Audio: Arrested Development talks music and Milwaukee

Best known for hit songs like “Tennessee” and “People Everyday,” Arrested Development returned to Milwaukee on April 10 with a special public appearance for Bucks fans.

The two-time Grammy Award-winning hip-hop group performed at the final regular season game of the Milwaukee Bucks, and joined the team’s efforts with local community outreach. The group’s co-founder Todd “Speech” Thomas was a Rufus King High School graduate, who continues to use his influence to improve Milwaukee and conditions for the city’s underserved population.

“Growing up here was extremely special for me. I was one of the first to bring hip-hop to Milwaukee. I was a DJ in Milwaukee, so I was very much a part the a scene here, with people striving to support hip-hop music. So to be able to come back, which I’ve come back numerous times, but to be able to be here now as a two-time Grammy Award winner, and play at a big venue for our home team the Bucks, it’s like a reaffirmation of what I always dreamed about.” – Speech

The Milwaukee Independent sat down with Arrested Development, before their halftime show during the Milwaukee Bucks game against the Charlotte Hornets at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. The members of Arrested Development who participated in this audio recording were Speech (Vocalist, Producer, Co-Founder), Fareedah Aleem (Dancer, Singer), and Tasha LaRae (Singer).

“The point of hip-hop, its purpose, is peace, love, unity, and having fun. What makes hip-hop so powerful on a personal level, and on a group level for us, is that the music strives to lift up the importance and value of living this experience, being in this life. It is striving to help people be self-determined, to accomplish their biggest dreams, and their biggest goals, regardless of what the government is doing, regardless of what anybody else is doing. That’s very important to what we talk about in our music, from our first album to the new a single that we just dropped.” – Speech