Speech records “Ima fight back right now” feat. Kamren for the No wedding No womb movement started by Christelyn Karazin (single release Dec. 20th iTunes). Inspired by & written for The No Wedding No Womb Movement. It’s a great Speech produced track, with soulful vocals by young artist, Kamren & rhymes by Speech who’s known for tackling life’s complexities without losing sight of flow and commerciality. No Wedding No Womb is a call to action against the rampant births of children who are born without physical, financial and emotional protection. With 73% black children being born out of wedlock, the issue of out of wedlock children has become big again from an unlikely source. Power couple, Beyonce Knowles and Jay-Z are expecting their first child which caused a huge buzz about today’s rarity of black couples in the spotlight that dated, married, and THEN had a baby respectively. Christylen says, “Celebrities these days have just as much sway as the president, perhaps the actions of Jay & Beyonce will give fans inspiration to follow in their footsteps.” Justin Dior Combs, son of hip hop mogul, Shaun “Puffy” Combs, tweeted about the buzz: “Beyonce dated, married THEN got pregnant…young ladies take notes”  It’s sad that in fact, this is not the norm, but on the bright side, the power couple have set a tone that should be appreciated. The no wedding no womb site is starting a new “map your future” campaign, a first of its kind online mentorship program targeting at-risk high schoolers and first year college students, matching them with mentors across the world through video, instant messaging and social networking. Adding fuel to the No wedding No womb fervor was a 17 year-old girl recently caught on camera trying to kill her baby! She later confessed that the stress of being a teen mother & dealing with the child’s irresponsible father motivated her to do it. Teen tries to kill her baby – Caught on tape! 

Arrested Development drops their brand new single “Living” Sept. 27th (iTunes, our store & Amazon). The songs a departure from the groups usual (life music) sound, produced by Randy Walker. “Living” brings a beat heavy, horn drenched grit, with Speech taking center stage articulating the joy & frustration of living as an atypical MC in todays music industry. AD member Tasha Larae delivers a spirit raising hook, while other AD members stick staunchly to middle eastern background vocals & their respective instruments. This song is possibly the first of recent AD tunes that can surface within rap formats with a BPM that is similar to other songs out today. The group deserves applause for sticking to message, while bringing a neglected rap topic to the forefront. It’s lyrically more in the tradition of blues than contemporary hip-hop, straying away from party themes & shopping sprees, and focusing on the struggles of life. Given todays atmosphere in rap, the question could be asked, “is rap allowed to be thought provoking anymore?” Can a MC talk about the frustrations of fatherhood like in Speech’s line, “They acting like I’m dumb, including my only son, He’s sixteen acting like he’s going on sixty-one“, plus spout off about feeling like an “outcast” without sounding bitter? This song doesn’t at all sound bitter, but instead determined. The chorus sings, “Everyday I rise on a mission, please forgive me if I mess up, I’m improving, living!” It seems the group is set on exposing the struggles of being conscious in a dumbed down market & aging within a youth oriented genre, this topic is fair ground as hugely popular MC’s like Lil Wayne approach 30, Nas is 38 and Jay-Z‘s in his early 40′s. Speech is among the first to address b-boys & girls becoming grown men & women (Listen to: “The Grown Folks Table” & An Impact” from his solo album). AD’s new single, “Living” is a testimony to hip hop’s continuing evolution from a group that has long been a torch bearer for that legacy!

AD in a small 20 passenger plane to Rotorua, New Zealand landed with a cool surprise! Within the airport, a group of Maori dressed in traditional clothes performed a welcoming ceremony for Arrested Development! This was the bands third time rocking the Raggamuffin festival, and this year was a very special moment for them!

See a SNEAK PEEK HERE

Speech was recently asked to be coach for a new episode of the hit reality show “Made” (Aired January 24th 7pm est.).  The MTV “Made” staff announced Speech as their best “Made” coach ever! ”Made” (MTV TV show) is a hit reality series that asks: Why stand on the sidelines watching others live your dream? Are you too shy or think you’re not “cool” enough to get in on the action? Or do you simply lack the self-confidence and motivation? Well, maybe it’s time to stand up and get “Made“! Speech’s episode is unique in that it involves two people that want to be made, both being coached by Speech & stoked to rap over 1 beat produced by Speech and another beat produced by Jahi (Speech’s son)! Speech ultimately chooses only one to win the grand prize of opening for 2x Grammy award winning group Arrested Development at the legendary Mohegan Sun casino! Speech invites (AD member) Eshe to teach dance & he features many of Atlanta’s popular talents: (Hot 107.9′s) Emperor Searcy, (11 Alive’s) Nina Brown, (rapper/singer) Rasheeda, (Grand hustle artist) Big Kuntry Kane, (Artist developer) Ian Burke plus many others! Of course, the whole AD family get in the mix for the finale! Tasha Larae‘s new line of earrings called, “Ear Jeans” is also featured by Speech and the contestants!

The legendary Billboard Live venue in Japan hosts 8 AD shows in 4 nights!

“It’s very tough to do two shows per night but the Japanese fans make it well worth it & I even had a tooth ache the entire tour!” says Za’ (bass player). Many Tokyo fans bought tickets for multiple shows as AD performed songs from Zingalamaduni, 3 years, 5 Months & 2 days in the life of…, Strong, Since The last Time & Among the Trees albums. Speech adds, “We purposely wanted to spread the material out more to fit in album favorites from AD & some of my solo classics as well. We wanted to make sure it was worth it for the fans that have seen us before!” Eshe was suffering an injured knee and JJ Boogie had an arm injury but both members kept playing. “Once we see the crowd, the purpose becomes bigger than our bodies, it’s a movement!” says, Tasha Larae & 1 Love. The group also packed shows in Osaka, Japan. Japanese celebrities like the Yoshida Brothers, Dj Hasabe, Yoshi Blessed, Jamil, & others came out to see the group as well, no doubt, it’s always a huge party!

Legends in the industry! P.E. & Arrested Development rock live in ATl, for the MLK Day celebration. Here’s a couple of pics of the award winning-groups choppin it up backstage at the historical show! The ATL crowd was treated to an amazing performance by two of Hip-Hops biggest & most conscious musical acts, it was surely a night to remember! Other rap stars in the house was the incredible DJ Eddie F. (Heavy D), MC Sparky D, DJ Red Alert, and Davy DMX! The event was to celebrate the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. the most prominent leader for civil rights the world has ever seen. Speech & his family marched in the official MLK parade with Atlanta’s Mayor Kasim Reed. (see pics below)

(The group trippin’ backstage w/ P.E.)

“A MUST-SEE MOVIE.”
-The Los Angeles Times Official selection 2011 - SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

“MAGNIFICENT - The New York Times CRITICS’ PICK

An Oprah Winfrey Documentary selection

Premieres Nov. 3rd on NOW Network

CRIME AFTER CRIME tells the dramatic story of the legal battle to free Debbie Peagler, an incarcerated survivor of domestic violence. Over 26 years in prison could not crush the spirit of this determined African-American woman, despite the wrongs she suffered, first at the hands of a duplicitous boyfriend who beat her and forced her into prostitution, and later by prosecutors who used the threat ofthe death penalty to corner her into a life behind bars for her connection to the murder of her abuser.Her story takes an unexpected turn two decades later when two rookie land-use attorneys step forward to take her case. Through their perseverance, they bring to light long-lost witnesses, new testimonies from the men who committed the murder, and proof of perjured evidence. Their investigation ultimately attracts global attention to victims of wrongful incarceration and abuse, and becomes a matter of life and death once more. Arrested Development lend their voices to help spread the news to their fans and encourage Debbie as well.One of the most important aspects of this film is that Debbie’s story is not unique, over 80% of the women in prison today are there cuz of domestic violence, we must bring better justice to women who’ve been victims of domestic violence.At this point California is the ONLY state that allows abuse evidence to be submitted in murder trials.The hope is that this movie will help change that!

Watch this NOV. 3rd! 

Word is getting out that Arrested Development’s live show is the must-see show of the year. The group, since it’s beginnings, called their shows celebrations; celebrating life, death and the struggles of our ancestors. Former group member Headliner, spoke those very words on AD’s 1993 MTV award winning smash, “PEOPLE EVERYDAY” (Metamorphosis Mix).
Festival circuits have long been supporters of AD’s free spirited, high energy show, but young fans are getting hip to the action too. Group member 1 Love adds,”we’ve been seeing more youth ages 18-25 coming to our shows, they love the fundamental hip-hop vibe, mixed with high energy dancing and lyrics”. Australian promoters Slingshot speaks of AD as being “a highlight of their summer show series”, Creative man one of the top promoters in Japan, brought AD back twice in 12 months, each time “the fans went absolutely nuts!”
(Jackie) from Canada’s Folk Festival series added, “Every time we’ve brought Arrested Development to our festival, they were the talk of the entire Fest, even amongst other mega-star acts. They really show a mix of partying & purpose that our crowds like!”
Speech, the groups eternal optimist chimes in, “I feel were more excited now than we’ve ever been in our career! The group is more seasoned & happy with our own lives, that translates to the music & the crowd.” Dancer Eshe adds, “it’s truly a celebration!”

For more info on AD live dates and music: www.ArrestedDevelopmentMusic.com

AD is planning to record this fall. They were scheduled to release a free project called, “20″ in mid 2011, but Speech reconsidered. “I wanted us to really give our absolute best, not just what happens to come out of us creatively  within a certain time period, however, the present single “LIVING” did come from that batch of tunes. Our next album will be called “20″ (celebrating 20 years since the debut) it will be our most compelling & significant music project we’ve ever done! Our approach is to be musically dense, melodically simple and the subject matter easy to follow” adds Speech. Speech has also been drafting a new solo album which will be a totally melodic, live band experience that will feature many of the AD members. Eshe says, “This fall we’ll be gearing up for a big 2012. We have a number of big festivals scheduled for that year already, plus I starred in a indie film called, “Gorgeous Knight” so we hope to have finished this new project by then.” Speech chimes in, “We have more exposure opportunities coming up too, from MTV, to Oprah’s NOW network, and very compelling documentaries!” The group is focused. The music, activism, exposure and brand of AD is planned to be at another level for 2012.

JJ boogie will be recording engineer & the Podium (Speech’s Studio) will be the location on this next project.