Who Is CeeLo Green?
CeeLo Green is a rapper, vocalist, and songwriter who started off with the underappreciated Atlanta rap group Goodie Mob. He has also appeared as a guest on several legendary OutKast songs. He later achieved far more popularity as a solo performer and as the lead singer of the duet Gnarls Barkley, which he formed with producer Danger Mouse. Later, he worked as a coach for a number of The Voice seasons. His most recent album was released in 2015, however since then he has released a number of new tracks, igniting speculation about a potential solo album.
From Goodie Mob to Guest Collaboration With OutKast
Thomas DeCarlo Callaway, better known as CeeLo Green, was born on May 30, 1974 in Atlanta, Georgia. Due to the fact that both of his parents were pastors, he sang his first songs in churches. When he was just two years old, his father died, and when he was 18 and disabled in a car accident, his mother also went away.
Hip-hop trio Goodie Mob was founded in the early 1990s by Green and three other individuals, Big Gipp, Khujo, and T-Mo. Their debut album, Soul Food, was released in 1995. Since their appearances on the tracks “Call of da Wild” and “Git Up, Git Out” from OutKast’s debut album, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, in 1994, hip hop fans have been asking for more from them. Green contributed background vocals to the TLC hit song “Waterfalls.” He performed with Goodie Mob as both a rapper and a singer, a dual capacity that was uncommon at the time in hip-hop. The record provided a deeper, heartier hip hop nutrition in the form of soulful vocals, particularly the contributions of raspy-voiced singer Cee-Lo, who was singled out for acclaim by Rolling Stone:
Solo Career Growing Pains, Gnarls Barkley ‘Crazy’ Hit
Then came Gnarls Barkley, a Danger Mouse-produced project. St. Elsewhere, the duo’s debut album, was released in 2006. Its lead single, “Crazy,” shot to the top of the U.K. download chart, where it spent 11 weeks before becoming an international hit. In addition, “Crazy” was ranked as the top song of the decade and the top 100 songs of all time by Rolling Stone.
‘F*** You’ Goes Viral
According to Green, Gnarls Barkley’s music is “electric industrial Euro soul.” The Odd Couple, the second album by Gnarls Barkley, came out in 2008 and garnered generally excellent reviews, however it was not as well received commercially as its predecessor. On August 10, 2010, Green returned to solo mode and posted the song “F*** You” online. In less than a week, it had more than 2 million hits, making it an immediate hit. The mainstream version of “F*** You,” now known as “Forget You,” quickly debuted at No. 1 in the U.K. It later received five Grammy nods. The Lady Killer, the album on which the song was included, was published in November 2010.
Celebrity Judge on NBC’s ‘The Voice’
Green later made an appearance as a judge and coach on the April 26, 2011, debut of the reality television program The Voice. He was on the show with Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, and Christina Aguilera. Green revealed in 2012 that he was leaving The Voice after three seasons. In December 2012, he announced on the Today show, “I’m going on hiatus.” “I’m performing a residency in Las Vegas next year.” Usher, an R&B singer-songwriter, took his place for season four, however he made one final appearance before quitting The Voice permanently for season five.
He then issued CeeLo’s Magic Moment, an album of festive music. On both the R&B and holiday music charts, the recording did well. He released the song “Only You” as a duet with Lauriana Mae in 2013. For the album Age Against the Machine that same year, Green and Goodie Mob once again collaborated. In 2004, the band had already put out an album with the very satirical title One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show.
Personal Life
Green got engaged to his longtime partner Shani James in 2014, but he kept it a secret until 2015. In 2020, the couple made an appearance on Marriage Boot Camp: Hip Hop Edition together.
From his marriage to Christina Johnson, whom he divorced in 2005, Green has two elder stepdaughters, Sierra and Kalah, as well as a son, Kingston (born in 2000). Additionally, he is a grandfather to Sierra’s 2010-born boy.
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