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.