I'm Just an MC

Apparently the link to "I'm Just an MC" from the the Japanese version of Hoopla was broken in an earlier post, so here it is again. As always, please let me know if there are any broken links and I will get them updated. Thanks!

Merry Christmas!

I've always felt that Arrested Development paved the way for OutKast, and it's really not a hard argument to make. So in that spirit here is the original version of their debut single "Player's Ball" which was originally Christmas-themed (note the slight tweaks in lyrics on the hook as well as some lyrics that were back-masked on the album version). This also explains some lyrics like "no chimneys in the ghetto so I won't be hanging no socks" and so forth.  Anyway, this version was on the LaFace Family Christmas album.  Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year!

Public Enemy Live Review

So last night I had a chance to see Public Enemy live for the first time.

Let me write that again- last night I saw Public Enemy live for the first time.  And not only Public Enemy, but also the rest of the "Gods" on the Hip Hop Gods tour making it's way through the country as we speak, though wrapping things up within the week.  So I thought it would be a great opportunity to just kind of share some of my thoughts in the same spirit as the AD live review I recently did after they performed at the same venue in October.


The tour was designed with a unique vision.  At first glance, the lineup might make you think: "Are these a bunch of has-beens," as some of the artists have not released new albums in twenty years.  But that is not the case at all.  Many performers have been cast by the wayside by the "machine" yet remain viable artists and this tour serves as a reintroduction into the marketplace for some and a reaffirmation to their place in the market for others.  So let's break it down and start from - where else? - the beginning.

Violin Goddess

The other day I was at a wedding reception where a violinist roamed the party and played the violin over various rap and R&B tracks. It was interesting and unique- and not something I expected from a wedding for a bunch of rednecks! Welcome to Nebraska! :)

But in that vein is a remix of "Living" by violinist Hanne-Berit and it is pretty cool. Check it out, and I want to thank Kel Arroyo for sending this my way. From the "It's a Small World" department I should have the opportunity to meet Kel as he will be working on the upcoming Public Enemy tour when they play in Lincoln, Nebraska on December 7th (the same venue that AD recently played). So if PE stops in your town make sure you go check them out on the Hip Hop Gods Tourfest Revue. For more details go here. So how cool is that?

The Grades Are In....

I thought this was a nice little collage of some of the articles written about AD over their recent tour.  Check it out here on the AD site.

Ticketmaster Reviews

Hey all, here's something that may be of interest: reviews of the group in concert from fans on Ticketmaster.  There's only 6 reviews, but they are interesting perspectives on the crew. Yes, this was the best I could come up with knowing that I needed to get something up! October was a busy month and there's been a little less news this month- forgive me!

http://reviews.ticketmaster.com/7171/865277/arrested-development-reviews/reviews.htm

Here's a highlight from one (unedited):
When you see Arrested Development, you are in for positive vibes and intelligent lyrics. They are a performing machine, offering a one-of-a-kind mix of Hip-Hop, R&B/Soul, funk, with a dash of rock. They band is on point and the vocals are perfect. Afterall, they've been doing this for over 20 years now. Both times I've seen them, they've hung out afterwards and were happy to meet and greet, sign AD items, take pix, etc. AD is truly one of those groups that nearly everyone will love. The first time I saw them I took a friend who was too young to remember their 90's commercial hay day. This time I took my cousin so is a fan of rock and 90's grunge. Both of them LOVED the show and have started following their music. I highly recommend checking them out if you are given the chance!

Happy Birthday Speech!

On Rapstation.com they have a cool little segment called "This Day in Hip Hop and Rap History" as read by Chuck D.  Today's segment is dedicated to Speech- check it out here!  And thanks to Kel for sending this my way, which reminds me- you should check out his show on the same site here.  He always plays great stuff, both new and classic, hence the name All School Sessions.

And while we're at it, happy 44th birthday to Speech!

Tennessee Live

If you believe that you can never have too much of a good thing, then I have some good news for you.  As in, I have another live version of "Tennessee" for you!  This one comes from the Concert 2 Cure album done for the American Cancer Society and I think it was originally released around 2002.  Anyway, it represents one of 21 different versions of "Tennessee" that I have in Itunes- pretty crazy- and I'm pretty sure that it's the only one that features a wedding proposal at the end!

http://www.mediafire.com/?pf9fuh4exelbszd

Never Mind the Buzzkills

I think I've found a new favorite blog.  Here's some links to some great Speech/AD content.  I will warn there is a bit of cussing on the site, if that offends you- no biggie to me but just sharing. 

Anyway, some awesome stuff here.  First, a really well done positive review of Standing at the Crossroads.  Then a review of "Living".  And lastly, a review of "I'ma Fight Back Right Now."  Good stuff here so check it out!

Recent AD Links

I wanted to point out some cool links that have popped up recently with "the true blue crew you knew you could cling to" out on tour and making news in city after city.

If you didn't care for my "review" of the recent AD show I attended, or even if you did, here's one from the next show in St. Louis from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

A really nice writeup here from a site called Stash.

And finally, here's a little interview with Speech with a local-to-me newspaper called the Daily Nebraskan.

Check these out if you get a chance- awesome to see them getting good publicity.

AD Concert Thoughts

Three bands and then a dinner menu.

You know, writer's block just isn't much fun.  I'm not the best writer under normal circumstances (though that's not stopping me from trying to write a novel!) but to really find the words to express the concert I saw last Thursday has been nearly impossible.

Well, that's not true- in my drive home from Lincoln, about an hour drive to where I live in Omaha, I had arranged my thoughts and felt like I was on a good track to write something decent.  But, seeing as I needed to go to sleep that night, when I woke up, everything that sounded so good the night before was gone.  Vamoosh!  So on that note, I'm just going to throw out a few things and whatever comes out is what comes out.

First off, the opening band, a little seven-man crew called Funktion.  Really good opening act and there's some definite talent there.  Hope they go far.

Someone forgot their real camera!

Moving on to the show itself.  The venue, called the Bourbon Theater, was perfect, what they call an "intimate gathering" and it truly was not like any other hop hop show I've been to before.  There weren't a bunch of freaks there looking to show out, or guys wearing muscle shirts trying to impress those freaks, or people looking to do anything but have a good time.  It was a good mix of young and old, black and white, hardcores and casual fans.  Just a real chill crowd.

October 15: Music Lounge - Arrested Development

October 15: Music Lounge - Arrested Development

Arrested Development was live on WGN Chicago yesterday in the WGN-TV Music Lounge to promote their show that night.  Above you'll find a link to part one, and to find links to part two click here and part three click here.  Always good to see the group live on TV!  The first song is Living, the second song is People Everyday (way too little of this one shown!), and the third is basically the end of Tennessee. 

I will be seeing them live in two days- as you can imagine, I'm a little excited!

United Front Live on Letterman

You know, blog contributor Christian LeBlanc posted this nearly two years ago and I don't recall ever posting it.  Not sure how I missed it.  Anyway, here's a cool video of the group performing United We Stand on Letterman, so check it out!  And nice work Christian.

Spiritual People Import "Bonus Songs"

Someone recently requested that I re-upload the songs that are exclusive to the "import" version of Spiritual People, so here they are!  The import is actually the original version and it was later released in the States.  As always, let me know if there are any dead links or anything you want, and I'll put it up so long as you can't buy it now on an in-print release.

So Much Folly
The Temporary (Woe Is Me)
Poverty
Spiritual People (Original Mix)

I also see there were a couple of skits on this version that didn't make it over, so for completists here you go:

An Agenda (Skit)
People Everyday (Skit)   (That title sounds vaguely familiar....)
Warm and Snuggly (skit)
Turn the Record Over (Skit)

We Rad We Doin It Video

I don't believe I've ever posted this video here- "We Rad We Doin It" from the Strong album.  This was one of my favorite songs from the record, great verses from Speech and One Love and strong lead vocals from Tasha LaRae.  Just a really creative and unique song.  The video is a lot of fun too, and is it just me or does One Love look like Jay-Z in some shots?  I've kind of thought that for awhile but it really seems noticeable here.  But maybe it's just me....

I also recently received some cool personal AD news- the group is coming to Nebraska!  They'll be in Lincoln on October 18th and you can imagine that I bought tickets as soon as I heard.  After all these years they'll be an hour away- I can't wait.

   

#1 With a Bullet

This was in the latest AD newsletter.  Hey, we'll take it.  The number one single on college rap radio.  Maybe there is hope for the youth after all.  ;)

Awesome "AD Weekend" Story

Here's a great wrap-up from JMSmith.org (the Disciple Dojo) of one AD fan's weekend hanging with Speech and watching Arrested Development live.  Am I jealous?  Yeah, maybe just a little bit.  I think you'll enjoy this post so check it out here.  There's not much more to say, and ironically his post is title Speechless.  Nuff said!

Two Reviews of Three Years

I noticed that a deluxe version of Sittin' on Chrome by Masta Ace Inc. is dropping in a week or so, which made me want to make sure that I hadn't fallen asleep at the wheel and missed an announcement of a deluxe version of Three Years was coming since seemingly every other release from that time is getting one.  Well, no luck there, but I did stumble upon a fairly recent review on emusic of Three Years that was a nice little read.  Check it out here.

And then I found another cool one from this year, from Liz's 1001 albums.  She finally got around to Three Years on day 710.  No problem.  Check that review out here.

Making of I'ma Fight Back Right Now

Saw this on twitter- a little video with some behind the scenes pics of the "I'ma Fight Back Right Now" video shoot.  In case you missed it, this song was released as a single and as part of the new free AD album Standing at the Crossroads. 

A Review of Standing At The Crossroads

If you've been looking in vain for an "independent" review of the new AD album, i.e. not a biased one like mine (and what would you expect from me?) then look no further.  Here's a link to a review done by Patrick A Reed on the website Depth of Field.  In my opinion his review nails it, plus in this posting he nails the new Public Enemy album as well, and there are reviews to works by Beetnix and Kendra Reed included.  If you're not interested in those, the AD review is at the bottom.  Here are a couple of choice quotes:

In fact, in describing this, their newest record, “top-quality work” sounds far too clinical and cold.  These 13 songs are full of life and energy, a spirited collection of headnodding backbeats, irresistible hooks, and free-flowing raps.  It’s positive politicizing, swinging reflections on an ever-shifting world, full-on funky goodtime music.

And this really says it all about the album I think:

The rest of the record follows in much the same spirit: upbeat, lively, bluesy, a mix of voices that creates a giant tapestry of good vibrations.  Reggae, gospel, bhangra, afro-beat, boom-bap – it’s all here, textures jumbled up and reassembled into a giant multicultural party.

Dionne Farris "I Know"

True story- I had no clue that Dionne Farris, often referred to as the "haunting voice" of "Tennessee", sang the 90s hit and VH1 mainstay "I Know."  I've heard that song a thousand times but never put two and two together until the Unsung episode aired.  Yikes!  Anyway, here's the video in case you somehow missed it in the 90s, this thing was everywhere back then and made it all the way to number one on the pop charts.

Living Remix Contest Winner Announced

As you may or may not have been aware, AD had a contest to remix their single "Living."  It recently came to an end, to peep the winner as well as the five runner-ups go here.  I think the violin one is pretty cool too.

Answering a Request

Had a request the other day for a couple of songs that had fallen off of the mystical world of the Internets, so I'd like to fill that today.  As a reminder, if you find any links that aren't working and you'd like the songs that formerly pointed to, just let me know and I will try to get them up again.  As a further reminder I do not share anything that is still available for sell in the USA because I kind of like having a balance in my checking account- as small as it may be!

Without further adieu, here are a couple of cuts from the Japanese release of Hoopla that didn't make it over the ocean to the US.  Damn that TSA!

I'm Just an M.C.  
It Takes a Village to Raise a Child

Making of Raga in Coolangatta Video

This is an exclusive video on the making of the "Raga in Coolangatta" video that Speech posted on his facebook account, so if you missed it there, check it out here:

Speech's Response to Unsung

Here's a video response by Speech to the recent Unsung episode.  I didn't personally think that this was necessary, but I can kind of understand why Speech felt it was.  Some cool tidbits here not necessarily related to the show- for example, apparently on stage at the Grammy's they receive prop awards.  For some reason weird little trivia items like that entertain me.  Anyway, here's his brief response, mainly covering the issues with Dionne Farris.



As far as Speech, I saw some crazily negative things said about him on Twitter.  I don't know him at all, but all I can say is that he has been unbelievably supportive of this site and has done a couple of nice things for me that he didn't have to do.  Yes, this site promotes his music, but you'd be surprised how little that often matters to some "celebrities."  And everyone around him that I have dealt with either from the group or Vagabond records has been nothing but pure class, and I can't imagine those kinds of people would put up with it if he wasn't the real deal.  Were there problems with the group, especially in the early days?  Of course.  Find me a group where there wasn't!  And that's my two pennies.....  :)

Raga in Coolangatta Video

Timed to coincide with their appearance on Unsung, here's the second video from the free AD album Standing at the Crossroads.  Check it out!

Ebony on "Three Years" Anniversary

Great piece, nuff said, read it here.

Arrested Development Unsung Episode!

In case you missed it, like me, click here for the episode, and it's completely commercial free.  I'm about to watch it right now.  Enjoy!  I will have more thoughts later.

Couple of Living Remixes

Check them out, a few unsanctioned remixes of "Living":

I dig the vibe of this one. 


Here's another.  Not bad, I like the first one better right now:

Unsung Tonight!

The Arrested Development episode of Unsung is on tonight, make sure you check it out if you get TV One.  Warning- judging from the liner notes of the new album it sounds like Speech might get thrown under the bus a bit....

And here's a behind the scenes clip courtesy of Eshe:

Sandhya Raga

If you liked the song "Raga in Coolangatta" from the new AD album and you've got 11 minutes to kill, then check the following video.  As I said in my review of the album, Kel Arroyo has proven time and time again he knows much more about music than me, and he's the one that sent this my way.  Check it out.  As an aside, I always thought the Beatles use of the sitar was overrated (to me it was a distraction rather than an innovation when they did it, it just never fit their music in my opinion), so give credit to AD for outdoing the Beatles in my eyes.  ;)

Standing at the Crossroads Review

My first thought upon taking in the new AD album Standing at the Crossroads was "score another one for the old guys."

At one point in time, it was nearly impossible for a rap artist to have a sustained career in the genre.  Even legends like Run-DMC struggled to stick around despite multiple comebacks.  Yet the careers of acts such as KRS-ONE, Public Enemy, and even say Jay-Z have proven that you can have a lengthy career in hip hop.  And recent albums over the last month or so by Nas with Life is Good, Public Enemy with Most of My Heroes Still Don't Appear on No Stamp, and Masta Ace with Ma Doom: Son of Yvonne have proven, once again and emphatically, that not only can veteran rap artists have a career, but they can remain artistically viable- not just viable, but they can remain at the peak of the artform.  If Chuck D lost some his flow he's lost none of his firepower or message, and Masta Ace may be using recycled beats by MF Doom, but since he's making those beats his own, I question whether that even matters.  (Doesn't hurt that I hadn't heard any of the beats going in I suppose.)

And Arrested Development can give away an album for free, and rather than it coming across as a glorified mixtape, we instead get an almost wholly original work of art that if I had paid for I wouldn't have felt slighted in the least.

Oh sure, there are a couple of songs we've heard before.  "Living" is the single that's been kicking around for a minute though it still sounds fresh, and "I'ma Fight Right Back Now" was released as a Speech single last year.  (It's personally not one of my favorites, but I understand it's inclusion.)  But other than that, we've got brand new songs, plus liner notes to boot.  I love liner notes, and these are superb, with each song broken down in detail along with full lyrics.

A Couple of Tidbits

First off, if you haven't downloaded the new AD album Standing At The Crossroads for FREE yet, make sure you do so below.  I will have more thoughts later as I'm still taking it in, but it is a legitimate album, not a mixtape.  (Though I wouldn't complain about a free AD mixtape, don't get me wrong!)

Secondly, the next single from album per the AD Twitter site will be "Raga in Coolangatta" which will include a video release.  Sounds good to me!  For whatever reason I've never warmed to Twitter but maybe I should pop in more than once a month or so since that is where a lot of news breaks these days....

Also, here's a fairly recent interview with Speech from one of his hometown papers that I should've posted a month or so ago.  Hat tip to Kel Arroyo for both of the above tidibits!

And lastly here's an older interview from 2010 with a website called Baller Status, which sounds to me like a great site to cover AD.  But honestly this is a good one because it's with Eshe and One Love, and they don't always have the opportunity to be heard from in that kind of forum.

New Album Out Now! For Free!

The title says it all- I am downloading it now and will be sure to have my thoughts as soon as I take it all in.  Thanks to Christian for letting me know it was available today!

Living Remix Contest

Vote here, vote now, vote by August 3rd.  Looks like there are well over 234 remixes to choose from! 

Set Your Calendars

August is shaping up to be a big, big month for Arrested Development.  First off, their new album, "Standing at the Crossroads," is scheduled to release on August 6th.  The craziest thing is this will be a FREE album.  Yes, free.  Why, I've paid up to $40 for new AD albums!  How can this be?  Is this to good to be true?  You'd be crazy not to download a free AD album.   

Yes, you would.  But like those TV infomercials that sell a good deal, I will now hit you with:  But wait, there's more!

Because also on August 6th we will see the long awaited "Unsung" episode featuring the group.  It will be interesting to see how their history is presented- hopefully they don't ignore the long run of excellent albums they have cut since reuniting with "Heroes of the Harvest."  I won't be able to watch this on air, but I hope to find a way to do online, and if I do I will certainly share it here.  So keep your ears tuned and make sure to check out the free album on August 6th.    

Indigo Blume On Sale

If you haven't had a chance to pick up the children's book Indigo Blume and the Garden City, well, here's your opportunity, and at a great price:  $10 with free shipping.  And why is this relevant to AD and/or Speech fans?  Because the book includes a bonus CD with a song by Speech called "I'm Different" as well as an instrumental version, and personally, the song is probably worth the $10 on it's own.  The book itself is a fun book, bright, colorful, and well illustrated, and my three-year old daughter has asked me to read it to her quite a few times- and we have a ton of books for her, so that's saying something.  Just wanted to pass it on as this is a really good deal.  Anyway, here's the link.

New Album Release Date!

Here it is- the release date for the new AD album as well as a title:  "Standing at the Crossroads."  And the release date is August 6th according to the group's newsletter.  As you can imagine, I am pretty excited about this as I'm sure you are if you are checking out this site.

In other exciting news, the group is prepping a (long awaited) US tour.  Hopefully they will come somewhere near where I live because I will be there for certain.  It looks like they might be performing the entire 3 Years album alongside newer material, which would be something to see for sure- in fact, a while back I tried to put together my own live version of that album and wasn't able to finish the job!

So great news for us AD fans!  Also, I'd like to tip my hat to Kel for sending this information my way as I hadn't quite gotten to it yet.  It was a welcome surprise.

Farrakhan

Here's an interesting video that was recently posted of Louis Farrakhan showing some love to AD, from 2011:

New Public Enemy Song With Speech Cameo

Well, it's not quite the long-awaited Speech/Chuck D collaboration- but Speech pops up on this low quality version of a new PE song from their upcoming album releasing July 4th called "Most of My Heroes Don't Appear on No Stamp."  I'm not sure if this is just an overdub for the radio or if this will pop up on the album version as well, but listen for Speech around the 3:15 mark with a shout-out to Public Enemy.

I'm Not Dead!

Current blog status.

Sorry for the lack of activity- I just haven't had anything to post and don't like to post just to post.  But I did want to check in and say that the blog is still very much active (I especially wanted to post this as I will be on vacation for a couple of weeks this month), and I'm just lying dormant for the next blast of AD activity which should be kick into high gear this year- hopefully soon!  Should be an album, a mixtape, and it sounds like a US tour this year, which will be great.

Future blog status when AD material begins to drop.

AD Today

Happy May Day to all.  Saw this photo of the group on Facebook, and thought it was so well done that I had to share it.  There's your group as it stands today.  Looking forward to the albums they have coming up this year!

AD Unplugged Tape Bonuses (Part Three)

Here is the last instrumental from the cassette version of Unplugged.  As a note, "People Everyday" does appear as a song on the Unplugged album, but the instrumental does not, so no, it's not something we are missing.  These cassette only bonuses can be frustrating for us old school hip hop heads- I can think of a few albums off the top of my head that had cassette-only songs (often due to the longer running time of tapes opposed to CDs- I believe they were still 74 minutes back when Unplugged was released).

For the record, Unplugged does right one of the wrongs of the Three Years... album- it is clearly Headliner proclaiming himself as Headliner at the open of "Raining Revolution" as opposed to Speech...  ;)

Without further adieu, here is "Fishin' 4 Religion."  Again, thanks to Christian for this song!

Fishin' 4 Religion (Instrumental)

AD Unplugged Tape Bonuses (Part Two)

Here is part two of three, and no we are to the good stuff.  Here is "U" one of the great love songs on Three Years...  Thanks again to Christian for sending this to me!


U

AD Unplugged Tape Bonuses (Part One)

The crux of this site is that I have an almost obsessive desire to collect every commercially released song by either Arrested Development and Speech.  Figuring where there's one, there's probably another, I started the site in order to share these hard to find, rare, and/or out of print songs while bringing focus to the readily available material because the group is too good not to be heard.  But in this case, I probably went a little too far.

Digging through an old box of stuff, I found the AD Unplugged cassette.  After looking it over for minute, I noticed on the back three little asterisks denoting "cassette only bonuses" (see photo above, which I found on google).  

Oh no!  In the big scheme as well as the little scheme, these three instrumentals mean little (especially the "Time" instrumental, which is barely a song at all and frustrated my twelve-year old self who thought that song as well as "Searchin' For One Soul" and "The Gettin'" were brand spanking new AD songs when they are basically interludes) but the OCD in me came out and I had to have them.  But was it worth paying the $20 or so I would have to pay for a company to convert them to CD?

Probably not, especially since good friend of the site and future AD Fan of the Month Christian LeBlanc is a master at ripping stuff from vinyl, tape, etc.  Long story short, I ordered a copy of the tape on Amazon for pennies, shipped it to Canada (wisely and cleverly saving myself a trip to the post office while keeping my cherished copy of the tape that was so haphazardly stored in a box in my mom's basement and seems to have disappeared since), and a short time later, Christian sent me the tracks!  Hooray for OCD.

Truth be told, the instrumentals, at least for "Fishin" and "U", are really good and shockingly fun to explore without the vocals on top.  I love how they retain yet expand on the sound found on the album versions, and they sound completely different from what the stellar bad does now.   

Today, we'll start with the ultimate tease in the "Time" instrumentals (there appear to be two versions on the tape), tomorrow we'll have another, and Wednesday we'll close with yet another.  Enjoy!  And thanks to Christian for sending these to me!

Time Instrumental

Time Instrumental (More Time)

Listen. Now.

If you missed the interview with Speech from All School Sessions, I HIGHLY recommend checking it out now. The link to the show on Rapstation is here.  It runs about an hour and it's nearly an hour into the show.  Speech is very thoughtful during the interview, as well as likable, funny, humble, and dropping knowledge.  Kel does a great job of steering the conversation.

Honestly, my feeling after listening to this is that it makes me even prouder to be a fan of Speech as well as the group Arrested Development, and I'm even more pleased that I started this blog.  I won't even get to what Speech said about this site, but it was pretty cool.

As far as news, he does announce that a mixtape called "Standing at the Crossroads" will be out this year as well as the full length anniversary album towards the end of the year.  Can't wait for both.

Tonight's the Night

Speech's interview on All School Sessions will be tonight as well as Kel's first person report from the RR Hall of Fame.  You can catch it live here from nine to eleven eastern time, and on tape here afterwards.  I'm really looking forward to it, so check it out!

Coming Soon to All School Sessions....

Is an interview with the legendary Speech!  I cannot wait to hear this, next Monday, April 16th.  Until then, make sure you check out Kel's special Rock and Roll Hall of Fame edition, featuring the induction of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Beastie Boys, Guns N' Roses, and many others. 

By the way I love the logo. 

Living Bloopers

Here's a short little video of bloopers from the Living video.  Check it out!

Appear In An AD Video!

For those who may have missed it, AD is offering a chance to appear in upcoming video with the group.  I hesitate to put this up here as the more people that enter, then the less chance I have, but I'm unselfish, what can I say?  There are a few requirements to enter so turn to the link, or look at the picture, for more details.  The good news is you'll have to watch the Living video a few times to answer the question, and that's not a bad thing at all.

If I somehow win, I do promise to not attempt to sing or rap, dance, or otherwise embarrass myself, my family, or the human race.  At least not intentionally. 

Good luck if you go for it!

Brand New Living Video- With A Making Of Video

Not much more to say- a cool new AD video for Living (no April's Fool Joke here!).  Some of it reminds me of the early, early AD videos, specifically the black and white open, which was a nice touch and likely intentional.  Check it out!  Below that is a Making of video to boot.  Great stuff to check out for all AD fans.  Living has a spring feel to me so great time of year to revisit the song.   

All School Sessions Celebrates AD Anniversary

Check it out, Lord Kel celebrates the 20th anniversary of 3 Years on his radio show All School Sessions with songs from that album, a few live AD cuts from the album, and even a cut from Gumbo, as well as other great hip hop tracks.  I'd recommend checking this show out every few days for Kel's latest episodes as he plays a lot of good stuff.  Enjoy!

Great "3 Years" Post

The author TL posted this in the comments section on a prior post, but I wanted to give it a bit more shine than that.  Here is an excellent write-up with one person's thoughts on "3 Years" from a blog called Flashlights Are Something To Eat.  Really cool to see a personal post like this!  Check it out here.  Really good stuff here!

Must Read AD Update

Arrested Development recently posted an update on their future plans, and they are all very exciting.  I'd recommend clicking the link, but in summary the following projects are in the works:

"Bring That Beat Back" a free album consisting of many of the songs that were recorded around the time of the "Living" single.  Interestingly, Public Enemy had a remix album with that title.  This will be more of a classic hip hop sounding record, which is intriguing. 

"Premium Blend" a Speech collaboration with Japanese group the Yoshida Brothers.  This will be an EP and had been mentioned by Speech in my interview with him.

"1 Love" a collaboration album between AD members Speech and One Love.  Very interesting.

"20" the long awaited next full AD album.

And if that's not enough they casually mention Speech has another solo album in the works.  So plenty to look forward to this year from the group.

20 Years, 0 Months, O Days in the Life of....

Today marks the twentieth anniversary of the release of "3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life Of..." the debut album of Arrested Development.  If my calculus is up to speed, this means it's been 23 years, 5 months and 2 days since the group decided to pursue a record deal.

I would be lying if I said I bought it on release date.  As I recall, I picked it up some time in late July or early August.  I spent a lot of time mowing lawns that summer, and I picked up albums from artists like their fellow Atlanteans Kris Kross, Heavy D, and Black Sheep before I bought this one. (It was supposed to be the "clean version" of A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing, and a few of the raunchier songs were excised, but what was left was still very much explicit.  Don't tell my mom.)  But this is the one I still turn to, even today, nothing against those other albums. 

This album had such an effect on me that I still remember how the paper in the cassette liner smelled.  To me, it kind of smelled like a corn chip, a bit of an organic scent that fit in perfectly with the contents of the cassette.

I spent a lot of time on the couch at night watching "Yo! MTV Raps" back in the days when the M stood for music, and it was an educational experience.  Songs by Public Enemy, EPMD, Redman, Das EFX, Heavy D, 2Pac, and many others were in heavy rotation and I absorbed them all like a sponge.  Much like Eminem stated on record a few years back, the X-Clan used to scare me too.  But the videos for "Tennessee," "People Everyday", and "Mr. Wendal" still stick out today, engrained in my mind.

I think one of the more underrated elements of this album are the love songs, so to speak.  "U", "Natural", and "Dawn of the Dreads" are still to this day such a more advanced treatment of woman than almost anything done since.  "Mama's Always on Stage" will always hold relevancy.  Just incredible pieces of work.  One of the criticisms of the work of Public Enemy- and it is a valid one, though I know of no group that can be all things to all people- is their portrayal of woman and Arrested Development really knocked that out of the mark in my male eyes.    

Anyway, not sure where I'm going with this, I just wanted to kind of free flow a few thoughts on this album, one of my all-time favorite albums and proof that hip hop can be and is so much more than that deplorable "Rack City" song I heard for the first time yesterday. 

Congrats to Arrested Development for a piece of work that has stood strong for twenty solid years, and I eagerly await what's next for the group.  Also, keep your eyes on the All School Sessions radio show as Lord Kel plans on paying tribute to the album on his radio show soon.

Hip Hop Gods Radio

If you get a chance check out Hip Hop Gods on Rapstation radio tonight as they are going to have a tribute to "Three Years" on it's twenty-year anniversary.

A Different Rap

Here's a fun and interesting look back at an article from 1993 on Arrested Development from Ebony Magazine.  Reading the following quote made me wonder when the term "conscious" rap made it on the scene and if this use of the term by Speech pre-dated that:

What distinguishes Arrested Development from other rap groups is their positive, family-oriented themes, a welcome departure from the misogynistic and violent lyrics of controversial hard-core rap acts. "We call ourselves a conscious hip-hop group. Conscious basically meaning trying to be aware of what we can change," says Speech, Arrested Development's charismatic lead singer, rapper and producers,who smiles frequently and gives friendly hugs to everybody, males and females.

Unsung

Some cool news- Arrested Development recently tweeted that they are going to be the focus of an upcoming episode of the show called Unsung, which is similar to Behind the Music on VH1.  The show airs on TV One.  It's good news/bad news in a way, because they pick out acts that were huge and suffered a drastic loss in popularity.  I would love to see this show when it airs.

Hat tip to Kel for telling me about this! 

Also, it sounds like they are still in the process of recording new music for new projects, so there should be plenty to talk about down the road.

Paste's Greatest Albums of the 90s

Some cool news about one of my favorite albums, and likely one of yours if you're here reading this- Paste Magazine named it the 83rd best album of the 90s.  I'd go higher myself, but not bad!  :)  Here's a link to the write-up, and thanks to Kel for pointing this out.  Now I'll have to dig into the rest of the article and see how wrong they were about everything.....

Speech's New Website

Updated daily, check it out here:  The Hoopla.

Speech Interview With Funkatopia

Here is a great interview with Speech that took place at the epic AD concert with PE with the website Funaktopia (sweet name).  I'll have more on it later but wanted to pass it on ASAP- enjoy!

And hat tip to Kel Arroyo for sending me this link!

AD Music on The Radio

Here's a link to some Arrested Development music being played on a college radio station for Lorain Community College in Elyria, Ohio.  The show is hosted by Kel Arroyo, who is an awesome guy and will do a great job with this radio show.  I hope this is the start of big things for him!  I haven't given it a listen quite yet, but any time you get AD on the air, that's a good thing.  The morning show back at my college used to play some pretty good stuff back in the days and I feel confident Kel will do even better.  :)  

How To Rap and What Is Success

Somehow I slept on this book - I picked up How to Rap over a year ago and completely spaced it off.  It ended up in my massive "to read" pile, forgotten.  I flipped through it a bit the other day and realized it had some pretty good contributions from Speech in it, which I didn't read so that I could save them for later.  So when I finally get to this book in my pile, I'll have more on it later.

Embarrassing true story- I did once try to rap and actually record myself when I was a teenager.  I let a friend listen to it and he compared me- somewhat favorably I might add- to Silkk the Shocker.  I knew so little about music (and still do frankly) that I didn't realize Silkk is infamous for having no clue as to how to stay on beat. 

If only Master P was my older brother.....

Another AD-related book chilling in my pile is Speech's "What Is Success."  I'm funny that way, I buy books and just let them stack up- the good thing is if I ever break my leg I've got a nice stockpile to keep me busy.  Anyway, this seems like a must read for us AD fans, and I will get to it- soon!  I've never been a big fan of self-help books, which this is to a degree as far as I know, and is kind of why I've been a bit hesitant to dig in. 

It's amazing how far the quality of hip hop books have come in say the last decade.  I actually did my senior theme on high school (which I basically reused in college), and it was slim pickings when it came to decent research material- there were a few good books out there, but very few.  Now we not only have some good books, but some that I would almost consider classics of the genre.

AD and PE. On Stage. Together.

One thing about me is that I am not the jealous type.  No sir.  So obviously I would not be the least bit jealous of anyone who happens to be within reasonable driving distance of this show that takes place on January 13th in Stone Mountain, Georgia.  Nope, not me.  Not jealous at all. 

Not one bit.