al Green and The Winan’s to Billy Idol, Def Leopard, and Quiet Riot. “I would sing in the shower, and on Saturday mornings when I was cleaning up. I learned through imitation. Music is in the blood.”

A big voice, with big rhymes, and big talent perfectly describes Big Gipp of Goodie Mob. Big Gipp can easily be classified as the Picasso of rap, painting a lyrical street-wise picture in a form where anyone can appreciate it for its beauty and everyone walks away with a different interpretation.

On STILL STANDING, Big Gipp represents the earth because the earth contains many elements like himself. ” I represent everything that’s natural, all the natural resources. I surround myself with natural things that are positive and good. I am also a very stationary person, but I like to grow.”

Being that Big Gipp likes to submerge himself in nature, many of the songs on STILL STANDING manifested while in the woods of Helen, Georgia. ” We knew what we wanted to say, and who we wanted to say it to. Every song is critiqued, and every song is directed.”

STILL STANDING promises to offer a little something for everyone. “We grew a lot on this album. We’ve got some stuff that has never been done before. We took what we learned from the stage and put it on this album.” Since Goodie Mob was voted “hypest live show” by Vibe Magazine(February 1998), STILL STANDING is guaranteed to be an even greater success than their gold debut album SOULFOOD. “All of the songs are diverse, and as a crew, we attacked every beat,” says Big Gipp about the album. “We got real lyrical and dropped a new rhyme pattern on every song.”

In the future, Big Gipp plans to steer and develop young talent, teaching an artist how to be an artist. “I want to build a stable, turning Goodie Mob into an enterprise. I want us to have a clothing line and our own studio.” Big Gipp, along with his wife and Free World recording artist Joi, share a beautiful daughter together. “Because I’m a father, I am more directed about what I need to do personally and for my business. I gotta keep perfecting Explosive, wild, racy, and hot, is why T-Mo Goodie represents fire on Goodie Mob’s sophomore album STILL STANDING. When talking with T-Mo, one can sense the raw emotion and energy in his voice that makes one visualize and linger on every word he says. “The reason I am fire is because I represent reaction. When somebody sees or feels fire, they react. When something needs to be done, I get it done. I like to make things happen. I’m the party starter.” A party starter he is, asking for two turntables for Christmas at an age where many young boys still want race track sets. T-Mo has always been a musical person playing the violin in the 2nd grade, the drums in the 3rd and by 5th grade T-Mo was playing the saxophone and singing in the boys chorus. At age 12, T-Mo was putting together mix tapes. “Music comes natural to me. I’ve always been doing something, I’ve always wanted to become a part of the industry.”

Before Goodie Mob, T-Mo was just a young black man trying to figure out his place in society. In the 11th grade, T-Mo went to military school and experienced being away from home for the first time. It was at that point he decided to further his education by attending Morris Brown College (his parents alma mater), at the Atlanta University Center majoring in Hospitality and minoring in Business. It wasn’t until T-Mo’s junior year that his career plans changed and he left school to pursue a career in music.

That’s what makes STILL STANDING such an appropriate title for T-Mo and Goodie Mob. “We are still standing and holding strong to our moral beliefs. On the last album, we were preparing for war, and on this album I feel that we are at war against the bull****.” This album also represents a lot of personal triumphs for T-Mo, completing a home studio that took almost 7 years to put together.” On another personal note, T-Mo wants his fans to know that he is an honest, real, and trustworthy person. “For somebody to betray me, it’s like they’re going against God’s will. I’m a global person and I feel as if I represent God.”

On this album, T-Mo knows he’s grown musically because he raps about his life experiences, and since our lives change daily, so does his rap style. “I go through a new experience everyday, so I always have something new to say. I’m constantly growing and forever changing.”

Goodie Mob is still that spiritual, political, and thought-conscious group with those in-your-face-style lyrics, “It’s updated information for my young bloods on the streets,” says T-Mo. STILL STANDING is already a success to T-Mo, but he sums it best by saying, “I gave it my best shot and I leave it to the people to judge, you.”

my craft.”

Goodie Mob is such a unique and original group, they give an eclectic mix of street knowledge, hard hitting bass, and lyrical poetry that flow like the ocean. Quality, original and positive rap music is such a rarity in this day and age, but Goodie Mob blends all of these elements together to make such a rare music possible. “Seek good music, and good music you will find. In Goodie Mob you will find it.”