INTERVIEW: Speech
- Lang Whitaker
I knew I was going way out in the country when the directions to Todd "Speech" Thomas's house included "after you get on the two-lane road, turn down the dirt road with eight mailboxes mounted in a cluster on the corner." But country living suits Todd "Speech" Thomas just fine; Lord knows Speech is relishing his peace and quiet these days, after living the hard knock life the last few years. After the dissolvement of his pioneering hip-hop group Arrested Development, Speech ran into a spate of legal hurdles that arrested his artistic development. Now, with a solo record about to drop through TVT Records, Speech is still thirsty.
CONSUMABLE ONLINE: Tell me exactly how it went down with Arrested Development breaking up.
SPEECH: Basically, Arrested Development started having problems even during the touring of our first album (1992's 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days In The Life Of...). We were having problems with egos, and people being jealous of each other, money and greed -- all of those things started really taking effect. We basically were not getting along, but we were really holding it together for the sake of the group, because we were really taking off. Here was a band that had been broke, and all of a sudden we had a chance, and we didn't want to mess that up because of some personality differences.
CO: So then why didn't you stay together?
SPEECH: We would have stayed at it, but the tension continued to grow. So, by the time we did the second album, Zingalamaduni, that was really like pulling teeth to even do that album, because the dissension had gotten so bad. After Zingalamaduni came out, we did a lot of touring. The last tour was did in Asia, and when we came back from Atlanta there were offers for other tours and offers to get back in the studio, and none of us answered; nobody was willing to do anything. We didn't really decide that we should break up, it was just that no one said anything. It was something that was uncommunicated, but known. We just couldn't do it anymore.
CO: Then you released your first solo album, Speech, right?
SPEECH: Yeah. I'm a musician, so I continued to write music. EMI had heard it, but we didn't know what to do with it, but we both wanted to release it. So, we did a solo album and entitled it Speech, and it was just a bunch of songs that I had written.
CO: And then your label, EMI Records, collapsed...
SPEECH: Yeah, they just totally fell apart. I don't know what happened to them.
CO: So you were kind of stuck, right?
SPEECH: What happened was, once EMI closed down, I couldn't release records, as Arrested Development, which wasn't even an issue at that time, or as Speech. At that time, I was about to release some of songs, so I was basically stuck.
So, EMI in Japan had had huge success with Speech. It sold very well, and the single "Like Marvin Gaye Said..." was number one on the charts there for nine weeks. They called me and said, "Hey, we heard you did some new stuff. Can we release it?" I wasn't sure, so we got with all the business guys and the lawyers and stuff and found out that I could actually release music overseas. But I couldn't do anything in the states, because even though the label wasn't capable of releasing records, I was still signed as an artist.
So for about two years I was releasing stuff in Asia. I released an album called Disciples of a Lyrical Rebellion, and I released 1998 Hoopla. I also released records from two groups I represent, Nadirah and El Pus. So, I released four records in Asia over a two year period, and all of them did pretty well. I was also touring consistently over there, which was great.
All of that was sort of just biding me time. Finally I was able to get off the label here. So, we started shopping some stuff, and I talked to a couple of labels, and TVT was one of the labels we talked to and decided to go with, ultimately.
CO: Why did you pick TVT to do your album?
SPEECH: I like independent labels, in general. I've been with a major before, and generally their philosophy is to throw an album up against the wall, and if radio or video bites at it, to go ahead. But, there are too many games with majors. To me, they're not really great at working a record. They're great at making a really good record become huger than life. Like, I've never seen anything like what happened to AD. We lost track of why people were likin' our record so much because of the machinery of a major label. They just have this power to be take something from here (gestures down by his waist), to way beyond anything you could imagine. But on the other hand, if your record doesn't get radio play and video play, they have no clue what to do with it.
CO: What kind of stuff is AD going to do? Are you going to be writing most of the stuff, or will it be a collaboration?
SPEECH: Oh, definitely, it will be a collaboration. I have about six or seven tunes I'd like to put on the record, but we'll have to wait and see what ends up making the record, because I'm sure we'll end up writing a bunch of tunes. But I'm really excited about working with AD again.
CO: I heard that until recently, you didn't own a suit.
SPEECH: (incredulously) Yeah, I just got one.
CO: You went down to Saks Fifth Avenue at Phipps Plaza to get it, right?
SPEECH: Yeah! How did you...how do you know about that?
CO: I can't tell you that, man, but I heard you were picking it up for some kind of big shindig.
SPEECH: Yeah, it was for Puffy's restaurant opening, Justin's, just recently. I heard it was a suit and tie affair, so I bought a suit. I had suit coat jackets and stuff from vintage stores, but I never had a full suit, you know...
CO: ...that matches.
SPEECH: (Laughs) Right. With parts that were meant for each other. I mean, my mom used to buy me suits when I was in high school. So, it was my first suit purchase.
CO: Have you worn it again, since then?
SPEECH: Yeah. I've worn it for shows. I liked it actually. I sort of freaked it out, meaning I untucked my shirt and didn't wear the tie. But it's just cool; it's an Armani suit. It fits really well. I never was into designer clothing, until I tried it. For some reason, it actually does make you feel a little cooler. (laughs) Once you get it on, you sort of get the point.
