How have each of you grown since the release of World Party five years ago?
Khujo: In the past five years, I’ve gotten a little bigger (laughing). I just try to learn something every day, one thing every day for 365 days. It’s basically learning where music is going, how to relate a message where it won’t be like you’re trying to catch a whole bunch of bees with a stick. You catch more bees with honey, being able to come back to the industry with something new and innovative.
T-Mo: I think I’ve grown the most in becoming a man, taking on the responsibility of becoming a man. I’ve learned to be more mature. Like my preacher says, I can listen before I react instead of react before I listen. That comes with time and maturity. I’m married now, got my first little boy on the way. With that comes responsibility also. I can’t be a wild club head anymore. Now I’m a man trying to do what I feel like is the right thing.
Gipp: The same as T-Mo, knowing how to take care of myself in this industry. And having the opportunity to start our own record label and now we’re in control of ourselves and our name.
Khujo, do you feel different since your accident?
Khujo: I was put in a situation I had never dealt with before and then at the same time had to deal with a lot of emotions and other people’s emotions, then personal stuff. It was a big brick that dropped on me, but why not me? I’m just happy that the Most High had mercy on me. I’m thankful that I can still do it with the best of them like T-Mo and Gipp, and hold up the Goodie Mob flag, One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show. And make down-South funkadelic music that everyone can relate to. I didn’t want to get down or make anyone feel sorry for me. I’m just glad to be still here amongst the living, helping my brothers make the mark that we was placed here to do. You can hit me on my website, www.KhujoGoodie.com.
Tell me about the new album.
T-Mo: It was a slow process putting this album together, a stress-free process. We were waiting to see if we were going to have all of our members together to continue, but the powers that be didn’t allow for us to come together as the foursome that the world knows. We had to push on. That’s not to disrespect any help that Cee-Lo ever gave to the group. He lost love for the group. That’s the only thing we can come up with. But me, Khujo, and Gipp got a lot in common. We all the same age. We all went to the same high school. We all graduated in the same year, class of 1990. That right there means something to me. I feel like for us to all be a part of the pioneering process of Southern hip-hop, it made working on this album important because we know the type of responsibility we have. The expectation for this album was great. Because some people feel like World Party wasn’t out greatest effort. That was political. That was L.A. Reid’s transition period from LaFace to Arista. He didn’t want Goodie Mob to say the wrong thing on a record that may jeopardize his promotion at Arista. He had to make sure we came out with something commercial enough without causing any political problems. Sorry that we disappointed the fans that we did disappoint. But we’re going to make up for it on this album, One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show.
Gipp: This album is really soulful. We felt like our backs were up against the wall again to prove who we were and what we were here for. I think the record isn’t geared for the clubs and cars, but for you to sit down and listen to it. We got something to say.
Khujo: I think what the Goodie Mob brings to the hip-hop table is good advice. That’s the title of one of our songs. You don’t have to go by it. We’re not going to beat you upside the head. You take it or you don’t take it.
What is meant by the title, One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show?
Khujo: It’s all the adversity we were up against. Like, Ya’ll can’t do it without Arista. Ya’ll can’t do it without Cee-Lo. Or without Organized Noize producing your whole album. It’s multiple meanings. Like when I was in the accident, I couldn’t perform and get out there and do what I had to do but time permitted me to get back up and not let that monkey hinder me as much. There’s a lot of positive stuff around this album. We heard our elders say it long before we decided to put it on wax. It’s a perfect time for the whole country. Like 9/11, they didn’t let that stop the show. All the lights came back on. People went back to work. Goodie Mob is about relating far beyond one person.
What happened with Cee-Lo?
Khujo: I think it was a breakdown in communication on my part. Then you leave a lot for room for assumptions. We want to have our own record label. You down with us or not? You not. OK, cool. With the mercy of the Most High, here we are right now. We still have something to say and have the medium to get it out. And we making more money off our records. It’s a change for the better.
How do you feel Goodie’s sound is different without him?
T-Mo: The absence of his voice. He did have a unique voice. But Goodie Mob wasn’t built on his voice. It was built behind a message. It’s definitely a difference but it’s up to the listening public to decide whether they want to stay with us or move on. If they enjoy his voice, people can purchase his two solo CDs or old Goodie Mob. It’s unfortunate that he’s not with us. It hurt us inside. We like being a foursome. It was his decision to not be a part of Goodie Mob so we got to move on.
How are all your previous albums different from each other?
Gipp: Soul Food was a time when we were breaking the South sound and breaking what we did as musicians. Still Standing was when we came in and said, we don’t dance no more. While everybody else dancing and putting on shiny suits, we gonna say something. Then here comes World Party and all we were saying was, we been able to take four kids from the South and we done took our message all through the 50 states and over seas. That’s what World Party was about, a celebration of Goodie Mob being not just a neighborhood act but an international act.
T-Mo: Soul Food was our introductory album. It was a monumental album, Platinum. With Still Standing it took us out into the world. We created a nice little buzz with Soul Food and everyone was highly anticipating our Still Standing album. We went gold in a week. With the World Party CD I feel like the anticipation was just as great but like I said, our label was merging and it was bad timing. This album is a monumental album because we lost a member and we done been though a lot and I know everybody want to hear about it. We got something to ride to.
What’s up with the Dungeon Family?
We’re about to come together and put out a Dungeon Family 2 album within the next year. - Jessica Koslow, lovehiphop@aol.com
