On Friday (July 4), the Grammy Award-winning hip-hop band Arrest Development released its sixteenth studio album, Adult Contemporary Hip Hop.
The 20-track project is dedicated to the late Cali tribe MC Twan Mack, who died unexpectedly in November 2024 and includes guest scriptures from Ke’andra, Bee Taylor, longtime collaborators Tasha Larae and 1 Love and 1 Love, as well as relics from Twan.
“Twan Mack has been my true friend since high school and it’s hard to come and go as he gets older,” the speech told Allhiphop. “But Mike is also a very real fan of hip-hop. He has a pure and hungry heart that can see hip-hop moving towards the healthiest and most progressive direction.
“He toured for the UK open in Asia, Europe, and of course the United States, and his accident/sudden death surprised everyone. Due to the loss, I couldn’t stop crying. His biggest goal when he was alive was to get a new category for hip-hop artists over 35 years old, which is over 35 years old, and I want to continue his modern excited person” so his tradition is his tradition. ”
The speech opened the album in personal notes, which included the song “Let’s Go on,” in which he mentioned Twan Mack’s death inside the first bar. From there, he reflects on his youth speech, struggling with “lack of principles” before he gains deeper understanding of the “minimum” of social consciousness.
As the title suggests, the album is full of adult scriptures, which is a refreshing breakthrough.
“I hope hip-hop fans and arrested development fans are immersed in the hunger, music, skills and relevance of this 37-year-old revolutionary collective from Atlanta, Georgia,” he added. “I hope people are inspired to remember why we are so important to hip-hop in the first place and why we keep moving forward in 2025, in fact, maybe more than ever.”
To match this version, The Arrest Development released a video to “package”. Vibrant visuals shot in the desert, find words and companies radiate joy in the lyrics. In fact, voice solves negative emotions that seem to be headlines in 2025.
“After all, there is a floor seat from the new hand of the tap,” the speech raps. “We went back to Boom Bap and statistics to fill the score sheet statistics/when I spoke to it, we bent the entire map on the tour/advertising, which is probably the most positive affirmation/for your fork bucks/we are adorable/we believe us, we are Oracle/Never Auros/Never sus Cuz our Aura, our Aura is totally/opposite.”
The arrest development, founded in Atlanta in 1988, had a profound impact on hip-hop by providing an active, African-centric alternative to grand gangster rap in the early 1990s. In the life of their debut album, 3 Years, 5 Months, 2 Days, they won two Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist, the first of any hip-hop band.
They also sell millions of copies worldwide due to their monster singles, “Tennessee” and “Mr. Wendell,” which address racial injustice and homelessness. Arrests developed conscious lyrics and exciting messages provide a new direction for hip-hop, emphasizing hope, social responsibility and cultural pride, when the genre was dominated by darker themes.
The organization’s influence expanded to a state of fashion and cultural representation, by popularizing African-style clothing and celebrating the southern black culture. Meanwhile, they helped build Atlanta into the power of hip-hop, paving the way for future Southern artists and shifting the genre’s geographical focus.
Their willingness to solve social problems and embrace diverse voices inspired later behaviors, such as Outkast, and contributed to the wider acceptance of alternative voices. Even decades later, their influence has been recognized in music and activism, their songs and styles continue to inspire artists and audiences around the world.
Adult contemporary hip-hop is no different. Listen on Bandcamp and listen on it.
