Grammy Award-winning hip-hop pioneers Arrested Development return with a powerful new anthem, “All I See Is Melanin,” a celebration of Black beauty, culture, and strength. The track serves as both a tribute and a call to embrace the richness of the Black experience.
“All I See Is Melanin” is a soul-stirring, uplifting song that reinforces themes of self-love, pride, and unity—core messages that have defined Arrested Development since their groundbreaking debut in the early ‘90s. As a group known for their conscious and revolutionary approach to hip-hop, this latest release continues their legacy of using music as a tool for empowerment and change.
“This song is a love letter to our people,” says Speech, the group’s frontman and visionary. “Blackness is beautiful, powerful, and limitless, and this track reflects that.”
The Atlanta Daily World
The Atlanta Daily World spoke with Speech after his return to Atlanta from a successful 2022 European tour. The artist shared insights regarding Arrested Development’s on-going appeal, plans for the future and the state of the arts in a climate of social change and political unrest.
On Arrested Developments mass appeal …
At end of the day, I would love to have music lovers, a large black audience because a lot of the lyrics that I write, I write them with Black people in mind, including Black people throughout the diaspora – those are the people I’d love to see come to the show more often. But the other blessing is that we also have fans from all walks of life. We have European fans, African fans, fans from Australia, Aboriginal fans, we have a really great, diverse fan base.
The intention in the music …
We really care, so I think a lot of people feel the quality and the authenticity of what Arrested Development presents and they are attracted to that. We’ve found that throughout the world, different countries, different races and nationalities, different people appreciate [that we care].
Arrested Development as a rap alternative …
I never liked the term alternative. People sort of pigeon holed us and put us in a category called ‘alternative rap.’ I never liked that because we are rap, we’re hip-hop. Although the music is more expansive than a lot of other hip-hop is, we wanted that. It’s similar to what Outkast did [with] song like “Hey Ya,” where there is no rap in the entire song, but it’s still considered a hip-hop [song] because they are a hip-hop group.
I will see though that we were an alternative to gangsta’ rap because our people needed that. You know, you can’t have an entire diet of fast food, fried food, and high calorie food and live off of that. So while it’s fun sometimes … if you only live on that you die quicker. That’s the truth with gangsta’ rap too. … Unfortunately w were having too much of that in the diet and Arrested Development wanted to juxtapose that and bring about images and content with more dignity about our people – and show more historical truths about our people.
Accompanied by a visually striking music video, “All I See Is Melanin” highlights diverse representations of Black excellence, joy, and resilience, reinforcing a narrative of pride and historical significance.
Since their debut, Arrested Development has remained at the forefront of socially conscious hip-hop, using their platform to uplift and inspire. “All I See Is Melanin” is more than just a song—it’s a movement.
Watch the official music video for “All I See Is Melanin”
