3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of...

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3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of...
ArrestedDevelopment3Years,5Months&2DaysintheLifeOf....jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 24, 1992 [1]
Genre Alternative hip hop [1] [2]
Length56:13
Label Chrysalis/EMI
Producer Speech
Arrested Development chronology
3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of...
(1992)
Unplugged
(1993)
Singles from 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life of...
  1. "Tennessee"
    Released: March 24, 1992
  2. "People Everyday"
    Released: July 20, 1992
  3. "Mr. Wendal"
    Released: December 7, 1992

3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of... is the debut album by American hip hop group Arrested Development, released on March 24, 1992. The album's chart success ignited the popularization of Southern hip hop. Named after the length of time it took the group to get a record contract, 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of... starkly contrasted the gangsta rap that ruled the hip hop charts in 1992 (such as Dr. Dre's The Chronic ), focusing on spirituality, peace and love. [1]

Contents

Upon release, the album received praise by critics. It is included in Robert Dimery's book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die .

The song "Tennessee" is part of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list. [3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [2]
Calgary Herald B+ [4]
Chicago Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [5]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [7]
Orlando Sentinel Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [8]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Select 4/5 [11]
Spin Alternative Record Guide 7/10 [12]

3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of... was released to widespread critical acclaim and was later voted as the best album of the year in The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics' poll. [2] [13] Entertainment Weekly's James Bernard gave the album an "A+" and praised it as a "fresh-sounding debut", referring to the group as "the anti-gangsta" and "perhaps rap's most self-reflective act." [14] Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune wrote that the group "displays unusual worldliness, wisdom and awareness on its debut, immediately establishing itself as a major new voice in hip-hop", noting Speech's social themes and rejection of "macho boasting and gangster posing". [5] In a negative assessment, Robert Christgau of The Village Voice assigned the album a "dud" rating and wrote that the album was "not horrible by any means" but "too often the beats shambled and the raps meandered", [15] though he would later revise his rating to single out "Tennessee" as a "choice cut". [16]

Retrospectively, Steve Huey of AllMusic wrote that the rise of gangsta rap abruptly ended what seemed to be a "shining new era in alternative rap" heralded by 3 Years and that the album, while not "quite as revolutionary as it first seemed", was nonetheless "a fine record that often crosses the line into excellence", further crediting it as "a major influence on a new breed of alternative Southern hip-hop, including Goodie Mob, Outkast, and Nappy Roots". [2]

The Wire named the album its record of the year, the first time the magazine had expanded its year-end critics' poll to include albums in non-jazz genres. [17] The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . [18]

Track listing

  1. "Man's Final Frontier" – 2:38
  2. "Mama's Always on Stage" (Speech) – 3:25
  3. "People Everyday" (Speech) – 3:26
  4. "Blues Happy" – 0:46
  5. "Mr. Wendal" (Speech) – 4:06
  6. "Children Play with Earth" – 2:38
  7. "Raining Revolution" (Speech) – 3:55
  8. "Fishin' 4 Religion" (Speech) – 4:06
  9. "Give a Man a Fish" (Headliner/Speech) – 4:22
  10. "U" (Speech) – 4:59
  11. "Eve of Reality" – 1:53
  12. "Natural" (Speech) – 4:18
  13. "Dawn of the Dreads" (Speech) – 5:17
  14. "Tennessee" (Speech) – 4:32
  15. "Washed Away" (Speech) – 6:22

Personnel

Charts

Chart performance for 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of...
Chart (1992–1993)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [19] 4
Canadian Albums (RPM) [20] 8
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [21] 30
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [22] 32
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [23] 6
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [24] 48
UK Albums (OCC) [25] 3
US Billboard 200 [26] 7
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [27] 3

Certifications

Certifications for 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of...
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [28] Platinum70,000^
Canada (Music Canada) [29] 2× Platinum200,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [30] Platinum300,000^
United States (RIAA) [31] 4× Platinum4,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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References

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  2. 1 2 3 4 Huey, Steve. "3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of... – Arrested Development". AllMusic . Retrieved May 4, 2016.
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  4. Muretich, James (May 10, 1992). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald .
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  10. Moon, Tom (2004). "Arrested Development". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp.  24–25. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
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