music.wikisort.org - Composition

Speech is the first solo album by the American rapper Speech, released in 1996.[2][3]

Speech
Studio album by Speech
Released	1996
Genre	Rap
Label	Chrysalis Records[1]
Producer	Speech
Speech chronology
Speech (1996) Hoopla (1999)

The album's first single was "Like Marvin Gaye Said (What's Going On)".[4] It first appeared on the Marvin Gaye tribute album Inner City Blues: The Music of Marvin Gaye.[5]

Production

The album was produced by Speech, who also sang on some of the songs.[6][7] He played most of the instruments on the album, and recorded it in his home studio.[8] Speech contains guest appearances from Pappa Jon, Laurneá Wilkerson, and Foley.[9][10]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[11]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[9]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[12]
Knoxville News Sentinel	[13]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide	[14]
Muzik	[15]

Trouser Press thought that "Speech shows that he can still construct a lulling, even groovy song cycle, but at this point he just doesn’t have the lyrical chops to give it substance."[16] Entertainment Weekly determined that "with its rapturous echoes of Sly, Stevie, and Prince, Speech by Speech, the boss of the defunct Arrested Development, is more arresting than anyone had a right to expect."[12] The Knoxville News Sentinel concluded that the album "restores some of the initial promise of his group Arrested Development before the band burned out in a blaze of self-importance a couple of years ago."[13]

Vibe called the album "a mess," noting Speech's "desire to become the male Tracy Chapman."[17] The Boston Globe praised Speech's "gift for poppy, smoothly persuasive hip-hop, rather than the gnashing, in-your-face variety."[18] The New York Times stated that "the sound is rawer and less produced and layered than Arrested Development's music ... Where Arrested Development sounded like many streams flowing into a single river, the styles, beats and words on Speech all seem to flow from a single stream-of-consciousness."[8]

AllMusic wrote that "where his former group sounded rootsy and gritty even at their most laid-back, Speech's record sounds slick, generally lacking in funk or dirt."[11]

Track listing

References

---