ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT

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ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT Speaks thru music to the world. Speech one of the vocalist for this collective says, Our people have been through so much turmoil and strife for hundreds of years now. We get on stage every night with the mission to broaden the perspectives and give inspiration to rise above the stereotypes and materialism." Unsurprisingly, then, the Grammy award winning group Arrested Development has been devoted to nudging folks in the direction of freedom and spiritual evolution for over 15 years. The group describes their sound as "Life Music." A.D. respects women, and promotes family, spirituality and "male responsibility." They are about consciousness, the earth, African self determination and love. They define themselves as hip-hop artists but also just artists." They are dancers, vocalists, turntablist, drummers, and everything in between. Arrested Development is and has always been a communal music community with any number of talented members on board, picture your family reunion but more musical. Speech may be the most known member of the group, being the front man, but Dionne Farris, Eshe (Black Life), Rasa Don (Raz), Baba Oje (the elder), Nicha and many others have contributed much to this Kalidescope of image and sound. A.D.s debut album 3 years, 5 months and 2 days in the life of(EMI) referred to the amount of time passed between the start of the group and the signing of their first record deal. Singles like "Tennessee", is an open letter to God, which, not unlike Billie Holidays "Strange Fruit," gives new meaning to the term "Family tree." The song won an MTV music award for best rap single 1992. "People Everyday" another of their hits is a super funky treatment of the immortal Sly Stone anthem "Everyday People", also won them an MTV video award for best music video 1992. "Mr. Wendal" the bands biggest hit, humanizes the "bums" on our streets. Of which A.D. donated half of all the royalties to the National Coalition for the Homeless. A.D. has sold over 6 million albums to date. Theyve won 2 Grammy awards for best new artist and best rap single 1993. They were the first African - American artists to donate money to Nelson Mandela and the ANC to help their brothers and sisters in South Africa; Arrested Development has put in work with legends like director Spike Lee, on the major motion picture X. They’ve connected with Cornel West, Nation of Islam, Black Panthers and many other organizations and black leaders. But in all their activism, lets not forget their music. A.D.s music has shook the bootys, hearts and minds of listeners from across the planet and its been recognized by peers as fresh, innovative and needed in the hip-hop game. A.D. became known for rockin’ samples, live instruments, bold scratching and organic sounds to form their blend of Hip Hop. After a long hiatus, the group has come together again! And its all good. They have recorded 2 special releases for Speechs highly successful solo market of Japan. They consistently tour, Australia, Europe, Canada, Japan and of course the U.S. to standingroom-only crowds. They share stages & give love to new artists like Eyrkah Badu, Talib Kweli, Roots, Mos Def, Jurrasic 5 and many others. While keeping their own roots by rockin houses with KRS One, Big Daddy Kane and Grandmaster Flash. One of the unique passions of A.D. is their world vision. We know that Hip-hop reaches the globe, so why not use this opportunity to build bridges, says Speech. Theyve done shows with the legendary Mahotella Queens, African Show boys and many others. For 2005, AD performed and won as audience favorite on NBCs hit show of the summer, Hit me Baby 1 more time. For that show they again showed their hearts by donating $20,000 to UNICEF for relief in Sudan, Africa. Right now A.D.’s fresh outta the studio, they took their time in recording the album of their career! Speech says, Hip-Hop is very unforgiving and the fact that weve done a lot doesn’t matter to the average head out there, they wanna hear heat, and thats what we yearn to give." Look out for new Arrested Development project, in stores now! Arrested Developments music is now available on www.arresteddevelopmentmusic.com