Rapper CeeLo Green buys Rico Wade's former home to turn it into museum
ATLANTA - Goodie Mob's CeeLo Green is paying tribute to Atlanta hip-hop pioneer Rico Wade with a major announcement.
Wade, a founding member of the Dungeon Family and former member of Organized Noize, died last Saturday at the age of 52.
In his career in the music industry, Wade helped produce several iconic albums that helped launch the careers of stars like OutKast and Green. Many of those early songs were produced in the "Dungeon," the basement recording studio of Wade's home in East Point near Cascade Road after the group grew out of Wade's mother's basement in Lakewood Heights.
Songwriter and record producer Rico Wade poses for photos while at work in The Dungeon on location in Atlanta, Georgia on April 1, 2001. (Photo By Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)
The home, nicknamed "The White House," has sat vacant for years, until Green said he noticed it was back for sale.
"It came to my attention that it was available and on the market," Green wrote on Instagram. "I then took it upon myself to acquire this monument and Landmark. It was too important and invaluable to leave it be."
Green said he and his sister paid the asking price of "around $1 million."
He says he plans to turn the property into a museum "archiving our rich musical history."
Songwriter and record producer Rico Wade poses for photos on his front steps on location in Atlanta, Georgia on April 1, 2001. (Photo By Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)
"If you’re ever in Atlanta on the southside, come see us sometime and we will take good care of you, the way Father took care of us," Green wrote.