You might remember Cee Lo Green as one half of Gnarls Barkley, the collaboration responsible for one of the biggest hits of the decade in "Crazy" (and it's awesome video) in 2006. What you may not know, is that Cee Lo existed as a solo artist and a part of Goodie Mob prior to Gnarls Barkley, and is currently prepping his first record in six years, entitled Cee Lo Green is The Lady Killer for release October 4th. A few days ago, I preferred his Gnarls work to his solo output, but then "Fuck You" had to go and tip the scales.
Making his own foray onto the well-trodden "scorned lover" theme, Cee Lo goes a long way in helping us forget Eamon and his terrible "Fuck It (Don't Want You Back)", the last hit song on this subject matter. Cee Lo has always had a bold and triumphant voice, but it's surprising how well he chameleons into this material, channeling Motown with OOO's and AHH's aplenty, while still reserving ample venom for his Ex. While he is assuredly miffed, he never sounds threatening or unhinged, mostly lambasting the woman for her gold-digging ways "If I was richer, I'd still be with ya" but still wishing her the best with a tidy "Fuck You". Hilarious background vocals add a shine and energy that recall another cultural phenomenon; "Hey Ya". I'm sure it will be censored soundly and stripped of its humor for political correctness (Forget You doesn't have the same ring), but with 3 million Youtube views (and tons of parody videos) in 8 days, maybe it's radio that's a little late to the party?
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