It’s been twenty years since Arrested Development slammed the gangsta dominated world of hip hop with defiant lyrics of hope. Now this ground-breaking act comes to Brighton’s Concorde 2 on Mon 23 Feb 2015.
Arrested Development became the first ever hip-hop artist to receive the “best new artist” Grammy, (a distinction it still maintains today in that category). In addition, the group also received a Grammy award for “best rap single” for their anthemic prayer-like hit song, Tennessee. With the success of the single Mr Wendal, Arrested Development brought the issue of homelessness to the forefront.
Awards, chart success and accolades continued to follow. One of the highlights was being asked to write a song for Spike Lee’s movie X about minister and human rights activist, Malcom X. The Arrested Development song, Revolution, would forever be associated with one of the most important movies in black culture. Their debut album, 3 years, 5 months and two days In The Life of, sold over 4 million units and included the second single and biggest UK hit ‘People Everyday’.
With the pressures of the music industry weighing heavily, and inner turmoil striking within the group, Arrested Development then took a break until 2000 when they re emerged with a new lineup and a new album called “Heroes of the Harvest”. This time the inner turmoil was replaced by inner peace, the pressures of the industry were lifted, and one of hip hop’s best, was back rocking stages and releasing new material, most recently 2012′s ‘Standing At The Crossroads’, which the band offered up for free from their website.
For the last thirteen years, Arrested Development has performed concerts in literally every part of the world. They continue to release new music and find new success in different corners of the globe with their superb live show.
Arrested Development play Concorde 2, Brighton on Mon 23 Feb 2015
