“Tennessee” by Arrested Development is one of those songs that everybody knows and loves. The track was the lead single off the group’s 1992 debut album entitled 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of… When the song hit the airwaves that same year, fans were hooked and couldn’t get enough of the socially conscious lyrics.
From a Place of Pain
In 1988, while attending the Art Institute of Atlanta, Milwaukee native Todd Thomas – better known as Speech, co-founded Arrested Development with aspiring DJ Timothy ”Headliner” Barnwell. The group eventually grew to include musicians, dancers, and Speech’s college schoolmate, Baba Oje [bah-bah oh-jay], who sadly passed away in 2018.
It took them exactly 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days to land a record deal, hence the name of their debut album.
In 1991, Speech’s beloved grandmother — whom he used to spend all his summers with in Tennessee — passed away from a heart attack. He made a trip to Tennessee to attend her funeral and told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the unexpected loss shook his family to the core, including his older brother, Dr. Terence Thomas.
Terence was a high achiever and had an interest in medicine since his early days. In 1990, he graduated from Michigan State University with a specialty in obstetrician and gynecology. He began residency at a hospital in Flint, Michigan.
Speech and Terence’s mother, Patricia Patillo, told On Milwaukee that at the funeral, Terence reflected on the fragility of life. Patricia said, “He had such deep regret that his grandma had not seen any more of what he would do.”
After the funeral, Speech went back to the Art Institute of Atlanta, and Terence returned to Michigan. A week later, the family received a call that Terence passed away at the age of 29. Online sources state the cause of his passing was due to an asthma attack, while Speech told TV One’s Unsung that his brother passed away from a seizure.
Understandably so, Speech fell into an extremely dark place after the back-to-back losses. He told Richmond Magazine, “I felt like my life was crashing around me.”
He told Song Facts that Tennesse was the last place he saw all of the important people in his life. So on the night he learned of his brother’s passing, Speech began to create a song that would serve as a prayer to God, all while paying homage to the state that brought him so much joy and sadness.
Speech told SongFacts website he knew he wanted the song to be called “Tennesse,” then he started to make beats on his sampler in his bedroom. He also used a sample of Prince saying the state’s name on his 1988 song, ‘Alphabet St.’”
With the beat in place, the lyrics flowed out of him.
“My grandma past my brother’s gone/I never at once felt so alone/I know you’re supposed to be my steering wheel, not just my spare tire.”
And for the chorus, Speech asks God for guidance:
“Take me to another place, take me to another land, make me forget all that hurts me, and help me understand your plan.”
Talking to God
At the time of the song’s 1992 release, conscious rap was starting to take off with groups like De La Soul and Queen Latifah. While the genre had a good-sized audience, it wasn’t the most popular choice. However, “Tennessee” had the distinction of being the only record on the radio with a rapper talking directly to God.
As the song progresses, Speech continues speaking to the Lord and expressing his personal relationship.
“Lord it’s obvious we got a relationship/Talkin’ to each other every night and day/Although you’re superior over me/We talk to each other in a friendship way.”
The song served to remind the culture why the group chose its name. Speech told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “We saw the community in a state of arrested development. And we chose that name as a reminder of what our music should fight against.”
Seeking Guidance
The meaning of the song “Tennessee” looks to the past to seek guidance about moving forward. The song also explains to the youth that while remembering the past is important, they need to seek their own path and start with home.
Taking a deeper look, “Tennessee ” was also meant as a vehicle to seek enlightenment. While Speech felt that many of the people in his generation weren’t taking things seriously enough, he felt it was his duty to dig deeper.
“I set myself on a quest for truth/And he was there to quench my thirst/But I am still thirsty.”
Perseverance Pays Off
According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the label that Arrested Development was signed to was bought out by EMI Records and they immediately started letting artists and groups go.
Since “Tennessee” was anything but the norm for hip hop at the time, EMI could have wanted something more commercial, but Speech insisted that it be the first single from the album. Speech said, “(EMI) could have dropped us, but they saw the music video. Those little decisions made the whole difference to hip-hop, me, and the group.”
Everybody saw that “Tennessee” was the song that the culture needed at that time and continues to need as a timeless hip-hop hit.
Prince collects his check
As the song started to decrease in popularity and move down the charts, they received a call from Prince. Speech told SongFacts that Prince and his people, quote, “waited for that song to sell as many possible copies as they could wait for.”
Prince demanded $100,000 dollars for sampling his work without permission, but it was a small price to pay. Looking back on the incident, Speech told Atlanta Magazine that Prince really went easy on them.
He could’ve demanded the record be taken off the shelf, he could’ve requested the sample be taken out of the record, or he could’ve demanded publishing and writing credits. Instead, he just wanted a flat fee.
Arrested Development took home two Grammys: one for Best Rap Performance from a Duo or Group, and they became the first hip-hop group to win the Best New Artist award.
Let us know if you’re surprised by the meaning of the song “Tennessee” and the historical backstory about this legendary hit.