3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of... Tracklist
Arrested Development’s debut album was named after the length of time it took them to be offered a recording contract—3 years, 5 months, and 2 days—after their formation in 1988. With socially conscious lyrics and a funky, Afrocentric, bohemian sound, the Atlanta-based group added a new layer to the hip-hop genre which led to them being named band of the year by Rolling Stone.
3 Years, 5 Months And 2 Days in the Life Of… was certified 4x Platinum and peaked at #7 on the Billboard 200. “Mr. Wendel,” “People Everyday,” and “Tennesse,” the albums three singles, all reached top ten positions on the Billboard 100 and helped the alternative hip-hop group win two Grammy awards for best new artist and best rap album in 1992.
At a time when N.W.A., Ice Cube, and Dr. Dre were ruling the hip-hop scene on the west coast with gangsta rap, Arrested Development took the more positive and hopeful route with their release. Speech, one of the group’s founders, commented on the album’s mammoth success during a 2017 interview:
We were the type of group that thought it was going to be an underground sensation. That people in the underground would understand it. And it just happened to hit at the right time, [at a time] where people were needing more. And the vibe of the group just resonated bigger than we ever thought it was going to resonate with people. So we were very, very lucky and fortunate.
