Grammy Award-winning Hip-Hop group Arrested Development released its sixteenth studio album, Adult Contemporary Hip Hop, on Friday (July 4).
The 20-track project, dedicated to late Kali Tribe MC Twan Mack who died unexpectedly in November 2024, features guest verses from Ke’Andra, Bee Taylor, longtime collaborator Tasha LaRae and 1 Love as well as a posthumous verse from Twan.
“Twan Mack was a genuine friend to me since high school and that alone is hard to come by as you get older and associates come and go,” Speech tells AllHipHop. “But Mack was also a very genuine lover of Hip-Hop music. He had a pure and hungry heart to see Hip-Hop go in the most healthy and progressive directions.
“He toured opening up for Arrested Development in Asia, Europe the UK and, of course, the U.S. His unexpected/sudden death took everybody that knew him by surprise. I couldn’t stop crying because of the loss. His biggest goal when he was alive was to get a new category for Hip Hop Artists that were over 35 years old and that was “adult contemporary Hip-Hop,” so I wanted to continue that tradition for him in his passing.”
Speech opens the album on a personal note with the song “Let’s Get On With It” in which he mentions Twan Mack’s death within the first bar. From there, he reflects on the young Speech, who struggled with a “lack of principles,” as he puts it, before diving into society’s consciousness being “minimal.”
As the title suggests, the album is chock-full of grown-man verses, a refreshing break from the often ignorant bars infiltrating mainstream rap.
“I want Hip-Hop fans and Arrested Development fans in general to be immersed in the hunger, musicality, skills and relevancy of this 37-year-old revolutionary collective from Atlanta, Georgia,” he adds. “I want people to be inspired to remember why we were so important to Hip-Hop in the first place and why we continue to be in 2025—and in fact, possibly more than ever including our debut.”
To coincide with the release, Arrested Development released a video for “Pack It Out.” The vibrant visual, shot in the desert, finds Speech and company spreading joy as they sail through their lyrics. In fact, Speech addresses the negativity that seems to dominate the headlines in 2025.
“Fact after fact, from the tap new slaps for the floor seats,” Speech raps. “We come back to back with boom bap and the stats to fill the score sheets/And while I’m speaking on that, we zig zagged the whole map for our touring/AD may be the most positively sure thing/For the bucks that you forking up/We adorable/Trust us we a Oracle/Never sus cuz our aura is full/The opposite of deplorable.”
Arrested Development, formed in Atlanta in 1988, made a profound impact on Hip-Hop by offering a positive, Afrocentric alternative to the prevailing gangsta rap of the early ’90s. Their debut album, 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of…, broke barriers by winning two Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist, a first for any Hip-Hop group.
They also sold millions of copies worldwide thanks to its monster singles, “Tennessee” and “Mr. Wendal,” which tackled racial injustice and homelessness. Arrested Development’s conscious lyrics and uplifting messages provided a new direction for Hip-Hop, emphasizing hope, social responsibilities and cultural pride at a time when the genre was dominated by darker themes.
The group’s influence extended into fashion and cultural representation by popularizing African-inspired clothing and celebrating Southern Black culture. Simultaneously, they helped establish Atlanta as a force in Hip-Hop, paving the way for future Southern artists and shifting the genre’s geographic focus.
Their willingness to address social issues and embrace diverse sounds inspired later acts like Outkast and contributed to a broader acceptance of alternative voices. Even decades later, their impact is recognized in both music and activism, with their songs and style continuing to inspire artists and audiences around the globe.
Adult Contemporary Hip Hop is no different. Listen above and cop it on BandCamp.
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