Goodie Mob

Photo by Jeremy & Claire Weiss

Before Gnarls Barkley got hitched and OutKast got divorced, Goodie Mob defined the original Dirty South union. Atlanta's Dungeon Family crew — Khujo, T-Mo, Big Gipp and pudgy, pint-sized Cee-Lo (pictured, left, with Danger Mouse) — never reached as many ears as first cousins Big Boi and Andre 3000, but its initial two albums on LaFace Records, 1995's Soul Food and 1998's Still Standing, matched OutKast classics Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik (1994) and ATLiens (1996) flow for cadenced flow and note for floorboard-rattling note. The contrasting MCs tag-teamed a cornucopia of subjects on the 808-weighted tracks, from smartass dealer talk ("I call it Lemonhead Delight: when you lick off all the yellow and you sell the white") to reverential shout-outs to momma and her home cooking ("A heaping helping of fried chicken, macaroni and cheese and collard greens, too big for my jeans"). It all dissolved, sadly, when OutKast blew up and Cee-Lo went "Crazy." This reunion tour and rumblings of a new album only reinforce the point: The family that slays together should stay together. Scarface opens. Tickets $33.50. — Noah Bonaparte Pais