Arrested Development

The multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning group Arrested Development delivers an onstage energy to thirsty audiences looking to quench their soul!

It’s been thirty years since a new group called Arrested Development slammed the gangsta-dominated world of hip hop with defiant lyrics of hope. Apparently, the world was ready for the change, as AD became the first-ever hip-hop artist to receive the Best New Artist Grammy (a distinction it still maintains today in that category).

In addition, the group also received a Grammy Award for Best Rap Single for their anthemic, prayer-like hit song, Tennessee. The song has gone on to be named as one of the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and one of the Top 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s by VH1.

Money came in, but not for precious stones and big cars. Instead, these pioneers of the conscious rap game took one big step for mankind by giving back and becoming the first African American artists to donate money to Nelson Mandela and the ANC. They used their voices and their status to benefit many underprivileged brothers and sisters around the world.

With the success of the single Mr. Wendal, Arrested Development brought the issue of homelessness to the forefront. The group donated half of the royalty earnings from Mr. Wendal to the National Coalition for the Homeless.

Awards, chart success, and accolades continued. One of the highlights was being asked to write a song for Spike Lee’s movie about minister and human rights activist Malcolm X. The movie, X, went on to become one of Spike Lee’s most highly acclaimed works. The Arrested Development song Revolution would forever be associated with one of the most important Spike Lee joints.

Their album, 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life of…, earned them two Grammy Awards (Best New Artist and Best Rap Single for Tennessee), two MTV Awards, a Soul Train Music Award, and an NAACP Image Award.

Rolling Stone magazine named them Band of the Year in 1992, while VH1 named them one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame even named the AD smash Tennessee one of the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.

Sharing the stage with important figures such as Nelson Mandela, Minister Louis Farrakhan, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Barack Obama, AD are the categorical definition of legends. Their sophomore release Zingalamaduni was a critics’ favorite, garnering another Grammy nomination and selling 500,000 copies.

Just as it seemed that positive hip hop had found a way of being embraced by the mainstream, a new wave of negative hip hop artists—demeaning women, glorifying drugs, and promoting criminality—came along and energized the base and the corporate record companies.

Record executives injected more and more money to get these negative stereotypes into the minds and hearts of young people. For many who were desperately searching for their path, the inner turmoil was replaced by inner peace, the pressures of the industry were lifted, and one of hip hop’s best was back.

For the last thirty years, Arrested Development has performed sold-out concerts in every part of the world.

In September 2019, the band was given an award at the Black Music Honors. This award acknowledges artists who have made a significant contribution to African American music.

The band continues to release new music and find new success in different corners of the globe. Their shows are a celebration of life. Experiencing an Arrested Development concert is an uplifting and spiritual event wrapped into one big party.

Group founder and lead vocalist Speech has released two documentaries:

• Hoodwinked aka The Nigga Factory (over 1 million social media views), featuring among others Chuck D and David Banner. The film is hailed as a must-see by Boyce Watkins (Your Black World).

• 16 Bars, where Speech goes into a jail for 10 days to write music with inmates. The documentary has won numerous film festival awards and is available on streaming platforms worldwide.

In 2020, the group released Don’t Fight Your Demons, and in 2021 For the FKN Love. Both albums made it onto numerous “Album of the Year” lists.

Their single VIBE ft. Big Daddy Kane, Cleveland P. Jones & Tasha LaRae reached #1 on the CBC Music charts, and their second single Swing Um ft. Masta Ace, Fatman Scoop & Dell-P also reached #1 on the Hip Hop Gods charts.

The band continues their forward march of curating great music that is about self-reflection and igniting change. Their forthcoming double album, Bullets in the Chamber, is no exception. The 21-track project features a selection of legendary musicians including Chuck D, Canibus, Diana King, Sa-Roc, Ras Kass, Skyzoo, Grandmaster Caz, Sol Messiah, and O’Hene Savant.

Executively produced by Speech for Vagabond Productions and Configa, the single Hip Hop Saves Lives (released December 2023) features the incomparable Chuck D & Grandmaster Caz.

Bullets in the Chamber dropped on January 12, 2024, and brought incomparable lyricism, storytelling, and cognizant awareness delivered in a fashion only Arrested Development can carry through.