When Cee-lo left the dirty south rappers Goodie Mob back in 2000 to pursue a solo career, people really didn't know what to expect, because Cee-lo was always the wild card of the group. He never really fit the gangsta mold, and his first solo album, Cee-lo Green and his Perfect Imperfections more than proved the point. He shocked the hip hop community with his sense of funk, soul, rock, and he still rapped faster and better than anyone on the planet when he felt the need. Unfortunately, the mainstream audience didn't embrace Imperfections, because it was so different and ahead of its time. But apparently it wasn't too ahead for Outkast, especially Andre 3000, because he rode this exact formula to extreme success in 2003.

I have to say though, in 2004, Cee-lo will get the last laugh. Soul Machine is not just the best album I've heard so far this year, it is one of the best albums I've heard so far this decade. Outkast's Speakerboxx/Love Below ain't got nothin' on this one hell of a badass album. It really isn't fair that one man should be this talented. You want soul? Check out "When We Were Friends," and "All Day Love Affair" which is reminiscent of another great Green, Al Green that is. You want rap? Look no further than the fantastic "Scrap Metal," featuring Big Rube from Cee-lo's side project Dungeon Family, or even "Childz Play" featuring Ludacris. Usually I'm extremely critical of Luda's work for being too juvenile, but here it's almost as if Cee-lo's very presence has raised Ludacris to an entirely new level. You want balls-out production' Timbaland, Jazze Pha, and The Neptunes all bring their A game to the table and produce some of the finest work of their respective careers.

And even if you want spoken-word poetry' Cee-lo's got you covered there as well. "Sometimes" is an absolute treasure chest of flowing art. Cee-lo more than demonstrates that he's at his best when left to his own devices with the finale "Die Trying." It's as though he felt the need to prove that he's the strongest when he relies on himself alone to bring the funk soul power. In fact when someone asks Cee-lo in the last 20 seconds of the album "Damn Lo! What don't you do?" He responds with the most appropriate answer he can, "Fuck around!" He couldn't be more right in his response. He's sick with it. Soul Machine is a bona fide masterpiece.