Thomas DeCarlo Callaway (born May 30, 1974),better known by his stage name Cee-Lo Green or simply Cee-Lo, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper and record producer. He originally came to prominence as a member of the southern hip-hop group Goodie Mob, later launching a critically acclaimed solo career and forming Gnarls Barkley with DJ/producer Danger Mouse.
Internationally, Green is best known for his work within the hip hop duo Gnarls Barkley and their worldwide hit "Crazy" (2006), which reached number one in various singles charts worldwide including the United Kingdom. In the United States, "Crazy" reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100. The parenting album, St. Elsewhere was also a hit, reaching number one on the UK Album Charts and charting at number four on the US Billboard 200 album charts. The duo's second album, internationally less successful, The Odd Couple (2008) missed the top ten in both the UK and US, where it charted at number 12 in the US, and 18 in the UK.
Green, taking a break from recording with Gnarls Barkley, released the single, "Fuck You!" on August 19, 2010 as a solo recording artist. The song was an instant hit, reaching the top spot in the UK and the Netherlands and charted at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100. The parent album, The Lady Killer (2010) saw similar success, peaking within the top five of the UK Album Charts and debuting within the top ten on the Billboard 200 album charts, and received a Gold certification from the BPI in the UK shortly after its release. The second single, "It's OK" was a hit in Europe, and the third single, "Bright Lights, Bigger City" has also seen similar charting success. Green is currently a vocal coach on the NBC reality talent show The Voice with Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera, and Blake Shelton.
Along with Big Gipp, T-Mo, and Khujo, Cee-Lo was an original member of the Atlanta hip-hop group Goodie Mob. He is the youngest of the four. The Goodie Mob were a part of the Atlanta rap collective the Dungeon Family, which also included OutKast. The group released their debut album, Soul Food in 1995. The album received much critical praise as a pioneering record for the then emerging Southern rap scene. It featured a distinctive soulful southern sound by production team Organized Noize, who had also produced OutKast's debut Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik. Cee-Lo got considerable praise for his rapping and singing of hooks, particularly on the hit singles "Cell Therapy" and "Soul Food".
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. At this time Cee-Lo foucused primarily on rapping over singing. While he did frequently sing hooks and did some singing, at this point he was a rapper first and foremost. Cee-Lo took more creative control on the group's next album, World Party. Released in 1999, this album was more of a party record than the group's previous output, getting away somewhat from their socially conscious lyricism.
Cee-Lo was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and attended Benjamin E. Mays High School in southwest Atlanta. Both of his parents were ordained ministers and he started his music career in his church. His father died when he was two years old. His mother, Sheila J. Tyler-Callaway was involved in a car crash, leaving her paralyzed. She died two years after the accident. At the time, Cee-Lo was 18 years old and his career with Goodie Mob had just begun taking off. His mother's death led Cee-Lo into depression, as is reflected in various songs throughout his career, including "Free" by Goodie Mob, songs on St. Elsewhere, and on The Odd Couple ("She Knows", "A Little Better").Cee-Lo also expresses his love for his mother in the song "Guess Who" from Goodie Mob's Soul Food album.
Cee-Lo's Arista career was short-lived, as he was dropped after only two albums due to low record sales. His first album, Cee-Lo Green and His Perfect Imperfections, was heavily in the vein of various other Dungeon Family releases, with southern soul/funk/jazz backings produced solely by himself and boasting appearances by fellow Dungeon Fam members Big Gipp and Backbone. The album explored his departure from Goodie Mob and his solo growth in the song "El Dorado Sunrise (Super Chicken)", as well as socio-political issues, and showcased his singing. The album did not sell very well, but Cee-Lo achieved some airplay with the single "Closet Freak".
His second Arista album, Cee-Lo Green... Is the Soul Machine brought a more branched-out sound and more deeply explored southern rap music. This is evidenced by collaborations with Ludacris, T.I., and Pharrell and production from Timbaland, The Neptunes, and Jazze Pha among others. The only other Dungeon Family member that appeared on his second release was Big Rube. This album saw Cee-Lo delve into other styles besides traditional rap (see Technique). Timbaland proved to be Cee-Lo's single producer as their song "I'll Be Around" received mild airplay. They performed the single on an episode in the second season of Chappelle's Show. "The One" featuring Jazze Pha and T.I. was also released as a single. On the heels of the success of Gnarls Barkley, Arista released a 17-track greatest hits collection of Cee-Lo songs, Closet Freak: The Best of Cee-Lo Green the Soul Machine. It features predominantly Cee-Lo solo tracks and several Goodie Mob songs. His new song "What Part of Forever" has been included in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.
Cee-Lo is collaborating with producer Jazze Pha to release an album called Happy Hour on Jazze’s record label. The songs "Happy Hour" (as well as the remix with Bun B, Snoop Dogg & Tone Tone), "Man of the Hour", and "Disco Bitch" (featuring The Pussycat Dolls) from the album have already been released as singles and B-sides. Jazze Pha has produced numerous hit singles with many artists, but this project is his rapping and singing debut. Cee-Lo is co-producing the album with him, so both artist and producer share equal roles in vocals and production. Also, Melody Thornton confirmed that she is currently in the studio with Cee-Lo working on her solo album. In 2010, he recorded a song for the Sex and the City 2 soundtrack which reached number 9 in the charts and was written by him and produced by T-Pain which is called "Language of Love". He along with The Red Hot Chili Peppers and OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder were rumored to be appearing on British DJ Paul Oakenfold's upcoming album.
Television and films
Cee-Lo, along with the rest of the Goodie Mob, had a cameo in the 1999 film Mystery Men as a member of the Not So Goodie Mob. He also has done voice acting work, voicing Prime Cut Miggity-Mo' Macdaddy Gizzabang Doggy Dog Dog on the Brak Show episode "Brakstreet" in 2002, Frank and Buddy Z Class of 3000's Christmas special and as Godzilla in the Robot Chicken episode "Squaw Bury Shortcake" in 2007, and Rev. Rollo Goodlove in the Boondocks episodes "The S-Word" and "The Hunger Strike" in 2008. In 2010, he appeared in T-Pain's Freaknik: The Musical as Light Skin.
On January 15, 2011, Cee-Lo both acted and performed on NBC's Saturday Night Live hosted by Gwyneth Paltrow, who, in November 2010, covered his song "Forget You" on an episode of Glee.
Cee-Lo is currently one of the coaches for contestants on the singing TV show The Voice.
Cee-Lo has described himself as being a "goon" in his youth and stated that he made a hobby of "torturing stray animals, beating up homeless people, and mugging pedestrians". "I was a kleptomaniac, pyromaniac, just a plain maniac," Green said in an interview on Blender.com (the article has since been removed from the blender.com site). He would later call this behavior maniacal.
Cee-Lo was married to Christina Johnson until they divorced in 2005. Together they have a son Kingston; and Cee-Lo was a stepfather to Christina's daughters, Sierra and Kalah. Sierra was on a season 1 episode of MTV's My Super Sweet 16 as well as the follow-up MTV television series, Exiled. Kingston is featured on the intro of Cee-Lo Green... Is the Soul Machine. In 2010, at age 35, Cee-Lo became a step-grandfather when his 20-year-old stepdaughter Sierra had a son.
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