Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on January 2012

Long after reaching the end of their shelf life in North America, Afro-cool hip-hop collective Arrested Development remain Big in Japan. But there’s more to the story than a band past its prime trying to eke out a living, because Speech and co. still rock, as they showed recently at Summer Sonic ’11. Speech still can’t keep his mouth shut, most recently recording “I’m a Fight Back Right Now” to support the No Wedding No Womb campaign to highlight a situation in which 73% of American black children are born out of wedlock.

Billboard Live, Jan 19-21 (listing).