Happy 30th Anniversary to Arrested Development’s debut album 3 Years, 5 Months And 2 Days In The Life Of..., originally released March 24, 1992.
By 1992, hip-hop had become a well-entrenched mainstay of popular music. Along the way, it had transitioned from transmissions from the inner cities to a global movement and bona fide musical force. It was also transitioning into a genre that was broadening its horizons, experimenting with what was seen as the through line of its core identity up to that point. So, for every topical gangsta rap release, there were artists flipping the narrative and exploring what the authenticity embedded in hip-hop meant to them, especially if they weren’t growing up in the rough and tumble streets. Groups like the innovative De La Soul and the pioneering A Tribe Called Quest were pushing and challenging the limits of what a hip-hop artist could be and what they had to sound like, both musically and lyrically.
Out of this fertile land of what would be coined “alternative” hip-hop grew Arrested Development. Spawning out of Atlanta, Arrested Development‘s debut album 3 Years, 5 Months And 2 Days In The Life Of… offered a new take on hip-hop with a more Afro-Centric perspective of the world. Compare the album cover alone to hip-hop releases of the day and it’s a brighter, more organic representation of the Black experience.
With music that was still beat-driven but layered with jazz, funk and soul influences, Arrested Development spent equal time looking outward as they did inward. A chronical of life experience, many of the songs feel like you’re getting access to the inner thoughts and most private feelings of the group’ leader, Speech, as he lays out his journey of questioning everything from the role of the modern Black male to a personal connection to faith and the value of religion, through to thoughts on love and sexuality.
As is opined in the album’s opener, “Man’s Final Frontier,” the album plays out like a journey into the soul and the pure purpose of existence.
Lead single and surprise number one hit “Tennessee” explores the dark moment of the soul perfectly, with Speech reflecting upon the close deaths of his grandmother and brother, as he looks for sanctuary and salvation, while questioning how faith can save some but not all. Speech’s rhymes are potent and pertinent as he raps, “Walk the roads my forefathers walk / climb the trees my forefathers hung from,” and later laments the “many journeys to freedom made in vain / by brothers on the corner playing ghetto games.” With its crunchy beat and dig-in-your-ear chorus, “Tennessee” also shines a light on the beautiful soulful voice of Dionne Farris and the sense of community Arrested Development was inviting you into.
From the brawling funk of “Mama’s Always On Stage” that highlights the plight of the single mother, to the frenetic “Fishin’ For Religion” that challenges a passive religion that teaches people to cope with hardship rather than rise up and change it, Speech’s narratives match the energy of the music backing it and flows with authenticity as each turn of phrase ignites a new thought to ponder.
A call to change and a call to action are constant themes throughout 3 Years, as Speech looks to rally the listener into moving society forward from “Raining Revolution” to the bumping “Give A Man A Fish” or the value we place on those less fortunate than us in the thought-provoking “Mr. Wendal.”
The spiritual and the sensual collide in the hyper-romantic moments of “Natural,” which preens with seductive beats and its heart-skipping melody, and the fated “U.”
3 Years works because it takes intimate sentiments and places them on the world stage. The conflict between the two sides of the African-American struggle with images and roles, is perfectly laid out in “People Everyday,” which updates the call of Sly and The Family Stone’s “Everyday People” as Speech begs for unity and respect in a way that is convincing and engaging. And the song garnered Arrested Development another smash hit.
Upon its release, the album became the unexpected hip-hop hit of the year, garnering millions in sales, two GRAMMY Awards, a spot on the popular MTV Unplugged, and furthered the conversation around what hip-hop could be. Refreshing, inspiring, and challenging not only for what the album was (a highly spiritual excursion) but what it was pushing up against, 3 Years… offered an elevated, intellectual side of hip-hop that had been underappreciated or obscured by the media’s depiction of what hip-hop culture was all about. A vital addition to the hip-hop canon, 3 Years, 5 Months And 2 Days In The Life Of… remains equally thought-provoking and dynamic today.
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