Arrested Development (hip hop group) encyclopedia topics

History

It took the group three years, five months and two days to be offered a record deal, when Chrysalis Records sent A&R director Duff Marlowe to Atlanta's Bosstown Studios to meet with the group's manager Michael Mauldin. Arrested Development had already been offered a single deal for the song "Tennessee". Hence the name of the first album was 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life Of..., which produced several hit tracks. These included "Tennessee", "People Everyday", and "Mr. Wendal", which hit the Top Ten. The group won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist, and were also named Band of the Year by Rolling Stone magazine.

In the early 1990s, the group was approached by film director Spike Lee to compose a song for his upcoming biopic on the life of Malcolm X. The group then recorded "Revolution", which appeared on the oldies-dominated soundtrack for the film, as well as the second half of its closing credits when the film was released in 1992. The song gained reasonable popularity for its association with the film and similarity to Arrested Development's other material at the time.

Their 1994 follow-up Zingalamaduni, which did very well with some critics but was panned by many others, sold poorly. After the group broke up due to "creative differences" in 1996, Speech released a solo album, but sales were poor. The group reunited in 2000 (without Headliner) and has been touring and releasing records via Speech's Vagabond Productions and Speech Music. While Arrested Development has struggled to regain a following in the United States, they have met moderate, consistent success in Japan.

Although she was never an official member of the band (and frequently clashed with Speech), the haunting voice behind "Tennessee", Dionne Farris, released a successful solo album in 1994, Wild Seed-Wild Flower. The album spawned the hit single "I Know".

Baba Oje is the group's "Spiritual Guru." He and Speech met at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee when they were both students. Baba Oje was 57 years old at the time.

In November 2003, the group sued the FOX network over their TV show Arrested Development. The suit is referenced in the Arrested Development episodes Public Relations and Motherboy XXX.

In June 2005, the group won the first round of NBC's television series contest Hit Me Baby One More Time, performing "Tennessee" and covering Los Lonely Boys' "Heaven".

The group's latest album, the follow-up to their 2004 comeback Among The Trees, is entitled Since The Last Time, and was released internationally (not in the U.S.) on September 18, 2006.

In March 2007 they toured Australia as part of a triple-bill show, along with Simple Minds and INXS.

Since The Last Time was released in the United States on October 30, 2007, on Vagabond Record & Tapes, Speech's label.

Discography

Albums

1992: 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life Of... (Chrysalis) - US Pop #7, US R&B #3 (4X Platinum)
1993: Arrested Development Unplugged (Chrysalis) - US Pop #60, US R&B #38 (Gold)
1994: Zingalamaduni (Chrysalis) - US Pop #55, US R&B #20
2000: Da Feelin' EP (EMI)
2002: Heroes of the Harvest
2003: Extended Revolution on [Stateside Records]
2004: Among The Trees
2006: Since The Last Time