The Georgia-based 90s alternative hip-hop band Arrested Development… now that’s a name I’ve not heard in a long time.
This group was all the rage in the early 90s, with their debut album (1992’s 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of…) topping the Village Voice critics poll while selling more than 6 million copies. They were named Best New Artist by the Grammys, and dubbed ‘Band of the Year’ by Rolling Stone.
Offering an uplifting, spiritual alternative to gangsta rap, the collective of young and old talents was part traditional band and part performance art project (one member, Baba Oje, was credited as the band’s “spiritual elder”).
The singles ‘Tennessee,’ ‘People Everyday,’ and ‘Mr. Wendal’ all made it to the top ten of Billboard’s Hot 100, making Arrested Development one of the most popular crossover hip-hop acts of the 90s.
Then it all ended. They released a tepidly-received Unplugged album to capitalize on the success of their debut, and saw their sophomore studio release (1994’s Zingalamaduni) fall completely flat. A couple of years later, they split up.
That’s the last I heard of them, making them a perfect candidate for this week’s theme of long-forgotten music acts.
Turns out the reunited in 2000 and have steadily released new material ever since through Vagabond Productions, a record label started by lead singer Speech. He is the only original member still with the band, which has featured a laundry list of performers over the years.
Tennessee (Tennessee)
Tennessee (Tennessee)
Tennessee (Tennessee)
Tennessee (Tennessee)
[Verse 1]
Lord, I’ve really been real stressed
Down and out, losing ground
Although I am Black and proud
Problems got me pessimistic
Brothers and sisters keep messin’ up
Why does it have to be so damn tough?
I don’t know where I can go
To let these ghosts out of my skull
My grandma’s passed, my brother’s gone
I never at once felt so alone
I know you’re supposed to be my steering wheel
Not just my spare tire (home)
But Lord I ask you (home)
To be my guiding force and truth (home)
For some strange reason it had to be (home)
He guided me to Tennessee (home)
[Chorus]
Take me to another place (Oh)
Take me to another land (Oh)
Make me forget all that hurts me (Oh)
Let me understand your plan (Yeah)
Take me to another place (Oh)
Take me to another land (Oh)
Make me forget all that hurts me (Oh)
Let me understand your plan (Yeah)
[Verse 2]
Lord it’s obvious we got a relationship
Talking to each other every night and day
Although you’re superior over me
We talk to each other in a friendship way
Then outta nowhere you tell me to break
Outta the country and into more country
Past Dyersburg into Ripley
Where the ghost of childhood haunts me
Walk the roads my forefathers walked
Climbed the trees my forefathers hung from
Ask those trees for all their wisdom
They tell me my ears are so young (home)
Go back to from whence you came (home)
My family tree, my family name (home)
For some strange reason it had to be (home)
He guided me to Tennessee (home)
[Chorus]
Take me to another place (Oh)
Take me to another land (Oh)
Make me forget all that hurts me (Oh)
Let me understand your plan (Yeah)
Take me to another place (Oh)
Take me to another land (Oh)
Make me forget all that hurts me (Oh)
Let me understand your plan (Yeah)
[Interlude]
Eshe, she went down to Holly Springs
Rasadon and Baba, they went down to Peachtree
Headliner, I challenge you to a game of horseshoes, a game of horseshoes
[Verse 3]
Now I see the importance of history
Why my people be in the mess that they be
Many journeys to freedom made in vain
By brothers on the corner playing ghetto games
I ask you Lord why you enlightened me
Without the enlightenment of all my folks
He said ’cause I set myself on a quest for truth
And He was there to quench my thirst
But I am still thirsty
The Lord allowed me to drink some more
He said what I am searching for are
The answers to all which are in front of me
The ultimate truth started to get blurry
For some strange reason it had to be
It was all a dream about Tennessee
[Chorus]
Take me to another place (Oh)
Take me to another land (Oh)
Make me forget all that hurts me (Oh)
Let me understand your plan (Yeah)
Take me to another place (Oh)
Take me to another land (Oh)
Make me forget all that hurts me (Oh)
Let me understand your plan (Yeah)
[Bridge]
Oh, won’t you let me
Won’t you help me (Tennessee)
Won’t you help me understand your plan (Tennessee)
Take me home, take me home, home (Tennessee)
Take me to another place
Take me home (Tennessee)
Whoa-oh, you know I need to go home, yeah (Tennessee)
[Outro]
Headliner, I won the game of horseshoes
Now you owe me a watermelon
Let’s go climb trees and skip over rocks
Do like they do below the border
Hmm? Speech’s hair
Don’t it look like the roots of the tree that the ancestors were hung from
But that’s okay, get it, ’cause he’s down to Earth
Mmm, Tennessee (Tennessee)
Tennessee, woo, yeah
Tennessee
Meet Me In Montauk 
Oh, how I love that one album from Arrested Development! Songs like Mr. Wendal continue to be played on family road trips. So, while the band may have been gone for decades, they are definitely not forgotten.