It’s been seven years since Goodie Mob released their fifth studio album Age Against The Machine, which saw 18 tracks and additional appearances from V, Big Fraze, Janelle Monáe, T.I., and fellow Dungeon Family veteran Big Rube. This weekend, the Atlanta quartet make a big return with the new single “Are You Ready,” which features Public Enemy frontman Chuck D and sees production from Organized Noize. The track is definitely in the vein of Public Enemy or Rage Against The Machine, as the aggressive track allows the hip hop legends to deliver socially and politically charged bars centering on fighting the power and strengthening the Black community:
“Standing in the middle of harms way, were all of the guns play, no father home affects the feng shui, the pastor prays for Harambe, before every urbanite is underneath the ash like Pompeii/
Look what they’ve done to us far beyond music, Jesus could’ve been John Lewis but I can’t prove it, but I could be the conduit to reconnect to it, and we are the ones that people expect to do it…/”
The track also comes with a lyric visual that mixes the collaborators poignant messages with warped, chaotic graphics mixed with shots of the artists, protests, and more — all of which add to the song’s rebellious nature.
While not necessarily as extreme as their Public Enemy counterpart, Goodie Mob have always delivered in-depth, multi-layered cuts for their fanbase, including iconic singles like “Cell Therapy,” “Soul Food,” “Dirty South,” and “Black Ice (Sky High)” alongside OutKast, another group from the Dungeon Family. As a whole, that collective are considered one of the earliest commercial successes from the Atlanta hip hop scene, predating everyone from T.I. and Gucci Mane to Migos and Lil Baby.
Press play on Goodie Mob’s “Are You Ready” below.