Arrested Development‘s music has stood the test of time. The Grammy Award-winning hip-hop group from Atlanta is still present and relevant as ever in 2024.
Recently, rolling out caught up with the group about making a timeless song.
What does that mean to y’all to have a song remain relevant for three decades?
Speech: It’s absolutely magical. Whenever you’re able to create something you feel proud about, and then the world catches on to it and not only reaps the benefits of it during the first release, but three decades later, people still laud it as one of the top things that’s come out of hip-hop. We were awarded by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame‘s 500 Best Songs in the history of rock and roll for the song “Tennessee.” That was our first single. It’s magical that we were able to have that kind of approval from the world.
Tasha LaRae: As an artist, you want your music to outlast your lifetime. For the music to make it past that many decades. It’s going to live past all of us.
What would it sound like if you had to come up with a song for the 2024 election?
Tasha LaRae: Revolution.
Speech: Revolution. The fundamental change. Let your voice be heard. What would you say? Beautiful people, around the world, stand up for what you believe in.
Tasha LaRae: Say it loud and proud.
Speech: Let your voice be heard. That’s really the point about voting. For me, there will never be a time, as long as I’m able to, that I will not vote. I will always vote. I will always make sure that my voice is heard. There are numerous reasons for that. But one of the biggest reasons is that only a few decades ago, my ancestors were not allowed to do it. Even if they were allowed to do it legally, they were discouraged from doing it.
There’s a reason people wanted to keep you from the voting booth. Get out there and vote. The way I see it, it takes anywhere from two hours to two minutes to go vote, and it is worth it. Make sure to do it across the whole ballot, so it’s not just the president you’re voting for.
Fareedah Aleem: Just to be clear, it’s not OK to not vote, even if you don’t like everybody or everything. Find something that resonates with what your voice and what your beliefs are. Because that drop in the bucket is worth it. It’s worth it.
Speech: We’ve seen elections that literally turned by one, two, three, four, five votes, so let your voice be heard.
