Goodie Mob — Soul Food

One of the best albums ever to come out of the South. Debut for Atlanta hip-hop group Goodie Mob, consisting of Cameron "Big Gipp" Gipp, Willie "Khujo" Knighton, Thomas "CeeLo Green" Callaway and Robert "T-Mo" Barnett. The music is entirely created by Organized Noize Productions, a local production team that has already produced OutKast's first LP. Guests are part of the Dungeon Family collective and are André 3000, Big Boi, Cool Breeze, Joi, Roni, Sleepy Brown and Witchdoctor.

The lyrics are thought out, each verse sounds weighted, each bar sounds weighted, finally a bit of clever rap amidst the gangsterisms and thug poses that dominated 1995 and in general, all of the hip-hop nineties. The four rappers demonstrate remarkable narrative skills and focus on socio-conscious and political topics, on racism, on discrimination, on the struggle to get out of poverty and survive in poor neighborhoods, also creating songs dedicated to food and weed. The lyricism is among the best of the period and the execution is amazing, the talented CeeLo stands out above the others providing a great performance with a fluid, melodic, dope style.

Music is extraordinary. Organized Noize is a name that appears few times when the best producers of the nineties are mentioned and that is even less talked about, yet it boasts all the credentials to be considered there together with the elite of the period. The production of these guys sounds different than the average, it features some excellent samples from the seventies and focuses above all on the layered instrumentation to build the beats, with guitars, basses, drums, strings, winds, keyboards, pianos and organs. The boom bap rhythms of the Atlanta team accompany the rapping of the performers, enhancing it without ever obscuring it, presenting a soulful, spiritual and dark mood.

Released by LaFace and distributed by Arista, the album gets a positive response from audiences and critics, is certified gold by the RIAA the following year, and is considered a masterpiece in retrospect. Interspersed with numerous skits, it's a one-hour masterful effort that is purely essential for any hip-hop fan.

Rating: 9.5/10.