CeeLo Green
Thomas DeCarlo Callaway-Burton (born May 30, 1974),[2] known professionally as CeeLo Green (or Cee Lo Green or simply Cee-Lo), is an American singer, rapper, and record producer. He is known for his soul-infused delivery in hip hop and R&B, displayed in his signature song "Crazy" (with Danger Mouse as "Gnarls Barkley") and his solo single "Fuck You."
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Green came to initial prominence as a member of the Southern hip hop group Goodie Mob in 1991. Following three studio albums with the group, he subsequently began a solo career and released two modestly successful albums for Arista Records: Cee-Lo Green and His Perfect Imperfections (2002) and Cee-Lo Green... Is the Soul Machine (2004).
Green's next project was Gnarls Barkley, a collaborative duo with record producer Danger Mouse. Their debut album, St. Elsewhere (2006) quickly achieved success with its lead single "Crazy," which charted within the top five in 20 countries including the US and UK; the album was followed up with The Odd Couple (2008). In 2010, Green resumed his solo career with his funk-inspired third album The Lady Killer, which spawned his biggest solo hit, "Fuck You" (more commonly censored as "Forget You"). The song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, reached the top ten in 13 countries, and won a Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance. He has since released three solo additional solo albums: Cee Lo's Magic Moment (2012), Heart Blanche (2015), and CeeLo Green Is Thomas Callaway (2020), as well as two reunion albums with Goodie Mob, Age Against the Machine (2014) and Survival Kit (2020).
From 2011 to 2013, Green was a judge and coach on the American reality television singing competition The Voice, appearing on four of its seasons.[a] He voiced Murray the Mummy in the 2012 animated feature film Hotel Transylvania, and also appeared in numerous television programs and films including his own short-lived series, CeeLo Green's The Good Life on TBS. Green has appeared in various commercials, including for 7 Up, Duracell, M&M's, and sake brand TYKU. His work has earned a number of accolades, including five Grammy Awards, a BET Award, a Billboard Music Award, and a Brit Award.
Early life[edit]
Green was born on May 30, 1974, in Atlanta, Georgia.[4] Both of his parents were firefighters,[5] and he started his music career in church. His father died when Green was two years old.[5] His mother was paralyzed in a car crash when Green was 16 and died in 1993 when Green was 18.[5][4]
At the time of his mother's death, Green's career with Goodie Mob had just taken off.[6] He subsequently struggled with suicidal thoughts, which he later wrote about in various songs throughout his career, including Goodie Mob's "Free"[5] and Gnarls Barkley's "Just a Thought".[6] He would specifically address the deaths of his parents in "She Knows" and "A Little Better", from Gnarls Barkley's The Odd Couple (2008),[5] and "Guess Who", from Goodie Mob's Soul Food (1995). In an excerpt of CeeLo Distilled, a documentary produced by Absolut and the Fader, Green explained that his mother's death led him toward "crossing that threshold over into a career".[7]
Music career[edit]
1991–98: Early career with Goodie Mob[edit]
Along with Big Gipp, T-Mo, and Khujo, Green was an original member of the Atlanta hip hop group Goodie Mob. He was the youngest of the four.[8] The Goodie Mob was a part of the Atlanta rap collective the Dungeon Family, which also included Outkast. Goodie Mob appeared on two tracks on OutKast's 1994 debut album Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, with Green providing vocals for "Call of da Wild" and "Git Up, Git Out".
Goodie Mob released their debut album, Soul Food, in 1995. The album received much critical praise as a pioneering record for the emerging Southern rap scene. It featured a distinctive soulful southern sound by production team Organized Noize.
During this time, Green also contributed backing vocals to TLC's hit 1995 song "Waterfalls".[9]
The group's second album, Still Standing, came out in 1998 and also received much critical praise. Its commercial performance was slightly lower than the group's previous effort, however. Green took more creative control on the group's next album, World Party, which was released in 1999.[10]
1999–2003: Move to Arista[edit]
Around 1999, during the making of the album World Party, Green left Goodie Mob to pursue a solo career with Arista Records and the remaining members continued to perform together under the Goodie Mob name with Koch Records. They did, however, collaborate in combinations on the Dungeon Family album Even in Darkness (2001).
The song "Hold On" from Big Boi's Got Purp? Vol. 2 album was the first newly recorded Goodie Mob song with all four members since World Party.[11]
Green was one of ten guest musicians who contributed to the 1999 Santana album Supernatural. Lauryn Hill wrote "Do You Like the Way", and she and Green both provided lead vocals. Green also contributed to the track "We're All Gonna Die" on the 2000 album Eat at Whitey's by Everlast, and the song "Reverse" on the 2000 album Forever by Puff Daddy.
Green's Arista career was short-lived, as he was dropped after two albums due to low record sales. His first album, Cee-Lo Green and His Perfect Imperfections (2002), was much in the vein of other Dungeon Family releases, with southern soul/funk/jazz backings produced by Green and featuring appearances by fellow Dungeon Family members Big Gipp and Backbone. The album did not sell very well, but Green achieved some airplay with the single "Closet Freak".[12]
Other ventures[edit]
Managed by Primary Wave Entertainment, Green has endorsed various brands, including 7 Up, M&M's, and Duracell.[87] Green owns part of the sake brand TYKU and the company has collaborated with him on a few business ventures,[88] including a commercial promoting the brand, dubbed the "first national sake commercial" in the United States.[89] In 2011, it was estimated by a New York Times reporter that Green earned some US$20 million, predominantly from the endorsement deals, in that year alone.[87]
Personal life[edit]
Green has described himself as having been a "goon" in his youth, as well as a "kleptomaniac, pyromaniac, just plain maniac".[90]
Green was married to Christina Johnson, and divorced in 2005. He and Johnson have a son, Kingston, born on September 30, 2000, and Green was stepfather to her daughters, Sierra and Kalah. Sierra appeared on the MTV show My Super Sweet 16 for her 15th birthday party in 2005.[91][92]
Controversies[edit]
On June 16, 2011, journalist Andrea Swensson of City Pages negatively reviewed one of Green's performances, writing that it "failed to measure up to the fun factor of his recorded material. Green spent most of the set stationed in front of a microphone at the center of the stage, barely moving an inch while he sang, and flanked by two forgettable back-up singers and a DJ that was all but hidden behind a giant LCD display".[93] In response, the following day Green tweeted, "I respect your criticism but be fair! People enjoyed last night! I'm guessing ur gay? And my masculinity offended u? well fuck U!"[94] Green promptly received angered responses from some of his followers on Twitter, to which he replied, "Apologies gay community! what was homophobic about that?"[95] In a subsequent interview with magazine Us Weekly, Green stated that his comments were meant in good fun, adding that "I am not harboring any sort of negative feeling toward the gay community" and that "I am one of the most liberal artists that I think you will ever meet, and I pride myself on that."[96]
On December 31, 2011, Green sang John Lennon's "Imagine" just prior to the ball drop for New Year's Eve at New York City's Times Square. In his rendition, Green replaced the line "and no religion, too" with the words "and all religions true".[97] Many saw this as a substantial revision of the meaning behind Lennon's original lyrics.[97] Shortly after the performance, Green responded via Twitter: "Yo I meant no disrespect by changing the lyric guys! I was trying to say a world where u could believe what u wanted that's all".[98] Green deleted a series of tweets pertaining to this event shortly thereafter.[99]
On October 30, 2012, Green was accused of sexual battery by a woman with whom he had dined at a Los Angeles restaurant,[100][101] leading to a nearly year-long investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department.[102] On October 21, 2013, Green pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of furnishing a controlled substance after the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office declined to file a charge of rape of an intoxicated person, citing insufficient evidence.[103] On August 29, 2014, Green pleaded no contest to one felony count of furnishing ecstasy and was sentenced to three years of probation, 360 hours of community service, and ordered to complete 52 Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous meetings.[104]
On August 31, 2014, Green was criticized for tweets relating to his sexual battery court case. Two of his specific tweets regarding rape were "People who have really been raped REMEMBER!!!" and "If someone is passed out they're not even WITH you consciously! so WITH Implies consent." After sending a number of tweets on the topic of rape, he temporarily deactivated his Twitter account. He re-activated it a number of hours later, tweeting the following apology: "I truly and deeply apologize for the comments attributed to me on Twitter. Those comments were idiotic, untrue and not what I believe."[105]
Solo albums
Gnarls Barkley albums
Goodie Mob albums