Thank God For The Internets...

The homie Noz just hit me with an early birthday present.

During my freshman year at Fort Valley State a smoking partner, er, close friend of my mine had a tape he threw on one night when we was blazing. It was a tape of Goodie Mob, Pretty Ken (dope MC/Cee-Lo's cousin/founder of the Attic Crew/last verse on "Dope Boy Fresh")and Black Thought of the Roots "freestyling" over Rahzel's beatboxing. He taped it off of 88.5 back in '95.

Since my friend treated himself to my lighters and snacks, I treated myself to his tape one day. Since he smoked 10 times as much as me, I doubt he even noticed it was missing. Karma is a bitch because I wound up losing the tape a few months later.

The same way I thought I'd never hear Goodie Mob's "Hold On" ever again, I felt the same about this moment in time. I asked Cee-Lo if he had a copy of it back when Goodie Mob came to FVSU for Homecoming in 1999. He said he "had laying around somewhere." I asked Khujo about it last year when I was doing a Classic Material for XXL on Soul Food. He said he had but didn't know where.

Now, low and behold here it is on the internet. Man. I stumbled across a great birthday gift before my birthday even came. Thank You Internet, you are good for something after all!

Oh yeah, I put "freestyling" in quotes because if you own Soul Food, you'll recognize alot of the lyrics here.

Goodie Mob, Pretty Ken & The Roots 1995 Freestyle
(scroll down to "Roots & Goodie Mob")


As you can see, there are also links to some lengthy interviews with the Goodie Mob. And while you're here I might as well tell you that ?uestlove and Black Thought will be at MJQ on Friday night right after their show with E.Badu at the Fox.