Arrested Development (group)
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Arrested Development is an American hip hop
group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...
that formed in Atlanta in 1988. It was founded by Speech and Headliner as a positive, Afrocentric alternative to the gangsta rap popular in the late 1980s. Baba Oje and frontman Speech met at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee when they were both students. Baba Oje was 57 years old at the time.


History

Arrested Development was formed in 1988 by
rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
and producer Todd Thomas (" Speech") and
turntablist Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating new music, sound effects, mixes and other creative sounds and beats, typically by using two or more turntables and a cross fader-equipped DJ mixer. The mixer is plugged into a PA sys ...
Timothy Barnwell (known as Headliner). The group's debut album '' 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of...'' was the number-one album in the ''
Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...
''s 1992
Pazz and Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...
Critic's Poll and in ''
The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The Wire'' premiered on June 2 ...
''s 1992 Critic's choice. The group won two Grammy Awards in 1993: for
Best New Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967. The official guidelines are as ...
, making them the first hip hop artist to win this award, and for
Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group was awarded between 1991 and 2011, alongside the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. Previously a single award was presented for Best Rap Performance. The award was discontin ...
. They were also named Band of the Year by ''Rolling Stone''. The debut album sold over 6 million copies worldwide. A few months later, the group was approached by film director
Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...
to compose a song for his upcoming biopic based on the life of
Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of I ...
. The group then recorded "
Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
", which appeared on the
soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
for the film as well as the second half of its closing credits when the film was released in 1992. Their 1994 follow-up ''
Zingalamaduni ''Zingalamaduni'' is the second album by American hip hop group Arrested Development, released on June 14, 1994 by Chrysalis Records. The album's title is Swahili for "the beehive of culture." Despite spawning three singles ("United Front", "A ...
'' sold poorly, and they broke up shortly after in 1996. The group reunited in 2000, touring and releasing records via Speech's Vagabond Productions, but Aerle Taree did not return due to vocal problems. Today Aerle is a poet and converted from Buddhism to Christianity. DJ Headliner started his own business named Creative Royalty Group. On October 14, 2010, Baba Oje had a stroke. In November 2003, the group sued the
Fox network The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations ...
over the name of the TV show ''
Arrested Development The term "arrested development" has had multiple meanings for over 200 years. In the field of medicine, the term "arrested development" was first used, ''circa'' 1835–1836, to mean a stoppage of physical development; the term continues to be use ...
''. The suit is referenced in the ''Arrested Development'' episodes "
Public Relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...
", "
Motherboy XXX "Motherboy XXX" is the 13th episode of the second season of the American television sitcom ''Arrested Development''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 13, 2005. The episode, directed by Joe Russo, was written ...
", " Sword of Destiny", and " For British Eyes Only". In June 2005, the group won the first round of the television series contest '' Hit Me, Baby, One More Time'', performing "Tennessee" and covering
Los Lonely Boys Los Lonely Boys are an American musical group from San Angelo, Texas. They play a style of music they call "Texican Rock n' Roll," combining elements of rock and roll, Texas blues, brown-eyed soul, country, and Tejano. The band consists of th ...
' "Heaven" and donated the $20,000 proceeds to
UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...
. The group's follow-up to their 2004 ''Among The Trees'' was ''Since the Last Time'', released internationally on September 18, 2006. ''Since the Last Time'' was released in the United States on October 30, 2007, on Vagabond Record & Tapes, Speech's boutique label. In March 2007, they toured Australia as part of a triple-bill, along with Simple Minds and INXS. In 2008, Arrested Development teamed with
The Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie, who replaced Kim Hi ...
and performed at The Concert for Peace in Jerusalem, Israel to promote peace among Palestinians and Israelis. Also in 2008, Arrested Development visited and sang with Debbie Peagler, an incarcerated survivor of domestic violence, and the inmate gospel choir that Peagler led at a California women's prison. Their visit was meant to support Peagler's legal battle for her release from prison and call attention to the plight of other victims of abuse and wrongful incarceration. The collaborative performance is included in Yoav Potash's documentary film '' Crime After Crime''. In 2010, the group released their ninth album ''Strong'' under Vagabond Records and Tapes, and licensed to the Japanese record label Cutting Edge, on December 9, 2009, and had a top 10 hit in Japan with the single "The World Is Changing". In an interview with Songfacts, Speech explained that the track "Greener" takes on the issue of climate change from the perspective of the African-American community. On January 8, 2011, they with Emmylou Harris performed at the festival first night of the Sydney Festival in Sydney, Australia to 50,000 people. In August 2012, the group released its tenth album ''Standing at the Crossroads'', recorded while touring internationally. The album, given away for free from the group's official website, took a lo-fi approach and was recorded entirely on a Mac laptop. The same month, they announced a new tour throughout the United States and Australia to celebrate their 20th anniversary. On October 9, 2016, Arrested Development performed at the Delicious Festival in South Africa. A line up that included
The Jacksons The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most ...
,
Macy Gray Natalie Renée McIntyre (born September 6, 1967), known by her stage name Macy Gray, is an American R&B and soul singer and actress. She is known for her distinctive raspy voice and a singing style heavily influenced by Billie Holiday. Gray ha ...
, De La Soul,
Elements of Life ''Elements of Life'' is the third studio album by Dutch DJ Tiësto. It was released on 6 April 2007 (see 2007 in music). The album contains collaborations with Jes of Motorcycle, Julie Thompson of Holden & Thompson, Charlotte Martin, Christian B ...
,
Roy Ayers Roy Ayers (born September 10, 1940) is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer, vibraphone player, and music producer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Po ...
and local food celebrities
Reuben Riffel Reuben Riffel (born 23 December 1974) is a South African celebrity chef, restaurateur, and media personality known for his food-focused television shows and advertisements, cookbooks and philanthropic work. Early life Reuben Riffel was born ...
, and Sarah Graham. The next day, members of Arrested Development drove to an orphanage
Soweto Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a s ...
, then paid homage to Nelson Mandela at the location of his home. In January 2018, Arrested Development performed on the Trumpet Awards television show. Baba Oje died of leukemia on October 26, 2018. His age was reported to be 86–87. In October 2018, Speech released ''The Nigga Factory'', a three-part docuseries exploring themes of racism and
Afrocentrism Afrocentrism is an approach to the study of world history that focuses on the history of people of recent African descent. It is in some respects a response to Eurocentric attitudes about African people and their historical contributions. It ...
. Later that year, they also released the album ''Craft & Optics''. In 2018, ''16 Bars'', a documentary that follows prison inmates as they undertake musical projects, was made. On September 5, 2019, Arrested Development was given an award from Black Music Honors, which acknowledges artists that have made a significant contribution to African-American music.


Personnel


Current members

* Speech – lead vocals, production (1988–1996, 2000–present) * Jason "JJ Boogie" Reichert – guitar, mix engineering, production (2000–present) * One Love – vocals (2001–present) * Fareedah Aleem – vocals, dancing, choreography (2004–present) * April Allen – vocals (2021–present)


Former members

* Headliner – turntables (1988–1996) * Baba Oje – spiritual elder (1990–1996, 2000–2018; his death) * Montsho Eshe – dancing, choreography, vocals (1990–1996, 2000–2012) * Rasa Don – drums, vocals (1990-1996, 2000–2006) * Aerle Taree – vocals, stylist (1990–1996) *
Dionne Farris Dionne Yvette Farris (born December 4, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, and producer. Born and raised in New Jersey, she began singing in elementary school and competed in pageants as a teenager. In the early 1990s, she was featured on t ...
– vocals (1992) * Ajile – vocals (1994–1995) * Foley – bass (1994–1996) * Kamaal Malak – bass (1994–1996) * Kwesi Asuo – vocals (1994–1996) *
Nadirah Shakoor Nadirah Shakoor is an American singer, songwriter and recording artist.  She is best known for her work as featured female vocalist in Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band, in the hip hop group Arrested Development and for her solo albums.  She has ...
– vocals (1994–1996) * Isaiah 'Za' Williams III – bass (1996, 2000–2018) * Nicha Hilliard – vocals, dancing (1996, 2000–2008) * Tasha Larae – vocals (2008–2021)


Discography


Albums


Compilations

* 1998: ''Best of Arrested Development'' * 2001: ''Greatest Hits''


Singles


See also

*
List of number-one R&B hits (United States) Linked here are ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine's number-one rhythm and blues hits. The ''Billboard'' R&B chart is today known as the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. History From May 22, 1948 to October 13, 1958, multiple charts were pu ...
*
List of number-one dance hits (United States) This is a list of number-one dance hits as recorded by ''Billboard'' magazine's Dance Club Songs chart – a weekly national survey of popular songs in U.S. dance clubs. It began on October 26, 1974, under the title ''Disco Action'' chart. It is ...
*
List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. dance chart This is a list of recording artists who have reached number one on ''Billboard magazine's'' Dance Club Songs chart. ''Billboard'' began ranking dance music on the week ending October 26, 1974, and this is the standard music popularity chart in th ...


References


External links

* *
Arrested Development Japan

Aerle Taree

Radio Interview. Dec 2006
3SYN 90.7FM Melbourne,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Arrested Development video interview at allaboutjazz.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arrested Development (Group) Musical groups established in 1988 American dance music groups Musical groups from Georgia (U.S. state) Southern hip hop groups Chrysalis Records artists Avex Group artists Grammy Award winners for rap music Musical groups from Atlanta Alternative hip hop groups