THE GOOD NEWS:
A great album. . . The lyrics are positive (which you all know earns points from me), the production is among the best I've heard this year (yes, up there with DJ Premier's superb work on Moment of Truth), and these guys just sound GOOD. . . the southern sound is insanely dope.

THE BAD NEWS:
A few (very few) cuts here are on the weak side, and sorta remind me of B-grade No Limit soldier crap. The southern feel to the album is dope, but takes a while to get used to, especially for someone that doesn't listen to much Hip-Hop from that area (the accents take some listening to understand completely at first).

I'm back again. This time I didn't wait a month and a half between reviews. Aren't you glad?

Anyway, I get lots of e-mail from my legions of devoted fans (yeah right). Some of the comments are positive, such at those complimenting me on my thorough style of reviewing. Perhaps my favorite e-mails to read are ones saying that I turned someone on to the music of an artist like Rakim, who was unknown to a certain reader before they checked out my page. That just makes me feel great, since I was turned on to this sort of music primarily from internet sources (hey, without any MTV or radio airplay, how else would I know of them?). It actually makes me feel like I'm doing something worthwhile, making the world a better place. . . even if it is only by running a small little Hip-Hop reviews website that gets a little over 50 hits a week.

But, I'm sad to say that the majority of the e-mail I receive is NOT positive. And I'm not just talking about disgruntled fans of Insane Clown Posse or Capone-N-Noreaga that threaten to "beat my faggot ass" or just call me an idiot that knows nothing about music and can't understand true talent when I see it because I'm too busy listening to Puffy (when have I EVER said anything positive about Puff, anyway, guys?). I don't even pay attention to messages as ignorant as those. I'm talking about ones that actually criticize me for things that I myself think I've been doing wrong.

One of the main complaints I get is that I'm too "East Coast-centered." This complaint has increased dramatically since I reviewed Scarface's My Homies and gave it a 1 out of 10. People actually think that the only Hip-Hop I consider worth listening to is from the East Coast. And, from looking at my page, I can see where that impression comes from. Out of the 13 reviews I've written, 10 of them were recorded by East Coast artists. Of the other three, Insane Clown Posse (from Detroit) and Scarface (from Houston) received terrible scores. Only DJ Shadow (from some small town in California. . . I forget where) made the cut with a non-East Coast album. Even looking at my Next Time list reveals four East albums to be reviewed soon.

So, it probably seems like I'm some die-hard New York Hip-Hop purist. Well. . . remember, I'm from Valparaiso, Indiana myself, so I hold no allegiance to ANY major Hip-Hop community. There's good and bad artists from EVERYWHERE. This world's too big to only have one place that creates great Hip-Hop music. Even though I haven't reviewed many Left Coast albums, I assure you, I love listening to Ras Kass, Latyrx, Hieroglyphics, Aceyalone, and many other talented emcees from the wessssssssiiiiide. When I trashed Scarface's album, I didn't mean to trash the South (as many people thought, according to complaints I received). On the contrary, Outkast and Goodie Mob are two great Southern groups that have been enjoying much time in my stereo as of late.

Yeah, Goodie Mob. I'll bet you were wondering when I'd get around to them, eh? Well. . . for those that don't know, the Goodies are an Atlanta-based collective of four members. In alphabetical order, they are Cee-Lo, Gipp, Khujo, and T-Mo. Now, I'll have to say, I slept on these guys in the past. I never got around to purchasing their last album, 1995's Soul Food, and missed what was considered by many to be an excellent album. However, I DID peep this crew on DJ Muggs's Soul Assassins album (which was a nifty little album, from what I remember of it) on a tight cut entitled "Decisions, Decisions." Cee-Lo Green later followed this with an incredible performance on "Gaining One's Definitions" off of Common's One Day It'll All Make Sense.

Well, I was impressed. While I was under the impression that the Goodie Mob was some sort of hard-core "throw ya guns in the air" type act, the lyrics on those songs showed me a group that had, and wished to share, ideas. From contemplating the existence of a higher being to cricizing the music industry's immorality, Cee-Lo caught my attention in particular. It was as if he were a late 90's version of Chuck D, except with a strong Southern twang. So, I waited for their next album.

I didn't have to wait long, however, before the guys blew up with their hit single, "They Don't Dance No Mo." This brought Goodie tons of airplay on BET and radio stations all across the country. Hell, maybe even MTV too. I'm not really sure; anytime I turn that channel on, I just hear Peter Gunz doing some wack singing about the Bronx ("The Bridge Is Over" it ain't). Well, Goodie Mob actually had a really popular song, which meant this album would probably be a hit. . . that sorta turned me off a little (don't ask why), but I bought it anyway. And I was very pleasantly surprised.

That wasn't how I felt when I first bought it, though. My ears aren't quite used to the Down South sound. When I first played Still Standing, all I could think was that I bought a lame No Limit-esque album (and that is NOT a good thing). Remember, the two previous songs I had heard Goodie Mob on were tracks produced by DJ Muggs and No I.D., a sharp contrast to the production by Organized Noize on Still Standing. But, I kept listening. And listening. And guess what? These "southern souljahs" grew on me and I finally decided that they released a GREAT album.

Cee-Lo, a.k.a. Carlito Green, has definitely earned a place in my mind as one of today's top-notch emcees. And the thing is, he rarely actually raps on Standing. It's as if he's having a CONVERSATION. . . a conversation with the listener, with the imaginary "wack emcee," with the beautiful black woman, with the ignorant young gang-banger. . . he just comes across completely honest. No real frills or bragging. But he DOES have a lot to brag about, when he to choose to do so. His style is very unique, placing him as an innovator along the lines of KRS-One or Kool Keith (well. . . maybe not THAT innovative). Just the way he raps is like nothing I've ever heard. He allows for plenty of wisdom, intimidation, compassion, and even humor to shine through in his rhymes. That isn't just a sign of a good rapper, folks. . . it's the budding of a truly talented, well-rounded, master emcee. He's not quite one of the greatest of all time, yet. . . but give this guy time. Believe me, he's already something special, and I can only see Cee-Lo getting better and better.

Unfortunately, Carlito's comrades aren't quite up to his skill level. Actually, their flows, as well as some of their rhymes, are quite generic. And they all sorta sound the same as each other, deeply contrasting the incredibly unique Cee-Lo Green. This allows Cee-Lo to shine more. . . but doesn't especially help the album. Still, Gipp, Khujo, and T-Mo do a more than adequate job on Still Standing, but just pale in comparison to their talented band-mate.

Remember when I compared Cee-Lo to Chuck D? How about I compare Goodie Mob as a whole to Public Enemy as a whole? Sure, that sounds good. Anyway, the Goodies bare much in common with Hip-Hop's greatest group. First of all, you have to look at the production. In their hey-day, PE had shockingly brilliant production. Organized Konfusion don't do quite the job that the Bomb Squad did, but they are much closer than I would have expected. On the surface, the tracks on Still Standing are typical Gangsta fare. Bumpin bass-lines, eery melodies, yadda yadda yadda. A commercial effort riding No Limit's recent success. Nothing new, right?Wrong. It took my ears quite some time to hear, but the beats here are unbelievable. Honestly, I haven't heard such deep, multi-layered, intriguing tracks since, you guessed it, the knock-out job that the Bomb Squad and the Imperial Grand Ministers of Funk did for Public Enemy.

But, the similarities don't end there. Goodie Mob, like PE, are a very politically conscious group. Peep Cee-Lo's lyrics on "The Experience" (which would have been more appropriately titled "The Nigger Experience," but somehow I don't think LaFace records would have put that on the back of the album), criticizing the overuse of that certain N-word (yeah, Public Enemy had a song about that, too, as did The Coup, Ice-T, and A Tribe Called Quest). Witness the way they dust off playa-haters on "Fly Away." Or the ode to the black woman, "Beautiful Skin." Or Cee-Lo contemplating suicide on "It's Just About Over" (which sports a rock-based track, similar to, you guessed it, many PE songs). These guys, Cee-Lo especially, sincerely do CARE. Goodie is a breath of fresh air in today's all too often apathetic, violent, materialistic, and selfish Rap world. Sorta like. . . Public Enemy was (and still is, actually, from hearing He Got Game, which should be reviewed in upcoming weeks).

Anyway. . . enough of the PE comparisons. Goodie Mob are Still Standing in their own right (aren't I witty?). These songs are just well-written, whether they display amazing vocals or not. They just feel right. The really cool thing about Goodie Mob (I guess this would be a cool thing) is that for all the teaching/preaching that is done in the lyrics, it's easy to just ignore that for a time and just lay back to Still Standing. It's the perfect album to chill to. Listening to some cuts, like "They Don't Dance No Mo," "Ghetto-ology," and "Still Standing," it was almost as if I had time travelled back into 1992 and was listening to something by Dr. Dre or The Geto Boys. A lot of Still Standing truly sounds like some hardcore gangsta rap. The fact that there's a message involved is like an added bonus. "Hardcore with a conscience"? Exactly.

Anyway, this isn't one of the greatest Hip-Hop albums of all time. A few of the tracks are on the generic side, and aside from Cee-Lo, not much excellent emceeing is displayed here. But, Still Standing is probably my all-around second favorite album released this year (under Gang Starr's). I'm next to positive this'll make my top ten list for '98 at the end of the year. If you trust my reviews (I know some of you have to), then by all means, pick this up. If you don't trust my reviews. . . pick this album up anway. You can't miss one of the best albums of the year just because you don't like me, can you?

---Steve Clark

Did I get it wrong? E-mail me at stevec@netnitco.net with all comments or questions you may have.

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