FEATURE:
People Everyday
Arrested Development’s 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of... at Thirty
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ON 24th March…
one of the greatest Hip-Hop albums ever turns thirty. As opposed a lot of the Gangsta Rap that was around in 1992 (Dr. Dre is an example), Arrested Development’s amazing debut, 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of... was more concerned with fostering peace and love; changing the bad things around us and opening eyes to injustices. If a lot of Hip-Hop at that time was concerned with darker and more violent themes, Arrest Development were more like preachers. Trying to calm things down and offer a more positive thing into the world. The title refers the length of time it took for the Atlanta group to get a record deal. Their debut was released through Chrysalis/EMI on 24th March, 1992. Produced by Speech and with terrific performances from everyone in the group (with especially fine and memorable vocals from Dionne Farris), 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of... is an album that offers up so much. Whilst it does not seem revolutionary today, Arrested Development’s stunning debut did offer an alternative Hip-Hop take. Classic songs like People Everyday, Tennessee, and Mr. Wendall are played widely to this day. Speech’s songwriting and the efficient and effective use of samples (Sunshine by Earth, Wind & Fire features on Natural; Alphabet St. by Prince (among others) can be heard on Tennessee) means we get this marriage of different worlds. Fusing older records with this modern and forward-looking set of lyrics makes 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of... very special. I will draw in a couple of reviews of a truly awesome and awe-inspiring album.
Maybe, given the Hip-Hop we hear today, Arrested Development’s debut has not dated as well as some other albums of the time. I love the Daisy Age work of genius from De La Soul, 3 Feet High and Rising. By 1992, that was very much dead in the water. There was definitely more of an edge and attitude coming through in Hip-Hop. 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of... was definitely something different reactionary. To mark its anniversary last year, Udiscovermusic.com contextualised the 1992 album. They explain what was happening in Hip-Hop when Arrested Development broke through:
“Hip-hop was in a state of flux in 1992. The conscious, Afrocentric rap of Jungle Brothers had failed to catch fire in a major label environment. De La Soul had renounced their DAISY Age agenda, and even A Tribe Called Quest, for many fans the best of this new, less aggressive generation of rap acts, were struggling to get their voice heard amid a slew of gangsta stars such as Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and Geto Boys. The term “alternative rap” was starting to sound more like a put-down than a description. You may have been forgiven for thinking that 3 Years, 5 Months And 2 Days In The Life Of… was not the name of the debut album by Arrested Development, rather the lifespan of the alternative acts who seemed to be facing their demise.
Into this uncertain arena came a thoughtful collective that not only spoke of revolution, humanity, roots, spiritual matters, and unity, but also came from the South rather than the rival rap hubs on the East and West coasts. Why, their debut album featured songs about the homeless, put-upon women, the importance of childcare, and more unfashionable topics, and didn’t even look like a hip-hop record, with a cover depicting endless blue sky and sun-parched grass. What chance did Arrested Development stand?
Quite a big one, it turned out. Fronted by the busy, buzzing Speech, who also produced their records, with two prominent female members in Montsho Eshe and Aerle Taree; plus co-founder turntablist Headliner and, from their parents’ generation, Baba Oje as spiritual adviser, together with various vocalists and instrumentalists, stylists and dance-have-yous, compared to most hip-hop acts they might have fallen to earth from space. But once they began releasing records, their impact was immediate: their debut single, “Tennessee,” went Top 10 in the US and topped the rap and R&B charts. Quite an achievement for a record covering the oppression and roots of black people in the South, and inspired by the deaths of two of Speech’s close relatives. This group was not just acting different: their feel came from the heart.
The single was released on March 24, 1992, the same day as their debut album, 3 Years, 5 Months And 2 Days In The Life Of…, which opened with cut-ups including the words “man’s final frontier is the soul,” a message that resonated throughout this album.
While they soon became known for mellow, even tender-hearted singles, the point needs to be made that Arrested Development’s debut album is actually pretty raucous, as the second track, “Mama’s Always On Stage,” makes clear, sampling a honking Buddy Guy and Junior Wells tune and hurtling like a skydiver without a ’chute. The anthemic “People Everyday,” reversing the title but not the message of Sly & The Family Stone’s “Everyday People,” is not the laidback remix of the single version, but a grittier, harder-edged cut that emphasizes the tougher side of Speech’s lyric that often passed unnoticed. On the other hand, “Mr. Wendal” is every bit as accessible as its single sibling, but the mellow groove is used to make a point about homelessness and respect; putting their money where their mouths were, the group gave half their royalties from the song to homeless charities.
So, a light feel delivers a heavy message. That combo comes up again on “Raining Revolution,” a meditation on precipitation and its place in feeding body, soul, and spirit. More water metaphors appear on the upbeat “Fishin’ 4 Religion,” which demands a belief system that nurtures improvement for people – again, “revolution” is mentioned. Further piscine poetry follows on “Give A Man A Fish,” a Minnie Riperton-sampling set of thoughts on how to make the nation rise, which rejects gangsterism and talks politics and armed rebellion. Love, a little-mentioned rap topic in 1992, crops up in “U,” a whirling jazzy loop courtesy of Ramsey Lewis and whipped into a frenzy of desire in an onrushing tale of emotional longing.
There’s back-to-nature roots material on 3 Years, 5 Months And 2 Days In The Life Of… too. “Eve Of Reality” is a shimmering tribal instrumental that sounds like it dates from the dawn of human existence, and “Children Play With Earth” calls for raising your kids to respect the soil we’re rooted in: a literal hands-on environmentalism. “Natural” hits a different note, both musically and lyrically, noting the craving for a love partner that’s as old as time. “Dawn Of The Dreads” links the pan-Africanism of early 90s hip-hop with Rastafarianism through an encounter with a woman who understands Speech’s vibe. This is complex stuff and the group aren’t afraid to just let it unfold: the closing “Washed Away” is more than six minutes of spiritual thought, which sounds dry on paper but is actually compelling listening; hip-hop had barely attempted material like this since The Last Poets’ “Delights Of The Garden” in 1977.
3 Years, 5 Months And 2 Days In The Life Of… was no ordinary hip-hop album in 1992. And that remains the case today. There’s a lot to absorb; repeated listening delivers aspects you’d previously not noticed: a wailing vocal here, a blues lick there (and there’s quite a lot of blues present, not a musical form rap often acknowledged). It might take you just as long as the title suggests to soak it all up”.
Some people who have not rated 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of... as a classic feel that it was niche and is dated. Not as hard-hitting and political as other albums of the time, perhaps it was part of a much-needed movement and moment in 1992…though that has shifted and we do not hear much Hip-Hop like it anymore. It is a shame, as the best moments from 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of... are remarkable and absolutely timeless. From People Everyday to Give a Man a Fish, through to Mr. Wendall and Tennessee, to the incredible, Children Play with Earth, 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of... is such an amazingly strong album. The BBC said this in their review of the album back in 2009:
“Arrested Development breezed on to the scene in 1992 and made the year their own with this, their super-confident debut. 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days In The Life Of... (the exact length of time it took for the group to get a recording contract) was one of those records that arrived fully-formed, making everything that had gone before in the world of hip-hop sound rather passé.
Formed by rappers Speech and Headliner and inspired by Public Enemy, Arrested Development espoused afro-centricity, feminism, love and harmony, and were an antidote to the machismo of Gansgta Rap, then very much on the rise.
3 Years... was rightly lauded at the time; it is resolutely upbeat – none more than on Give A Man A Fish with its chorus, ''give a man a fish he’ll eat for a day, teach him how to fish he’ll eat forever''. The three US Top 10 singles, People Everyday, Mr Wendal and Tennessee seemed to be everywhere. People Everyday, which updated Sly and The Family Stone's Everyday People, showed how they could embrace the past while modernising the message. The tale of a man having to use violence in self defence against a gang is like most of their work, deeply thoughtful with a generous splash of wit (''I had to take the brother out for being rude'')”.
To end things, I will source one more review. AllMusic are among those who have provided Arrested Development’s iconic debut album with a positive review. This is what they wrote:
“Widely adored when it appeared in 1992, Arrested Development's debut album, 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life Of... seemed to herald a shining new era in alternative rap, when audiences and critics of all colors could agree on the music's importance. Of course, that didn't happen, as Dr. Dre instead took gangsta rap to the top of the charts with The Chronic. In retrospect, 3 Years... isn't quite as revolutionary as it first seemed, though it's still a fine record that often crosses the line into excellence. Its positive messages were the chief selling point for many rock critics, and it's filled with pleas for black unity and brotherly compassion, as well as a devotion to the struggle for equality. All of that is grounded in a simple, upbeat spirituality that also results in tributes to the homeless (the hit "Mr. Wendal"), black women of all shapes and sizes, and the natural world. It's determinedly down to earth, and that aesthetic informs the group's music as well. Their sound is a laid-back, southern-fried groove informed by rural blues, African percussion, funk, and melodic R&B. All of it comes together on the classic single "Tennessee," which takes lead rapper Speech on a spiritual quest to reclaim his heritage in a south still haunted by its history. It helped Arrested Development become the first rap group to win a Grammy for Best New Artist, and to top numerous year-end critical polls. In hindsight, there's a distinct political correctness -- even naïveté -- in the lyrics, which places the record firmly in the early '90s; it's also a bit self-consciously profound at times, lacking the playfulness of peers like the Native Tongues. Nonetheless, 3 Years... was a major influence on a new breed of alternative Southern hip-hop, including Goodie Mob, OutKast, and Nappy Roots, and it still stands as one of the better albums of its kind”.
As it turns thirty on 24th March, I wanted to look at the important, moving, wonderous and accomplished 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of... Against the bravado and macho Hip-Hop of the early-1990s, Arrested Development pushed back. They offered something much more spiritual and inspiring. That is why 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of... will always remain relevant, influential and…
GREATLY loved.