Artist:Arrested Development
Song:Tennessee
Album:The Best of Arrested Development
The rap group Arrested Development made a big splash with their 1992 debut album 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life of... Tennessee was the first of three top ten hit singles. And the album was certified 4XPlatinum. When the 1984 album Zingalamaduni did poorly, they split up. Arrested Development leader Todd "Speech" Thomas is from Milwaukee. He was in the group Attack from 1984-86. After they split up, he was a club DJ. While attending the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1988, he met turntablist Timothy "Headliner" Barnwell and they formed Arrested Development. Thomas wanted them to be a positive alternative to gangsta rap. Thomas was lead rapper and he wrote all the songs. The much older Baba Oje was the group's spiritual advisor. There were other singers, dancers and musicians in Arrested Development but they were disposable. Thomas ran the show. The 1992 album 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life of... is how long it took Arrested Development to get a record deal with Chrysalis Records. Tennessee was the first single and it reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. Thomas wrote the song after he saw his brother at his grandmother's funeral and then his brother died soon after from a severe asthma attack. Today it is still considered to be one of the best rap songs of all time. The singer is Dionne Ferris who would go on to have solo success a couple of years later. She sang on four songs on the album. The album was certified 4XPlatinum. They scored two other top ten hits, toured and released an MTV Unplugged album. When the 1994 album Zingalamaduni did poorly, Arrested Development officially disbanded in 1996. In recent years, Thomas has admitted that he and Barnwell weren't getting along and that caused the split. Thomas went on to release a solo album in 1996. Thomas reformed Arrested Development minus Barnwell in 2000. He records on his own label and continues to tour. Here's the video for Tennessee by Arrested Development.
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