By shelz.

The slow dismantling of the legendary Goodie Mob back in 2000 was a serious blow to the Atlanta Hip-Hop scene and the genre in general.  The quartet, along with their Dungeon Family brethren OutKast and Parental Advisory were known as the poster children for the southern side of Hip Hop’s gritty social commentary.  With Organized Noize laying down the soulful, sometimes somber production, the total equation was that of Hip-Hop at its most insightful.  Then there was the shift in the road to a more upbeat, light-hearted sound with the release of World Party in 1999. The reception was dismal.  Folks suggested the Mob sold out for mainstream acceptance.  Soon after, Cee-Lo Green, the raspy-voiced rapper turned singer of the group, hit the road.

One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show found the remaining trio treading water in an ocean of crunk stars in 1994.  The fans weren’t buying.  They dismissed the album as an alleged shot at Green and kept their money to themselves.  Then Big Gipp packed his bags and the Mob as we knew it was laid to rest, but not for long.

The rumblings of a reunion started in 2006 and got louder and louder as the quartet started to acknowledge that there was something in the works. That something finally materialized Saturday night as The Goodie Mob Reunion: Remember Atlanta presented by Shameless Plug at the Masquerade Music Park on the eastside of Atlanta. Along with Pastor Troy, Young Bloodz, Big Boi, Sleepy Brown and Cool Breeze, The Goodie Mob took the stage as a quartet and gave the rain soaked crowd the best of their incredible catalogue with a few surprises here and there.

The nostalgic mood of the show was set by Georgia Me, the Tony and Emmy award winning queen of spoken word as she reminisced with the crowd about clubs and venues of Atlanta’s yesteryear when the sound was still only found inside its regional boundaries. DJ Jelly was the man on the wheels of steel and his selections were dust covered gems from the late 80’s up to the turn of the century.  The crowd nodded their heads in acceptance as their faces lit up to beats that hadn’t jammed to since they were kids.

The opening acts did their hits as the crowd shouted suggestions to the stage. The end of Pastor Troy’s “Vice Versa” brought a loud cry of “We Ready! We Ready!” from the fans which he used as the segue into “No More Play in GA.”  He’s still loud. His voice is still gravely as a country Georgia road and he’s still rambunctious and animated enough to whip the crowd into a mini tizzy. After his set Pastor Troy spent the rest of the show in the crowd taking pictures and signing autographs for the fans.  Nice.

Also on the undercard were Young Bloodz. They kept the crowd in the zone with “Presidetial,” “Damn,” (minus Lil John unfortunately) “U-Way” and “Ridin Dirty on 85.” But it was obvious that even though the crowd was feeling these songs they were distracted by what was yet to come.  So Jelly asked the crowd if they were ready.  The crowd screamed yes.  The lights were dimmed and “Hootie Whoooooo” was all you heard.

Draped in all red and wearing James Brown-like capes, satin and boas, Goodie Mob used the intro music to show love to each other. Hugs and pounds filled the stage and that love wafted out into the crowd as the cheers became deafening.  Then the band set up behind the crew went into the start of “Goodie Bag.”It was clear immediately that the Mob still has it.  The years apart weren’t apparent as they worked the large stage from side to side, dancing, slipping smoothly in and out of their verses and acquiescing the spot light to each other.

The hits were piled on top of each other. “Get Rich to This,” “Cell Therapy,” “Thought Process,” “Dirty South” all made you remember the levels of emotion and thought that crew could take you to with their lyricism and love for their craft. Cee-Lo gave a Danger Mouse-less rendition of “Crazy” and even some Maze in the form of “Before I Let Go.” The end of “Brown Skin” was broken down into a slow smoldering ode to Donna Summer as Mr. Green crooned “Love to Love You Baby.” The crew was intense.  They were on point and you could tell they were having as much fun as the folks who came out to see them.

The crowd looked like a mini rainbow coalition. They were black and white, male and female, youthful and grown and they came together to rock to the beat of Goodie Mobs phenomenal catalogue braving the muddy venue and threat of storms without hesitation. They recited the lyrics word for word in unison, oblivious to the rain drops and 3 Stacks’ absence.  There was a time when these fans thought the Mob was lost to them.  They thought maybe there would be no reunion for the crew who helped launch Atlanta out of its regional limitations and into the world wide limelight.  But fortunately they were wrong.  Looks like Goodie Mob may have finally realized a successful World Party and hopefully this was just the beginning of a new chapter for the legendary group.

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