Reflecting on the specimens of humanity currently occupying Planet Earth, Speech observes that, “too many of us, and certainly too many of our leaders, seem to be struggling along the level of weasels or donkeys. I take it to be a massive, worldwide case of arrested development.” With regards to the black community - Speech’s chosen parish – in particular, the young cultural and musical activist has written: “Too many black youth have taken on a destructive mentality. Sheer materialism, low self-esteem, individualism, a lack of respect for elders and life in general have plagued the 20th century African in his/her community.” Unsurprisingly, then, the GRAMMY ® Award winning group Arrested Development has been devoted to nudging folks in the direction of freedom and spiritual evolution. The group describes their sound as “cultural-southern-hip hop-folk-ethnic-funk,” aka “Life Music.” A.D. respects women and promotes family values and “male responsibility.” They are pro-country life and pro-African self-determination. They are opposed to the pimp/ho approach to male/female relations. They define themselves as “20th Century Africans.” They yearn for spiritual revolution -- although, as they note on “Mama’s Always On Stage” – “Can’t be a revolution without women/Can’t be a revolution without children.”
Arrested Development is and has always been a Hip Hop sound system, sort of like a communal jam band with any number of talented members on board. Speech has always been the hub, but Dionne Farris, Eshe, DJ Kemit, Caron Wheeler, RasaDon, Baba Oje, and many others have contributed to this gumbo of image and sound. Arrested Development’s current lineup includes: Speech-vocals, Za-bass, Omar-drums, Machete X-turntables/vocals, Nicha-vocals, Kikora-dancer/vocals, and Spencer Love-vocals.
A.D.’s debut album 3 years, 5 months and 2 days in the life of…referred to the amount of time passed between the formation of the group and the signing of their first record deal. “Tennessee,” the crew’s bucolic first single and video, is an open letter to God, which, not unlike Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit,” gives new meaning to the term “family tree.” The song won an MTV Music Award for best rap single in 1992. “People Everyday,” their second single, is a super funky dancehall-treatment of the immortal Sly Stone anthem “Everyday People,” with new lyrics, which lay out the chilling details of a confrontation between “a nigga and an African.” This song also won them an award for best music video in 1992. “Mr. Wendal,” the band’s biggest hit, humanizes the “bums” on our streets. A.D. donated half of all the royalties from “Mr. Wendal” to the National Coalition for the Homeless. Between 1992 and 1995 Arrested Development released two studio albums and an MTV Unplugged album, which, combined, sold over 6 million units. AD also won two Grammy awards for best new artist and best rap single in 1993.
Arrested Development was the first American act to donate money to Nelson Mandela and the ANC to help South Africans; they worked with director Spike Lee, on the major motion picture biography X (1994) and they were the first act to usher in the present “dirty south” hip hop craze. For many music listeners who turned a deaf ear to hip hop, A.D.’s cd was the first rap album they had ever bought.
After a five-year hiatus, from 1995-2000, the group has reunited and recorded two new studio projects, “Heroes of the Harvest” and “Da Feelin’”(EP). To test the waters they released both cds in Japan, a highly successful solo market for frontman Speech. By 2001, Arrested Development made numerous visits to Japan (three visits alone within the first half of the year), where they performed to standing–room-only crowds. They shot a video to support the album and made special guest appearances on a host of Japanese television shows and participated in an astonishing number of radio and press interviews and photo shoots. Back home in the U.S., A.D. performed in Atlanta’s ever-popular Music Midtown Festival during the summer of 2001, sharing the stage with Eyrkah Badu and Talib Kweli. When called to support Atlanta Unites, a benefit concert held in Centennial Olympic Park after the 9/11/01 tragedy, Arrested Development did not one, but two sets. VIPs in attendance included a host of national performers, Georgia Governor Roy Barnes, Senator Max Cleland, former U.S. ambassador and Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, Talk show host Montell Williams, Babbie Mason and many more. The day’s event brought out over 75,000 people and was covered by every news agency in the U.S.
In 2002 A.D. played the Hollywood Bowl with Isaac Hayes and Maceo Parker with over 18,000 in attendance. Then they flew to San Francisco to rock the Stern Grove Festival with the legendary Matollhalla Queens much to the delight of more than 12,000 fans.
A.D. has once again set their hearts on touring the U.S., Europe, and Canada. For the Among The Trees Tour one can expect A.D. at their finest. Speech offers, “This tour is going to be an exciting mix of music with dance, percussion, turntables, and of course all the songs that have made A.D. known. We do celebrations of life, And with the present stress on the world stage we will attempt to regain perspective musically and spiritually, all while having the time of our lives.”
He continues, “I like being a country boy; the city is too crazy for me. The country gives us perspective on our work. We can look out our windows at the forest trees and know that if anything doesn’t work out the way we planned it, you know life still goes on.” Of course, if what A.D. describes as the “Dawn Of The Dreads” is indeed upon us, things will work out just fine and we’ll all benefit.
Source: http://www.speechmusic.com