''Speech'' is the first solo album by the American rapper

Speech Speech is a human vocal communication using language. Each language uses Phonetics, phonetic combinations of vowel and consonant sounds that form the sound of its words (that is, all English words sound different from all French words, even if ...

, released in 1996. The album's first single was "Like Marvin Gaye Said (What's Going On)". It first appeared on the

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

tribute album '' Inner City Blues: The Music of Marvin Gaye''.

Production

The album was produced by Speech, who also sang on some of the songs. He played most of the instruments on the album, and recorded it in his home studio. ''

'' contains guest appearances from Pappa Jon,

Laurneá Wilkerson Laurneá Wilkerson is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Under the name Laurneá, she has released four studio albums including ''Betta Listen'' in 1997, which includes the singles "Can't Let Go" (#55 on the US ''Billboard'' 100, #20 on ...

, and Foley.

Critical reception

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...

'' thought that "Speech shows that he can still construct a lulling, even groovy song cycle, but at this point he just doesn’t have the lyrical chops to give it substance." ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' determined that "with its rapturous echoes of Sly, Stevie, and Prince, ''Speech'' by Speech, the boss of the defunct Arrested Development, is more arresting than anyone had a right to expect." The ''

Knoxville News Sentinel The ''Knoxville News Sentinel, also known as Knox News,'' is a daily newspaper in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, owned by the Gannett Company. History The newspaper was formed in 1926 from the merger of two competing newspapers: ''The ...

'' concluded that the album "restores some of the initial promise of his group Arrested Development before the band burned out in a blaze of self-importance a couple of years ago." ''

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down productio ...

'' called the album "a mess," noting Speech's "desire to become the male Tracy Chapman." ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' praised Speech's "gift for poppy, smoothly persuasive hip-hop, rather than the gnashing, in-your-face variety." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' stated that "the sound is rawer and less produced and layered than Arrested Development's music ... Where Arrested Development sounded like many streams flowing into a single river, the styles, beats and words on ''Speech'' all seem to flow from a single stream-of-consciousness."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

wrote that "where his former group sounded rootsy and gritty even at their most laid-back, Speech's record sounds slick, generally lacking in funk or dirt."

Track listing

References

{{reflist 1996 albums Chrysalis Records albums