Organized Noize

Not to be confused with Organized sound (musical concept) or Organised Sound (journal).

Organized Noize
Origin	Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop R&B pop dance-pop electronic
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Organized Noize Productions
Spinoff of	Dungeon Family
Members	Sleepy Brown Ray Murray
Past members	Rico Wade[1][2][3][4]
Website	organizednoize.net

Organized Noize is an American production duo from Atlanta, Georgia, currently composed of Ray Murray and Sleepy Brown.^[5][6]

History

Among the hit records they have worked on include TLC's "Waterfalls", En Vogue's "Don't Let Go (Love)", and Ludacris' "Saturday (Oooh! Ooooh!)". They are most notable for producing a large amount of material for Outkast (including all of Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik and "So Fresh, So Clean" from Stankonia) and Goodie Mob (including all of Soul Food and "They Don't Dance No Mo" from Still Standing). Both groups are part of Organized Noize's Dungeon Family collective, which also includes Slimm Cutta Calhoun and Joi, among others. The "Dungeon" would be the name given to recording studio which was located in the basement of Organized Noize member Rico Wade's mother's house. The "Dungeon" studio, which attracted numerous aspiring musicians and artists, even made Wade a key architect of Atlanta hip hop.^[7][8] In an interview with Billboard, Big Boi of Outkast explained that Organized Noize helped them early on in the music business, saying, "They were our big brothers, and they did a production deal with LaFace Records. They were the ones that gave us our first shot and we been doing music with them since the beginning."^[9]

They also contributed on the soundtrack of the 1996 critically acclaimed heist film Set It Off. In 2006, they contributed additional music to the film Miami Vice. In 2010 they produced several songs on the critically acclaimed Island/Def Jam solo debut from Big Boi titled Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty. In 2011, they produced the album Nappy Dot Org for Nappy Roots.^[10]

The documentary feature The Art of Organized Noize premiered on Netflix on March 22, 2016.^[11] The documentary, directed by Quincy Jones III, details the formation of the group, who met through Tionne Watkins of TLC, and the early days of their Dungeon Family collective.^[12][13]

On May 5, 2017, Organized Noize released an eponymous, seven-song EP, which had been in production for over 20 years.^[9][14] Ahead of the official EP release, the track "Kush" was released on April 20, 2017.^[15] The project was generally well-received, with Cult MTL writer Mr. Wavvy calling it "an enjoyable listen for any fans of the original Dungeon Family/Dirty South movement."^[16]

Rico Wade was the older cousin of Grammy winning rapper Future.^[17] He died on April 13, 2024, at the age of 52 of heart failure.^[18][19][20] Wade was considered to be the "cornerstone" of not only Organized Noize, but also its collaborative group Dungeon Family.^[21]

Impact

Organized Noize are credited with jumpstarting the rise of Southern hip-hop in the early-to-mid 1990s.^[6][17] The group has been described as being, "the...production team behind some of the greatest songs ever," and "one of the most respected production teams in rap history," by NPR and Spin respectively.^[22][23] Billboard has stated that Organized Noize "pioneered the Dirty South sound."^[24]

Production discography

Studio albums

List of albums, with selected chart positions

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		US[25]	USR&B/HH[26]
Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik (Outkast)	Released: April 26, 1994[27] Label: LaFace, Arista, RCA Format: CD, LP, Cassette, digital download	20	2
ATLiens (Outkast)	Released: August 27, 1996 Label: LaFace, Arista, RCA Format: CD, LP, Cassette, digital download	2	1
Aquemini (Outkast)	Released: September 29, 1998 Label: LaFace, Arista, RCA Format: CD, LP, Cassette, digital download	2	2
Stankonia (Outkast)	Released: October 31, 2000 Label: LaFace, Arista, RCA Format: CD, LP, Cassette, digital download	2	2
Boomiverse (Big Boi)	Released: 2017 Label: Organized Noize Productions Format: Digital Download/Streaming	2	2
Organized Noize EP	Released: May 5, 2017 Label: Organized Noize Productions Format: Digital Download/Streaming	-	-
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

References

1. "Atlanta rap legend, Dungeon Family member Rico Wade dies at 52". WSB-TV. April 15, 2024. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
2. "Rico Wade, an Architect of Atlanta Hip-Hop, Dies at 52". nytimes.com. Archived from the original on April 14, 2024. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
3. "Rico Wade, Founder Of Organized Noize, Dungeon Family Has Reportedly Passed At 52". Atlanta Daily World. April 13, 2024. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
4. Eustice, Kyle (April 13, 2024). "Rico Wade—Organized Noize Co-Founder Who Produced Outkast, TLC & Goodie Mob—Has Died". AllHipHop. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
5. AllMusic biography
6. Holley, Santi Elijah (April 14, 2017). "21 Savage Is the Unlikely Face of the New Class of Atlanta Hip-Hop". Portland Mercury. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
7. Weingarten, Christopher R. (April 15, 2024). "Rico Wade and Organized Noize's 10 Essential Songs". New York Times.
8. Helmore, Edward (April 14, 2024). "Rico Wade, key figure in Atlanta hip-hop scene, dies aged 52". The Guardian. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
9. Deip, Eric (May 4, 2017). "Big Boi on 'Boomiverse' Album: 'I Kinda Took it Back to 'Southernplayalistic' With Elite Street S--t'". Billboard. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
10. "Nappy Roots Discuss 'Different Experience' of Organized Noize". October 31, 2011. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
11. Bychawski, Adam (April 23, 2017). "Organized Noize announce first-ever compilation EP featuring Big Boi and 2 Chainz". Fact Magazine. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
12. Robehmed, Natalie (March 24, 2016). "With A New Documentary, Atlanta Trio Organized Noize Earn Just Applause". Forbes. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
13. Kimble, Julian (March 24, 2016). "Blood Is Thicker: What 'The Art of Organized Noize' Says About Family". Complex. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
14. "Over Two Decades In The Making, Organized Noize Drops Self-Titled EP". 2dopeboyz. May 4, 2017. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
15. Emmanuel C.M. (April 21, 2017). "Organized Noize Release "Kush" With 2 Chainz and Joi Off Upcoming EP". XXL Magazine. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
16. Mr. Wavvy (June 19, 2017). "REVIEW: Organized Noize's "Organized Noize" EP".
17. Elias Leight (March 21, 2016). "How Organized Noize Put Southern Hip-Hop on the Map". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
18. "Rico Wade, an Architect of Atlanta Hip-Hop, Dies at 52". nytimes.com. Archived from the original on April 14, 2024. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
19. "Rico Wade, Founder Of Organized Noize, Dungeon Family Has Reportedly Passed At 52". Atlanta Daily World. April 13, 2024. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
20. Eustice, Kyle (April 13, 2024). "Rico Wade—Organized Noize Co-Founder Who Produced Outkast, TLC & Goodie Mob—Has Died". AllHipHop. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
21. "Atlanta rap legend, Dungeon Family member Rico Wade dies at 52". WSB-TV. April 15, 2024. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
22. Ali Shaheed Muhammad (June 3, 2015). "Microphone Check Live: Organized Noize". NPR. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
23. Corbin Reiff (August 26, 2016). "20 Years, 20 Questions: Big Boi Reconnects With OutKast's 'ATLiens'". Spin Magazine. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
24. Paley Martin (March 28, 2016). "'The Art of Organized Noize' Documentary: 9 Things We Learned About OutKast, TLC & More". Billboard. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
25. "DJ Mustard – Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
26. "DJ Mustard – Chart history – Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
27. "DJ Mustard's New Album '10 Summers' Will Be Available For Free On August 12 – XXL". July 22, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2016.

External links

• Official website
• Organized Noize at IMDb
• The Art of Organized Noize at IMDb
• Organized Noize discography at Discogs