Wednesday, August 25, 2010
By Tai Saint Louis
(AllHipHop
News) Listeners tuned in to a local Atlanta radio station witnessed a turning
point in the history of progressive Hip-Hop group Arrested Development over
the weekend, when the group’s frontman Speech received a surprise phone
call from former member and co-founder Headliner.
The call during an interview on WRFG 89.3 FM’s “Sunday Night Fiya”
with Karen Mason served as an impromptu reconciliation between the longtime
friends, who, according to the group’s publicist, had not spoken to each
other in years.
Arrested Development is currently promoting their new album Strong, the fifth
release the group has had since their reconciliation in 2000 and the first which
to be heavily marketed in the United States.
The group rose to prominence in the early 1990s following the release of their
debut album 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life Of..., which yielded
the hit singles “Tennessee,” “People Everyday,” and
“Mr. Wendal.”
The album earned the group the 1993 Grammy Awards for Best Rap Performance
by a Duo or Group and Best New Artist, an honor which, to date, has not been
awarded to another Hip-Hop group.
The group’s subsequent releases, though not as popular in the US, solidified
the Arrested Development’s international popularity. However, in 1996,
the group broke up due to “creative differences.”
When they came back together in 2000, signing to Speech’s label Vagabond,
they did so without the participation of Headliner.
“It’s the will of God that has brought this day forth and I’m
thankful.” said Headliner of his decision to burry the hatchet. “I
pray that my brother can feel where I’m coming from at this time, and
some of the listeners who might be going through the same thing with someone
that they love and care deeply about. We did a lot of great things together
and helped to heal the world and change a lot of people’s lives. And at
some point in life, you heal yourself.”
While he did not comment on the cause of their split, Headliner did praise the
work Speech and Arrested Development have done in his absence.
“I love [the new music],” he commented. “It never ceases to
amaze me that my brother is continuing to push the envelope musically. And it
shows, from the time we first met until now: he’s still peeking at new
horizons. He’s stayed consistent with the thought of intellectual music
for people that want to be intellectually healed.”
Moved by his longtime friend’s first step, Speech went on to invite Headliner
to reunite with the group onstage at their next show, scheduled to take place
Thursday (August 26) at 7:30pm at Chastain Park Amphitheater in Atlanta.
Arrested Development will be sharing top billing with 80 "s pop rock band Tears
For Fears. Tickets for the show are available online at LiveNation.com.
Originally released in the US on January 1, 2010, Strong received a digital
re-release in April and a renewed push by the group to garner national attention.
The album has already produced two Top 10 singles in Asia.
The first single from the release “The World Is Changing,” peaked
at the #9 position on Japan’s “J-Wave” charts, which gathers
data from 30 major FM stations in the country.
The song also reached #9 on the Tokyo Hot 100 list. Their latest single “Greener”
is currently #9 in Indonesia.
Arrested Development is also in rotation on MTV International and MTV France
with clips from the songs “The World Is Changing” and “Bloody,”
respectively.
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