CeeLo Green deserves all his flowers because of his endless accomplishments that do not go unnoticed in the music game. Born and raised in Atlanta, the rapper, singer, songwriter, producer, and entrepreneur is best known for his standout soul music, with timeless hits such as “Crazy” and “Fuck You” still hitting the spot ‘til this day.
Fast forward to today, CeeLo displays his newfound love for D.C.’s go-go music scene, as evidenced in his newest single titled “Baby Don’t You Go-Go.” The record holds fans over until the release of his forthcoming solo album titled DCeelo — just one of his three projects he’s working on currently.
You’ve got “Baby Don’t You Go-Go” out now. It’s such a vibe.
Do you think it’s interesting you’re from Atlanta — you’ve done all this legendary stuff with Goodie Mob, OutKast — and now you’re stepping into this new territory?
Talk about your forthcoming project titled DCeeLo.
The vibe of “Baby Don’t You Go-Go” is so genuine. What was the studio session like when you made it?
That stuff speaks to me, so I took it and I gave it context. Before it reminded me of go-go, to me it reminded me of what I call boogie woogie, Black Renaissance music. Early 60s, like Little Richard. I don’t mind giving away what I reference from so people can be educated and updated, referencing iconic names like Little Richard. It’s really a play off of Little Richard’s “Long Tall Sally.”
I’ve been performing it live the last couple of months. I did it twice, once in Virginia and once in D.C., and some real live go-gos with Rare Essence who’s featured on the record. Y’all check out Rare Essence. I’ve been working it into the set, to get people familiar with it. Now we need platforms like you and yours to support the record, direct traffic, shine some light on it so people can hear it. I definitely want people to know that’s the tip of the iceberg, there’s definitely more where that comes from. The entire project DCeelo is a complete thought. It’s a whole vibe, I swear to God.
It’s definitely an honor to have endured all these years — to still be relevant, to still be respected, to still be ready, willing, and able. We struck a chord. Last year’s pandemic was a call to arms. It created that tension that makes great music. Especially at a time like that, that’s when you really truly realize what your purpose is. Yo, I’m an essential worker. People need music to get through, then you want to be invaluable. You want to be immortal in that moment. When you think of survival, you think of how can I be a part of somebody’s life? How can I be a part of someone’s sustainability? That’s what it was about.
It’s gotta be by default, the way I came in. I was introduced with OutKast on “Git Up, Git Out” off their 1994 debut, breakout, classic, five-mic-deserving album, southernplaylisticadillacmuzik. I was featured on that, then I’ve got “Liberation” with OutKast. I’ve got “In Due Time.” Everything you do with family is a good thing.
For all you old heads out there, you’ll remember a movie called Krush Groove. It was depicting Russell Simmons’ and Rick Rubins’ rise, how they started an indie record label that turned into Def Jam Records out of a dorm room. It featured all the greats at that time: Fat Boys, Kurtis Blow, Run-DMC, New Edition was in that movie. Rest in peace to Prince Markie Dee, he was a friend of mine. There’s a scene in the beginning of the movie where they quit their job at the carwash and snatch off their little carwash suits. They all got on adidas suits with big ropes under there. I love that scene.
Every time I recall it, wow what made me do that song? It’s like magic, fate. I ended up recording that song later that night. Now it’s Stankonia Studios, but at that time it was owned by Bobby Brown called Bosstown Studio. I remember asking Big Gipp in the lounge, “Yo man, this song belongs to me and my dude.” Shout out to Popeye wherever he is, my bro Tyrus McCoy, we were in a group called Atlantis at the time. “Git Up, Git Out” was one of our song ideas, but I lent it to the situation because it’s only right. I said, “Yo man, what am I going to do? This song belongs elsewhere.” He said, “Do your best, this isn’t going to be your last song.” I said, “Alright.” I went in there and got in the booth, did an entirely different verse. I remember them saying, “Oh yeah, we like that verse too, but what’s up with the verse from earlier today?” Click. Everybody does stuff in one take because we were recording to two-inch reels at that time. You couldn’t punch in, there was nothing you could do. You had to rewind the tape all the way back, so I did “Git Up, Git Out” in one take. What you hear is what you get.
No, you don’t really anticipate that. Sometimes, it’s the songs you least expect [that] are the ones that end up working. A song called “Fuck You” you wouldn’t expect it to be a commercial radio record because of the profane nature of the title and everything the song suggests. I had no idea, but at the time, I was at odds with my label. I only made that record because I thought that it was ridiculous enough for them to drop me. I wrote that record with Bruno Mars.
Black excellence is becoming brighter than Black, bigger than Black. Excellence is iridescent, it’s a harmony of different hues. Black can encompass all things, it can be everything and nothing at all. To be able to define Black in that context, it’s as vast as outer space. The idea of being able to embody something Black, to embody the universe inside yourself — not only to retain it for yourself but to reiterate it to others — is Black excellence.
That’s dope because sometimes it’s very easy to put yourself into a corner. For me to make quantum leaps and land on my feet, to be able to float and levitate as I create, think and speak colorfully and inspire others to be individuals — not inspire them to be followers of me, but inspire them to lead their own charge — that’s what I wanted. That’s what I was intentional about, that’s what I was deliberate about. I’m not lucky. I’m very, very cognizant of what I’ve been able to do.
Man, rest in peace to Neighborhood Nip. He’s immortal in real time, but also in retrospect because a lot of the work he’s shown and proven, he had already planted the seeds unbeknownst to the average listener or consumer. We weren’t necessarily aware of Nipsey, not everyone was. Not even me. I didn’t know he was so articulate, so supremely intelligent and well-spoken. And consistent and committed, he’s such a great person. A great human being, but no man is insoluble.
What can we expect next?
<p id="DFrkhA" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; font-size: 22px; line-height: inherit; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, " segoe="" ui",="" roboto,="" oxygen,="" ubuntu,="" cantarell,="" "fira="" sans",="" "droid="" "helvetica="" neue",="" sans-serif;"="">Expect the unexpected. Look to be surprised. Live dangerously. Have an adventure.
