Cee Lo Green

Born in Atlanta, Georgia as Thomas DeCarlo Callaway, Cee Lo Green first made his mark in the 1990s with Goodie Mob, a central group in the southern rap scene and part of the Dungeon Family collective alongside OutKast. His broad, highly expressive voice—shaped by gospel, soul and hip-hop—quickly set him apart in that landscape. After Goodie Mob’s albums Soul Food (1995), Still Standing (1998) and World Party (1999), Cee Lo launched a solo career with Cee-Lo Green and His Perfect Imperfections (2002) and Cee-Lo Green... Is the Soul Machine (2004), where he developed a blend of southern rap, funk, R&B and psychedelic soul. At the same time, his collaboration with Danger Mouse as half of Gnarls Barkley further expanded his range toward pop-soul, retro grooves and more experimental textures with St. Elsewhere (2006) and The Odd Couple (2008). He returned to solo work with the more direct-sounding The Lady Killer (2010), marked by orchestral soul and funk, and later released Cee Lo’s Magic Moment (2012), Heart Blanche (2015) and CeeLo Green Is Thomas Callaway (2020). Through groups, collaborations and solo projects, Cee Lo Green has built a career that firmly links Atlanta rap with a vocal approach rooted in the American soul tradition.