Published on Feb 24, 2000
Any serious-minded artist who chooses to make a fun departure is
bound to face criticism. In the rap community, the criticism is
even more severe than in other genres. Can you imagine Public Enemy
following up
Fear Of A Black Planet with a beach-party-theme album? Or
KRS-One doing a Puff-Daddy style album? Hell no.
And for Goodie Mob, they’ve met with the same criticism with
World Party, their latest album. Their debut album
Soul Food was rooted in innovative rhythms and
social-conscious lyrics. With Outkast, their labelmates and
friends, Goodie Mob was helping to build the new South as THE area
to be, region-wise. The revolution was not going to be on the West
or East coast, it would be straight outta Atlanta.
In the spirit of
Midnight Marauders, a deftly underrated album by A Tribe
Called Quest, Goodie Mob dropped
World Party late last year. Like
Midnight Marauders,
World Party, according to die-hard fans, should not have
swayed from the original, positive message the band portrayed in
earlier releases. With the Lionel Richie-influenced “All Night
Long” party vibe of the first two songs, “Invitation To The World,”
and the title track, you get the feeling that this album is aimed
at those tired of studying and want to throw their hair down.
Slight problem, however. The departure is forgivable, even
encouraged, but bring some innovation while you’re bringing the
party to the speakers. The sexy drawl of “Dip” and “All As” should
be compelling by the lyrical tag-team of Cee-Lo, Khujo, T-Mo and
Big Gipp, but they never take off.
The production of Organized Noise lifts some of the songs off
the ground. By using such non-traditional instruments such as
bongos, the production crew get things moving in the positive
direction with songs like “Get Rich To This” and “Street Corner.”
And the b-horror music background addition to the song “Chain
Swang” fits perfect into what Goodie Mob was trying to make with
this album.
However, the entire things just doesn’t gel. With the exception
of “Cutty Buddy,” which sounds as fun as the title implies, the
last half of the album’s highlights are few and far between. In
“What It Ain’t,” supergroup TLC comes in and tries to add some
much-needed sassiness to the mixture. However, the song just can’t
utilize both of the band’s talents.
Spotty, but forgivable,
World Party can be perceived as a small bump in the road
from what seems like a promising career for Goodie Mob. Yeah, you
can be socially conscious and still have a good time, but Goodie
Mob has to tighten their MC skills a bit and work on creating some
truly innovative music structures to make you want to join their
party.