Arrested Development were introduced to the world at a time when most of Atlanta-based artists were ignored by the mainstream media. During the early 1990s, Atlanta had yet to become the Black music capital and was relatively ignored.
But Arrested Development changed that with the release of their debut album, 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of..
The album became an instant hit winning multiple Grammy Awards and selling 4 million copies in the U.S. alone. They were one of a few groups from Atlanta who broke barriers in hip-hop and music in general.
“It was tough because hip-hop was ruled by the East coast and West coast at the time,” Speech said during an exclusive interview before performing at the Atlanta Hawks game at State Farm Arena on Feb. 27. “And so New York and L.A. was basically calling the shots. And it was tough to break through. We had to work hard to prove that we deserved to be here. And so from our first video, “Tennessee,” we firmly established the Southern look, juxtaposing what New York was doing. New York was known for the high rise brick buildings and the fences and the basketball courts. We were in the rural south with grandmothers, and the children running around. It was a 100% different image for hip-hop period, and really represented in the south. And so it was tough, but we made a splash. We won two Grammys, we won MTV awards. And as Andre 3000 would later say, ‘The South has something to say.’”
Arrested Development made it cool for rappers to express themselves outside of the typical hardcore tropes that ruled during the early days of hip-hop. Their freedom of expression surely inspired artists such as OutKast, early Kanye West, and Earth Gang.
The group has also continued to receive accolades for its overall impact on music. And their music is featured in the new season of “BMF” which will debut this week on Starz.
“It’s absolutely magical,” Speech says. “Whenever…
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