CeeLo Green

Thomas DeCarlo Callaway-Burton (born May 30, 1975), known professionally as CeeLo Green (or Cee Lo Green or simply Cee-Lo), is an American singer, rapper, and record producer.

He is known for his soul-infused delivery in hip hop and R&B, displayed in his signature song "Crazy" (with Danger Mouse as "Gnarls Barkley") and his solo single "Fuck You."

Green was born on May 30, 1975, in Atlanta, Georgia.

Both of his parents were firefighters, and he started his music career in church.

His father died when Green was two years old.

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Green came to initial prominence as a member of the Southern hip hop group Goodie Mob in 1991.

His mother was paralyzed in a car crash when Green was 16 and died in 1993 when Green was 18.

At the time of his mother's death, Green's career with Goodie Mob had just taken off.

He subsequently struggled with suicidal thoughts, which he later wrote about in various songs throughout his career, including Goodie Mob's "Free" and Gnarls Barkley's "Just a Thought".

Goodie Mob appeared on two tracks on OutKast's 1994 debut album Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, with Green providing vocals for "Call of da Wild" and "Git Up, Git Out".

Goodie Mob released their debut album, Soul Food, in 1995.

The album received much critical praise as a pioneering record for the emerging Southern rap scene.

It featured a distinctive soulful southern sound by production team Organized Noize.

During this time, Green also contributed backing vocals to TLC's hit 1995 song "Waterfalls".

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.

Green took more creative control on the group's next album, World Party, which was released in 1999.

Around 1999, during the making of the album World Party, Green left Goodie Mob to pursue a solo career with Arista Records and the remaining members continued to perform together under the Goodie Mob name with Koch Records.

Green was one of ten guest musicians who contributed to the 1999 Santana album Supernatural.

Lauryn Hill wrote "Do You Like the Way", and she and Green both provided lead vocals.

Green also contributed to the track "We're All Gonna Die" on the 2000 album Eat at Whitey's by Everlast, and the song "Reverse" on the 2000 album Forever by Puff Daddy.

Green's Arista career was short-lived, as he was dropped after two albums due to low record sales.

They did, however, collaborate in combinations on the Dungeon Family album Even in Darkness (2001).

The song "Hold On" from Big Boi's Got Purp? Vol. 2 album was the first newly recorded Goodie Mob song with all four members since World Party.

Following three studio albums with the group, he subsequently began a solo career and released two modestly successful albums for Arista Records: Cee-Lo Green and His Perfect Imperfections (2002) and Cee-Lo Green... Is the Soul Machine (2004).

Green's next project was Gnarls Barkley, a collaborative duo with record producer Danger Mouse.

His first album, Cee-Lo Green and His Perfect Imperfections (2002), was much in the vein of other Dungeon Family releases, with southern soul/funk/jazz backings produced by Green and featuring appearances by fellow Dungeon Family members Big Gipp and Backbone.

Their debut album, St. Elsewhere (2006) quickly achieved success with its lead single "Crazy," which charted within the top five in 20 countries including the US and UK; the album was followed up with The Odd Couple (2008).

He would specifically address the deaths of his parents in "She Knows" and "A Little Better", from Gnarls Barkley's The Odd Couple (2008), and "Guess Who", from Goodie Mob's Soul Food (1995).

In an excerpt of CeeLo Distilled, a documentary produced by Absolut and the Fader, Green explained that his mother's death led him toward "crossing that threshold over into a career".

Along with Big Gipp, T-Mo, and Khujo, Green was an original member of the Atlanta hip hop group Goodie Mob.

He was the youngest of the four.

The Goodie Mob was a part of the Atlanta rap collective the Dungeon Family, which also included Outkast.

In 2010, Green resumed his solo career with his funk-inspired third album The Lady Killer, which spawned his biggest solo hit, "Fuck You" (more commonly censored as "Forget You").

The song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, reached the top ten in thirteen countries, and won a Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance.

From 2011 to 2013, Green was a judge and coach on the American reality television singing competition The Voice, appearing on four of its seasons.

He's since released three solo additional solo albums: Cee Lo's Magic Moment (2012), Heart Blanche (2015), and CeeLo Green Is Thomas Callaway (2020), as well as two reunion albums with Goodie Mob, Age Against the Machine (2014) and Survival Kit (2020).

He voiced Murray the Mummy in the 2012 animated feature film Hotel Transylvania, and also appeared in numerous television programs and films including his own short-lived series, CeeLo Green's The Good Life on TBS.

Green has appeared in various commercials, including for 7 Up, Duracell, M&M's, and sake brand TYKU.

His work has earned a number of accolades, including five Grammy Awards, a BET Award, a Billboard Music Award, and a Brit Award.