| Speech | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1996 | |||
| Recorded | 1994–95 | |||
| Genre | Rap | |||
| Label | Chrysalis [1] | |||
| Producer | Speech | |||
| Speech chronology | ||||
| ||||
Speech is the first solo album by the American rapper Speech, released in 1996. [2] [3]
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]
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]
| 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]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Can U Hear Me?" | |
| 2. | "Ask Somebody Who Ain't (If U Think the System's Workin')" | |
| 3. | "Filled with Real" | |
| 4. | "Why U Gotta Be Feelin' Like Dat" | |
| 5. | "If U Was Me" | |
| 6. | "Impregnated Tid Bits of Dope Hits" | |
| 7. | "Let's Be Hippies" | |
| 8. | "Freestyle #8 from Speech's Vault" | |
| 9. | "Like Marvin Gaye Said (What's Going On)" | |
| 10. | "Hopelessly" | |
| 11. | "Insomnia Song" | |
| 12. | "Poor Little Music Boy" | |
| 13. | "Ghetto Sex" | |
| 14. | "Tell Me Something (Let Me Know)" | |
| 15. | "Runnin' Wild" |
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