As any old skool Hip Hop fan would know Arrested Development did exactly what their band name decreed. They Arrested the attention of all and their Development was enhanced by lyrically addressing issues of ethnicity, poverty and historical impediments. In translating worldly experiences into music, Arrested Development brought life to music and coined the term 'Life Music'.

Unanimously remembered by their timeless tracks, People Everyday and Tennessee, Arrested Development has more musical accomplishment to achieve. Being musically silenced for a decade their comeback is a content assurance of what makes this band very rare.

Reminiscin' caught up with Speech as he speaks out on his fashion loves, travelling worldwide and why real profound music will always remain the heart of Arrested Developments sound.

How does it feel being back in the game?
It feels incredible. It is very different from the first time around because the music seems so different than in the 90's. There is less diversity now because in the 90's you had people like us, Arrested Development but you also had 2 Live Crew and Public Enemy, MC Hammer and NWA and all these groups back that were so different from each other. Nowadays, most music sort of feels similar to each other, so coming out now it is pretty different.

Arrested Development has always been a group that has been coined for doing conscious Hip Hop - how does your latest album Since The Last Time reflect that persona?
On our new album it is still about consciousness, it is about not wallowing in depression, it is about finding ways of getting out of oppression and to rise above it- that is still the theme of this record. But the record doesn't feel heavy the record feels light, it feels like something you could just vibe to. That is what we wanted to do, we wanted to make a record that felt good but still it has realness to it, a message to it.

Today's Hip Hop scene is mostly dominated by the Bling culture - has it made any difference to your comeback?
Yeah definitely, it is a lot harder to get radio stations to play the music, it is a lot harder to get videos to play the videos; it's even a lot harder to get DJs to spin the music. The good part about our group is that there is so much respect out there for Arrested Development, a lot of people are willing to make us the exception and go ahead and push it anyway. The fans have always be so supportive, I mean we have people that come to the shows and are just so excited and that feels very, very good.

Do you find fans still compare you to your Mr Wendell days?
All the time. You know we constantly get comparisons to Tennessee, Mr Wendell or People Everyday, whatever our songs were from the 90's and we expected that. We cannot be too concerned about that as a group or else you sort of get crazy if you try and make a song better than those songs. It's not about that, you just have to write music and you have to feel from your spirit and when you perform it or present it, you have to present it with the same passion you felt when you wrote it. If that happens then you can make people connect to it, even though at first they are trying to connect or compare it to older stuff-you just got to really present it with passion.

Do you get an overwhelming request for your golden oldies - Tennessee, People Everyday? Is the reaction still the same?
Oh yes we do, but I expect that. I think that is to be expected because if I was to go and see Prince or any artist I wanna see or hear my favourite songs from the past because they hold a special memory. I think that is to be expected. The reaction is still very much the same which is great for Hip Hop and very great for us. It is great for us because it encourages us to know that by coming back together and doing the music it was the right thing and there is a place for us in Hip Hop. It is encouraging for Hip Hop because usually Hip Hop music is disposable, we are not really looked at as artist we are looked at, sort of like the flavour of the month or when they were hot back then instead of why did the art. I think for us to come back and have that same response from the crowd shows us they respect us as artists.

You describe your music as 'Life Music' after ten years away from the scene, what are the experiences or topics you have captured in your current album Since The Last Time that wasn't explored in the past? Examples?
I think there is so many; one of the things we have talked about on this record is what is going on in the Hip Hop scene today that really wasn't going on in the 90's. Our new single Miracle talks about the whole dumb down approach that a lot of artists' are doing. What I mean by that is people don't want to write anything on any complexity they are afraid it may turn down the audience. They want to make choruses that are really simple, have nursery rhyme hooks things like that. I am not saying there is anything wrong with that, what I am saying is that, that is not all we are as listeners, as fans of Hip Hop and as the public. The public deserves to hear diverse topics and diverse things it doesn't have to stay simple like that, it can go deeper than that. That is one of the topics we talk about. On our record Miracles definitely highlights that, a song called Stand also highlights that and I would probably would say It's Time. Those three songs really highlight that vibe.

On your website you have a fashion and arts section. In your opinion does music and fashion / arts go hand in hand?
I definitely do. For me, I am a musician but I love art of all types. Photography came very easy for me; I shoot photography. I am not great at drawing but I love it, I love seeing artwork and so on. On our shows we have always incorporated, we didn't do it on this tour, but we have incorporated people who do artwork during our shows. We have done that since the beginning of the group and the late 80's. To me it all matches together - fashion, art and music.

Do you find the band's style / fashion reflects your music and vice versa?
When we are at our best I think it does. Right now it has been harder because one of the members of the group, she left the group because she got in a car accident and lost her voice, but she used to design our clothes. In the 90's we had our clothes match our music more so than it does right now. I love to dress in a certain way, but I don't have the skill that she had to pull the stuff together. We haven't been able to do that as much recently, also it's harder because the scene is so different to what it was in the 90's. In the 90's self expression was congratulated by radio, video and the industry. Now self expression is sort of punished in the sense, you know, if you come out with something really different a lot of DJs are talking about you (laughs). Right now because we are a Hip Hop group that has been away for so long we just trying to make sure that we don't do things that will hamper the progress of we are doing. I think we are gonna wait until we are established strongly again to really experiment more.

If you could mimic (past or present) bands or artists' dress sense / style who would it be and why?
It would probably be the early Isley Brothers they use to dress up really fun. I have always like Prince and Jimi Hendrix that is the stuff I am inspired by; when I see their outfits it inspires me. Also, Fifth Dimensions back in the day and the old Jackson Five I love how they use to dress.

Having done many videos and photo shoots would you say you are fashionably experimental?
I think the women in our group have a lot more leeway to be experimental. I have been throughout my career, but on this album I have not been so experimental I have been going a lot simpler and sort of plain -T-shirts and pants. Rasa (one of our members) has a clothing line, on our website.

What country/ies have you visited that have left you inspired?
A lot of countries do that for me. I love Europe in general so when I come to Europe I really get inspired. I like Australia probably the most. Australia is amazing and the people are what make it amazing to me. Europe and Australia really move me in general the most.

On a day off whilst visiting a country - how would you choose to spend it?
It really depends. For me I like to watch movies a lot. It is pretty simple for me the type of things I pretty much enjoy- taking walks, seeing people, the atmosphere. I don't tend to like doing the tourism thing too much that doesn't excite me as much as walking round the neighbourhood and seeing people in their natural places when I travel. I think that excites me the most.

Having travelled around - what are the elements that makes your destination you have visited accommodating?
That is pretty easy for me too, as I pretty much feel at home wherever I go. I don't feel too much like a stranger anywhere. I have pretty much loved everywhere I have travelled.

Does all you interest centre around music? What else do you like to dabble in?
I love art when I say that I mean graphic art. I like to make graphic designs on computers. I love shooting, I shoot guns and stuff. I love nature; I love to plant and stuff like that.

When you need a breather what's your breakaway?
Probably a movie, that's probably the first thing I go for. I love to eat too. I love to eat good food, really good well-prepared food - I love that it excites me. My favourite food is pizza and I do love vegetables.

When are you the most happiest?
I learned that happiness is a decision; I sort of have to make a decision to be happy most of the time. I make the decision.

Related Links:
> www.speechmusic.com
> www.arresteddevelopmentmusic.com
> Greatest Hits By Arrested Development CD - Amazon.co.uk