3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of...

3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of...
Studio album by Arrested Development
Released March 24, 1992[1]
Recorded 1991
Genre Alternative hip hop[1][2]
Length 61:08
Label Chrysalis/EMI
0946 3 21929 2 9
F2-21929
Producer Speech
Arrested Development chronology
3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of...
(1992)		 Unplugged
(1993)
Singles from 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life of...
  1. "Tennessee"
    Released: March 24, 1992
  2. "People Everyday"
    Released: May 1992
  3. "Mr. Wendal"
    Released: 1992

3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of... is the debut album by American hip hop group Arrested Development, released on March 24, 1992. The album's chart success was the beginning of the popularization of Southern hip hop. 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of... stood in stark contrast to the gangsta rap that ruled the hip hop charts in 1992 (such as Dr. Dre's The Chronic), in its focus on spirituality, peace and love. The album's title refers to the length of time it took Arrested Development to get a record contract.[1]

The song "Tennessee" is part of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list.[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Chicago Tribune[4]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[5]
Entertainment WeeklyA+[6]
Los Angeles Times[7]
Orlando Sentinel[8]
Q[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[10]
Select4/5[11]
Spin Alternative Record Guide7/10[12]

3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of... was released to widespread critical acclaim and was later voted as the best album of the year in The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics' poll.[2][13] Entertainment Weekly's James Bernard praised it as a "fresh-sounding debut album" and referred to Arrested Development as "the anti-gangsta" and "perhaps rap's most self-reflective act."[6] Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune wrote that the group "displays unusual worldliness, wisdom and awareness on its debut, immediately establishing itself as a major new voice in hip-hop", noting Speech's social themes and rejection of "macho boasting and gangster posing".[4] In a negative assessment, Robert Christgau of The Village Voice assigned the album a "dud" rating and wrote that the album was "not horrible by any means" but "too often the beats shambled and the raps meandered",[14] though he would later revise his rating to single out "Tennessee" as a "choice cut".[15]

Retrospectively, Steve Huey of AllMusic wrote that the rise of gangsta rap abruptly put an end to what seemed to be a "shining new era in alternative rap" heralded by 3 Years and that the album, while not "quite as revolutionary as it first seemed", was nonetheless "a fine record that often crosses the line into excellence", further crediting it as "a major influence on a new breed of alternative Southern hip-hop, including Goodie Mob, Outkast, and Nappy Roots".[2]

The Wire named the album its record of the year, the first time the magazine had expanded its year-end critics' poll to include albums in non-jazz genres.[16] The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[17]

Track listing

  1. "Man's Final Frontier" – 2:39
  2. "Mama's Always on Stage" (Speech) – 3:25
  3. "People Everyday" (Speech) – 4:57
  4. "Blues Happy" – 0:45
  5. "Mr. Wendal" (Speech) – 4:06
  6. "Children Play with Earth" – 2:39
  7. "Raining Revolution" (Speech) – 3:25
  8. "Fishin' 4 Religion" (Speech) – 4:06
  9. "Give a Man a Fish" (Headliner/Speech) – 4:22
  10. "U" (Speech) – 4:59
  11. "Eve of Reality" – 1:42
  12. "Natural" (Speech) – 4:18
  13. "Dawn of the Dreads" (Speech) – 5:17
  14. "Tennessee" (Speech) – 4:32
  15. "Washed Away" (Speech) – 6:24

Personnel

  • Arrested Development  – Arranger
  • Baba Oje
  • Brother Larry  – Guitar
  • Montsho Eshe
  • Dionne Farris – Vocals
  • Headliner
  • Aerle Taree  – Stylist
  • Tom Held  – Engineer
  • Larry Jackson  – Saxophone
  • Terrance Cinque Mason  – Vocals
  • Rasa Don  - Drums
  • Sister Paulette  – Vocals
  • Speech  – Producer, Executive Producer, Mixing
  • Alvin Speights  – Engineer
  • Howie Weinberg  – Mastering
  • Richard Wells  – Engineer
  • Lindsey Williams  – Project Director
  • Jeffrey Henson Scales  – Photography
  • Matt Still  – Assistant Engineer
  • Randall Martin  – Art Direction

Chart positions

Billboard – album

Chart (1992)Peak position
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums3
Heatseekers1
UK Albums Chart3
Chart (1993)Peak position
The Billboard 2007

Billboard – singles

SongChart (1992)Peak position
People EverydayThe Billboard Hot 1008
Hot Rap Single1
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks2
Rhythmic Top 402
Hot Dance Music/Club Play6
Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales10
RevolutionHot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks49
TennesseeHot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks1
Hot Dance Music/Club Play34
SongChart (1993)Peak position
Mr. WendalThe Billboard Hot 1006
Hot Rap Singles4
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks6
Rhythmic Top 405
Top 40 Mainstream10
Hot Dance Music/Club Play1
Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales27
NaturalHot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks90

References

  1. 1 2 3 Madden, Sidney (March 15, 2015). "Today in Hip-Hop: Arrested Development Drop '3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life of..'". XXL. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Huey, Steve. "3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of... – Arrested Development". AllMusic. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  3. ↑ "500 Songs That Shaped Rock". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  4. 1 2 Kot, Greg (April 9, 1992). "Arrested Development: 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life of... (Chrysalis)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  5. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
  6. 1 2 Bernard, James (May 22, 1992). "3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of..." Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  7. ↑ Hilburn, Robert (December 6, 1992). "Holiday Gift-Giving--The Hints of '92". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  8. ↑ Gettelman, Parry (April 24, 1992). "Arrested Development". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Arrested Development: 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of...". Q (70): 89. July 1992.
  10. ↑ Moon, Tom (2004). "Arrested Development". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian. The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. pp. 24–25. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  11. ↑ Higginbotham, Adam (June 1992). "Arrested Development: Three Years, Five Months and Two Days In The Life Of Arrested Development". Select (24): 69.
  12. ↑ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  13. ↑ "The 1992 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". The Village Voice. March 2, 1993. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  14. ↑ Christgau, Robert (March 2, 1993). "Between a Rock and a Hard Place". The Village Voice. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  15. ↑ Christgau, Robert (2000). "Arrested Development: 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life of . . .". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 0-312-24560-2. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  16. ↑ "The Critics' Choice 1992: Records of the Year". The Wire. No. 106/107. London. January 1993. p. 24 – via Exact Editions.
  17. ↑ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (7 February 2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 0-7893-1371-5.
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