Glad to see you music lovers back again for another Way Back Wednesday. Let's get to it!Thinking of '90s hip-hop and those spitters who were heavy hitters, we often forget about Goodie Mob. I'm not sure why, because the Atlanta-bred group was responsible for helping bring Southern hip-hop to a national audience along with Outkast, and while they were introduced by their better-known Dungeon Family brethren, Goodie Mob was often overshadowed by them. The original '90s-era lineup only released three albums (excluding their reunion-fueled 2013 LP), but Googie Mob's debut and sophomore LPs were masterfully produced and remain relevant to this day.
Background: It's 1991 in Atlanta, and hip-hop music is dominated by the East and West Coast factions. Southern hip-hop is on the verge of making a major splash, and it starts with a team of producers — Organized Noise. Organized Noise end up cutting their teeth on one of the best debuts to come out of 1994, Outkast's Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik. Cee-Lo, Khujo, T-Mo, and Big Gipp would come together to form Atlanta's second biggest purveyors of Southern hip-hop, Goodie Mob, and first appear on several Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik cuts. Most notable and youngest of the four rappers is none other than Cee-Lo, who has a distinctively nasal, raspy, rural-soaked drawl. Cee-Lo would become the frontman and face of Goodie Mob. After lending some verses to Outkast on their debut, Goodie Mob stepped up to show the hip-hop world what the South was all about.
Noteworthy Albums: Debut Soul Food was released in 1995. Organized Noise handled the production, and didn't disappoint, really hitting their stride with a groundbreaking signature sound that re-imagined a plethora of Southern music traditions. The critically-acclaimed album — which shed new light on the Atlanta rap scene and dealt with social and political issues like racism, discrimination and geo-politics — was soon gold-certified; "Cell Therapy,""Soul Food," and "Dirty South" all made it to the charts and Soul Food was deemed a hip-hop classic. Follow-up Still Standing dropped in 1998, and found some of the same soulful,organic production qualities employed by Organized Noise, with some refinement. This album revealed the passion and power of Cee-Lo's singing voice, and produced a few hit singles: "They Don't Dance No Mo" and "Black Ice (Sky High)," that pushed the album to another certified-gold status. Though Still Standing was a success, it didn't match the creativity of Soul Food. Just one year later, they issued third and most disappointing LP, World Party. The album seemed rushed and lacked focus. Most of the subject matter focused on money and partying, a far cry from previous efforts. Rumors swirled that Goodie Mob were pressured into releasing the album so quickly to match the popularity of their label-mates, Outkast. "Get Rich To This" was the only hit single and Goodie Mob was soon released from their contract due to poor record sales.
Since then, Goodie Mob has released two studio albums: One Monkey Don't Stop The Show (minus Cee-Lo) in 2004, and Age Against The Machine in 2013. Neither saw commercial success.
"Cell Therapy"
"Dirty South"
"Black Ice (Sky High)"
"They Don't Dance No Mo"
*****
if you've been following Way Back Wednesday, you'll see that I feature artists that were well known pre-'00s, and the next group most certainly fits into that category. However, Daft Punk only released one album before 2000. In fact, the electro duo has only released four studio albums since they joined forces in 1992. Daft Punk have been electronic music pioneers their entire career, but most people aren't as familiar with earlier material. I remember, to this day, the first time I heard "Around The World." At the time I thought it was a redundant, unoriginal song, merely a chanted refrain ("Around the world, Around the world") and too-simple bass-line. A few listens later and with the volume up a little louder, I changed my tune. It is now one of my favorite Daft Punk songs, and counted among classic dance club tracks.
Background: Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter both grew up in Paris. In 1992, Bangalter and de Homem-Christo played in a band called Darlin' with current Phoenix band member, Laurent Brancowitz. Darlin' quickly dissolved, which drove Bangalter and de Homem-Christo to experimenting on their own and forming Daft Punk. The duo started recording in 1994, and released a single later that year, "The New Wave." The original mix of this song later became "Alive" and was included on their debut. One year later, "Da Funk" marked Daft Punk's first hit single. The band created a buzz, and the media took notice. The band finally signed a record deal with Virgin in 1996, a deal that found them passing up more money from other labels to get more freedom musically. While not a popular strategy, it proved to be a huge success for the French duo.
Noteworthy Albums: Introducing two singles three years before delivering a debut isn't usually how the music industry works. But the hype behind the group was startling. The pressure to release an amazing album was at an all-time high. In 1997, Homework was finally complete and ready for the world. Daft Punk's debut proved worth the wait, as great as everyone expected and hoped it would be. Daft Punk were lauded as responsible for saving house music. Bangalter and de Homem-Christo brought world-wide attention to French house styles, and this was only their first album. "Around The World,""Da Funk,""Alive,""Burnin," and "Revolution 909" were all released as singles. None were more important than "Around The World," however. The song became a phenomenon, was played at clubs, raves, and parties across the world. Daft Punk are known for using visual components in their musical productions. The videos from Homework all have a distinctive story and purpose. The duo have always had an odd relationship with the media, refusing to take photos, engage in interviews, and often covering their heads or faces. They claim it would be 'dangerous' for them to reveal who they are, and have stayed consistent with the mystery all through their career, though it wasn't until their second LP that they'd start to sport robotic suits. As seen in the above photo, Daft Punk will always be known as the robot DJ's, and that's the only way they'd have it.
Daft Punk eventually released three more albums: Discovery (2001), Human After All (2005), and the most recent, disco-vibing and critically-acclaimed Random Access Memories (2013). Along the way, they racked up award after award, including six Grammys, proving that though the French duo doesn't have alot of recorded material, the impact, energy and creativity they've brought to electronic music is rather immense.
"Around The World"
"Da Funk"
"Burnin"
"Revolution 909"
*****
Do you still jam Soul Food like I do? Is Daft Punk more annoying to you or genius? Sound off, guys!