Important links:

www.jamiecatto.com

www.1GiantLeap.tv

http://www.1giantleap.tv/fullepisodes/video2.html ]]> http://arresteddevelopmentmusic.com/speech-in-1-giant-leaps-wounded-on-own-network/feed/ 0 http://arresteddevelopmentmusic.com/ima-fight-back-right-now-by-speech-feat-kamren/ http://arresteddevelopmentmusic.com/ima-fight-back-right-now-by-speech-feat-kamren/#comments Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:33:34 +0000 speech http://arresteddevelopmentmusic.com/?p=994 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!

Fan of the month

TUPACWIFE is her twitter name, and she proudly hails from Philly! (real name is Carlisa) An avid fan of Tupac and she reps him to the fullest! But she’s also recently re-discovered AD! Her twitter account has been a soapbox preaching the groups praises & respect! And it’s caught our attention. She’s been rocking the “Since The Last Time” album, especially the song, “Miracles” and the 90′s classics too! Check out some of her tweets:

I wanna be down with @ArrestedDevlpmt

@ArrestedDevlpmt I’m finna Rep em like a mf! They music Rocks!!! #fact I love y’all! Feed me more knowledge Plz!

#team2pac Plz follow @ArrestedDevlpmt u won’t regret it! They are the best!!! I don’t listen 2 Crap! Word!

When u are a lyric teacher do it like @ArrestedDevlpmt they’re the best HIP HOP TEACHER #TRUTH OH SH**

@ArrestedDevlpmt <———— #ORIGINAL ALL RAPPERS SHOULD LOOK UP TO Y’ALL 2.. THAT REAL ISH! FEEL ME? haha I know I’m bad!

@ArrestedDevlpmt I told my friends 2 buy yalll stuff! I rushed it 2.. #truth as soon as I said Mr. Wendal, they was on it! They must’ve 4got

Now that I know @ArrestedDevlpmt giving them my $$$$ is a Charity

I believe @ArrestedDevlpmt can help me bring out the “POWER” I have inside of me in a good way!

We wanna thank “TupacWife” for supporting the group! And spreading the word to her friends, that’s what it’s all about, spreading Life Music!

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!

Our group is about curing the ill’s of the black community. But you can’t cure what hasn’t been diagnosed. That’s why we strive to expose the problem, so we all can fight effectively against it.(The following article is originally from the Africas a country website) This amazing site tends to address social distortions of the beautiful continent of Africa using sarcasm. (ie: their site title-Africa is a country, which of course, Africa is NOT a country, but a continent filled with many countries!) But TV often refers to the continent as a country, one of the many destructive distortions about African people which also harms us (blacks) of African decent.  Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Atlanta hit a new record of 2.9 million viewers for it’s premiere episode recently.    Atlanta Housewives in Africa by Neelika Jayawardane

It’s too bad that America sees Atlanta, black women, and maybe even women in general through the lens of The ‘Real Housewives’ franchise.

When the first episodes of Atlanta aired, my upstate NY hairstylist gasped and gawped about the wealth and glam. Oh, the hair! the BET-ho short dresses! (and the token white girl!)

I had to reply, with that special brand of irony that educators cultivate: “Lovey, I think you’ve probably never seen rich black women before.”

So I did my part to defend the Atlanta women.

But now, they are planning a trip to South Africa (free, of course). This week was the prep episode, including one of them calling the president of Ghana for advice for a trip to SA. (Serious.)

Here’s a bit of recap from Entertainment Weekly:

Phaedra is the new Countess (just one with a sense of humor and rhythm). She’s organizing

a trip to South Africa for the women and she wants everyone to come. (“I wouldn’t go to the damn trash ca

n with them,” NeNe sniffed to Cynthia. They haven’t told her yet the trip is free.) In preparation, Phaedra dragged Kandi’s enormous thighs to an African dance class. “When I think of Africa, I just think of…” said Kandi. ”Naked women with their breasts out,” Phaedra cut in, handling her chest. “Jangy jangy jangy jangy!”

On Radio and TV Talk:

Phaedra and Kandi took part in a joyous African dance class so Kandi can lose some weight (So nice that African traditions, too, are now getting used for weight loss and body obsession, much like yoga—a practice meant to help us go of our attachment to our transient physical selves—has been adopted by OCD white women throughout the US to further draw attention to their physical and sexual selves). But there’s even more:

Phaedra Parks (or the producers) also use this episode to teach audiences a little about the continent the ladies are about to visit, and so that she can “immerse herself in culture”. Parks takes Kandi to, an Atlanta-based history museum about the African-American history. The pair then giggle over a “pec-tastic” slave statue and Sheree peeks under the loincloth, rather than paying attention to the tour guide.

Kandi can’t come up with one adjective to describe what she thinks when she hears “Africa.” Phaedra, however, is not at a loss for descriptions: Africa is, in the mighty Atlantan’s hands, the location of “naked women with their breasts out.”

Finally, Sheree, too, is invited to go to South Africa. “I would not pass up the experience,” Sheree delights. “We can put our grown panties on.” Phaedra’s response: “Hopefully, Africa will elevate us to college-level fights.”

NeNe, sadly, will not be going to Africa, despite the temptations of loincloths, “grown panties”, and the opportunity to elevate fights to the “college-level”.
Reuters.com tells us:

[NeNe] told Cynthia she wouldn’t go to a trash can with them. Prompting Sheree’s only real contribution to this episode, “I don’t think the b**** has ever been abroad. I don’t think she has any stamps on her passport. Get some damn culture!”

Indeed.

Oh, South Africa. I’m sorry that this is what you’ve got coming.

What’s your thoughts? ]]> http://arresteddevelopmentmusic.com/atl-housewives/feed/ 1 http://arresteddevelopmentmusic.com/legendary/ http://arresteddevelopmentmusic.com/legendary/#comments Sun, 15 Jan 2012 00:45:35 +0000 speech http://arresteddevelopmentmusic.com/?p=1264 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.)

FAN OF THE MONTH – JEREMY MORONG

This month, we shout out Jeremy Morong.  Jeremy maintains one of the best & most informative blogs on Speech and Arrested Development.  The blog is appropriately titled Highway 85 in reference to Speech’s song Clock’s In Sync With Mine (and accompanying skit Do You Know How To Get To Highwy 85?).  Jeremy is pictured here with his daughter Madelyn.  Jeremy says “She’s a future AD fan anyway- one of the few rap groups you can listen to with a three-year old and feel good about it!” We’re grateful for Jeremy!  Check out the Highway 85 Blog and Jeremy’s interview with Speech HERE