It’s been 15 years since the Richmond Jazz and Music Festival began and the multiday concert has become one of the major summer festivals on the East Coast.
It has consistently pulled in iconic acts and the 2025 event is no exception. This year's lineup boasts a multigenerational appeal, including Aloe Blacc, Kirk Whalum, Mindi Abair, Norman Brown and Masego, who attended Woodside High School in Newport News and Old Dominion University.
Also part of the lineup is CeeLo Green, who first came to fame as a member of the Goodie Mob before venturing into an extremely successful collaboration with Danger Mouse — perhaps you remember a little duo called Gnarls Barkley and their massive hit “Crazy” — and then a chapter as a solo artist that resulted in a gig as a judge on “The Voice” and some voice acting gigs, including Murray the Mummy in “Hotel Transylvania.”
Green made himself available for a quick conversation with WHRO, during which time he chatted about his enjoyment of playing the show, the impending return of Gnarls Barkley, his history with Goodie Mob, and a memorable encounter with Ben Stiller while filming a cameo in the 1999 comedy “Mystery Men.”
The interview has been edited for length
Will Harris: It's a pleasure to talk to you, and it's an odd bit of coincidence that we just hit the anniversary of the only time I've seen you live: When Gnarls Barkley played Lollapalooza 2006.
CeeLo Green: Is that right? Man, that particular show was infamous in my memory because my voice had gone out! We were touring so hard around that time and my voice was completely shot by the time we got to Lollapalooza. But I remember someone doing a review of the show and they said, "But it didn't matter, because almost everybody that particular day had covered 'Crazy.' " [Laughs.] And, you know, my voice has a particular quality that has a raspy kind of texture to it, anyway, so you may not have known the difference!
WH: You're playing the Richmond Jazz and Music Festival this weekend, but how much touring have you been doing of late? You've been a veritable road warrior in the past.
CG: Yeah, it's my claim to fame! We're sought after as a performing act and I enjoy doing it, so we just kind of never stop. You know me: I think the longest hiatus that any of us as performing artists took was the ordeal of 2020, which was hell for people like me. I enjoy what I do and I think what we do as artists is necessary, so I think we all missed it. I just made a personal vow that I would never complain about working hard. As long as I was wanted and needed, I would make myself available.
WH: I'm also glad to see that you're still consistently recording. I discovered that you, literally, just put out a new single, a collaboration with Cheat Codes called "Go to Hell," on July 25.
CG: Yeah, still making music! And shout-outs to the Cheat Codes guys collectively, so you can make sure that name is in the algorithm. It was fun, and they were really quick. We shot the video in, like, a day, maybe two days, and we were out! [Laughs.] And I've got new Gnarls Barkley music and a host of other things, so, no, I never stopped recording. As a matter of fact, that was the benefit of having so much time available when we weren't moving around as much: I got a chance to get a lot of music done. So I've got music for the next 20 years, I think!
WH: How did the Cheat Codes collaboration come about? Did they just reach out to you?
CG: Yeah, that's usually how it goes. I mean, they were pretty adamant about it. [Laughs.] They had this song idea, they thought that I would be a perfect fit for it, and...I didn't make it difficult because I thought it was a great opportunity and I was excited about doing something new. And, of course, they're definitely making an impression in their market with their following. Those guys are doing their big one in the game right now, so it's not a bad brand association, either!
WH: When you look back at your collaborations, who would say was the most unlikely, the one that you didn't expect to find yourself working with?
CG: Hmmm ... I guess I could make it easy and just say Cheat Codes. [Laughs.] You know, it could be Salonge. It also could be Bruno Mars. I worked with him so early on. This was before he was fully realized as himself and I'm glad to say that I had the foresight of knowing that he would become himself. Supremely talented, great personality and a creative energy just to be around. So, yeah, maybe that's kind of cool. I'll say Bruno Mars!
WH: I have a history of asking artists about obscurities in their back catalogs, so I have to ask you: What do you remember about the experience of appearing in “Mystery Men?”
[CeeLo and members of the Goodie Mob played a collective of villains called — what else? — the Not-So-Goodie Mob.]
CG: Oh, I've got a great story about "Mystery Men!" I didn't know what to expect, but I got a chance to meet the late, great Paul Reubens, professionally known as Pee-Wee Herman, and he was really kind to me and I was such a big fan growing up. I used to love “Pee-Wee's Playhouse” and “Pee-Wee's Big Adventure.”
But I've got an even better story! Ben Stiller came and spoke to me in my trailer and he asked if we needed anything. And I was, like, "No, but..." I just wanted to let him know... He used to have a sketch show called "The Ben Stiller Show," and he did a sketch with Run-DMC.
I said, "Man, you did this sketch that was so funny, because I was so caught off guard that you quoted Run-DMC, one of their lyrics." They were, like, "Man, I don't know if you know who we are..." And he said, "Of course I know you guys! 'You guys slay all suckers who perpetrate and lay down law from state to state! ' " [Laughs.] And I remembered that verbatim because I had thought it was just so funny. And he was really impressed that I had remembered that...and I'm talking maybe 15-20 minutes later, he had gotten his assistant to send me over a VHS tape of that sketch. He's a great guy and a talented guy as well.
WH: In regards to that era of your career, how do you look back at the whole Goodie Mob experience?
CG: We're like a band of brothers. It was amazing that we all found each other, too, because we knew each other from school and the neighborhood and the surrounding area, but the guys are a few years older than me ... But, fatefully, we all ended up at the Dungeon, which was Rico Wade's home and studio — rest in peace to Rico Wade, who passed away recently — and I said, "Oh, OK, this must be the place, because I know these guys."
That was on the separate side of town from where we grew up, so for all of us to land there, I knew it was predestined and ordained. And lo and behold, the actual music was good! It was legendary and iconic and we were the founding fathers of Southern hip-hop. Who would've known?
WH: And now you're back recording with Danger Mouse as Gnarls Barkley, something that, given how long it's been since the last album, seemed like it might never happen again.
CG: Well, it wasn't supposed to. [Laughs.] I really love the production that he played me on this particular occasion, where I was brought in to do a remix for him on a project that he was working on called Danger Mouse and Jemini.
I did a remix to a single they were putting out called "What U Sittin' On?" And he said, "Hey, man, do you mind if I play you some tracks?" And I was, like, "No, no problem!" So he played me stuff like (future Gnarls Barkley song) "Storm Coming" and these instrumentals, and I was, like, "Good gracious, what is this stuff?" You know, the sound was just so different and compelling, I almost kind of get the chills to even recall it. It was just sensational. And I said, "Man, I really love these tracks! I would love to work with you on some of these tracks!"
So those songs and a few more ended up becoming what's now known as "St. Elsewhere." It's a legend at this point. And we were just kind of messing around, to be totally honest. No preconceived notion, no air of entitlement, no ego, no nothing. So he gave me a tape of these really short snippets, which is why the songs were so short. I just wrote to the length of time that I had. I said, "I wonder, can I get to my point in this amount of time?" So that's the uncanny genius about it. It was totally organic, one of the most honest and authentic things I think I've ever done. And that's "Crazy" included. They're basically demos. They just went big! Who knew?
But this is kind of what happens with groups like that: There's something so special and unassuming of itself and then you have success and you go back in and you try it again, and now you have this hyper sense of self-awareness, and you have to work your way through that. Because there's a difference between being intentional and being deliberate.
Of course, you have to have intention to even act out or express yourself, but deliberate ... That's when it's done wrong. That's when you've overdone it. It's overcooked and burnt. So it's a delicate temperature when it comes to preparation. We've been writing songs here and there and doing sessions here and there over the last 10 years or so. And now we have what I guess we think could be an album … I most certainly don't think I said everything in the first two Gnarls Barkley albums. There's more uncharted territory to discover. It's a big world out there!
Visit richmondjazzandmusicfestival.com for tickets and more information. The festival runs Friday through Sunday.