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

honestly banger! really jived w/esp. the first half of this album. it sort of slid off for me after U-ish. but overall great! def stealing some songs off this to put in my regular playlists.

Es klingt, als würde Arrested Development eine intime Chronik liefern – tatsächlich fühlt es sich eher an wie drei Jahre, fünf Monate und zwei Tage direkt neben einem Presslufthammer. Der Sprechgesang bohrt sich unangenehm nah ans Ohr, die Produktion wirkt stumpf und eng, und statt Flow gibt’s ein konstantes Ziehen im Trommelfell

Not my kind of Hip Hop but i respect it for what it is (i'm jus trying to be nice ok??)

“3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the life of Arrested Development.” How inviting. You’re given a look into the thoughts and lives of people, people who seem pretty awesome honestly! I mean, “Mr. Wendal” is one of the most full-of-heart songs I’ve ever heard. It's all so likeable: "Natural" is just "Eye Know" but worse lyrics and a less iconic sample. At once, the album brings visions of comfort, of hardships, of beauty and strife. A lot of the styles are incredibly nostalgic to me, and I appreciate that a lot.

It's much too long, and the styles are quite outdated, but it has its place in hip hop history. It influenced a lot of modern styles, and its combinations of poppier hooks with conscious styles is really nice to hear. The Christian element must be hard for some to stomach, but it's really a lovey kind of Christianity, very clearly compassionate and likeable, advocating for freedom for all and stuff like that. If you grew up deep in the city, have a conscious/political edge, and can handle the religious elements, then you'll find much of this very comforting.
7.3/10
DOES IT BELONG ON THE LIST: YES
REASON: Influence and quality

Fine. A bit long. *shrug*

Another hip hop group I’ve never heard of, but really enjoyed. I tend to be a fan of hip hop from this era that sets out to be different than the all the gangsta rap that was popular at the time. It does come off a bit too preachy at times, but I’m still happy to have heard it.

“Scratching” sounds exactly the same wherever it’s used, and consequently anyone who leaned heavily on it during that three-year window when it was de rigueur now sounds instantly dated and stuck in that moment.

Beyond that I found the album a little bit repetitive and over long.
2½

I suppose it's refreshing to hear a hip hop album that is not just rampant misogyny, violence, and homophobia. But I still just don't like hip hop. I mean this one sort of replaces all of that stuff with cheesy lyrics and bad samples. And it is a little preachy which is almost as bad. I could see this being a record that 'real hip hop fans' would dismiss. Maybe that's not true but I'm not exactly a real hip hop fan. I appreciate the messages of peace and acceptance and love and respect that are on this record, I just don't like this music. 2/5

Interesting album. The songs are all quite varied and fun even if none of them are necessarily my thing.

This certainly has its moments - when they hit their groove on tracks like Tennessee, People Everyday and Mr Wendal, they sound like the group you never knew you'd been missing all your life. Give A Man A Fish is also worthy of a mention, but there is a bit of a filler problem where Speech spends a bit too much time yacking on about what a freak he is and how he never fit in, which is nice and all, but gets a bit boring after a while.
Close to a 4, but doesn't quite make it there

I think this is pretty good for an early 90s hip hop album. I know it's going to have a very low score because this project is filled with 70-year-old white men who think Beatles are the pinnacle of music, but I honestly can't go any higher than 3 stars.

I actually think that, musically, it holds up pretty damn well, and the vocalists are obviously talented. But, man, it gets so preachy. This band were the face of "conscious" rap in the early 90s, but there are so many songs and lines and references on god that I feel like this would have been right at home on Christian radio stations. It's catchy, but it's a lot, man.

I also find the constant yelling and chanting and vocalizations in the background of every goddamned song to be fairly distracting. It's a decent time capsule, but a 3 is probably right where it belongs.

Приємний позитивний хіп-хоп з 90х, по атмосфері нагадало якісь класичні гурти типу де ла соул. Але якоїсь ізюминки не почув. Альбом із серії - класно включити десь вранці на вихідних, щоб грав фоном. Поставлю 3.5

2026-09-08:
Quite fun underground hip-hop album with a few highlights but sadly besides that it is a bit outdated and a bit boring as well. Right in the middle once again with 3 stars.

Golden age hip hop. Fantastically eclectic.

The lyrics and content are great and all, I just find the music really boring. If more songs were Tennessee-adjacent or a bit bassier that would have improved the experience. As it stands now it's good, and I get it's impact, but I probably won't listen again. 2.7/5 -> 3/5

Overall, wasn’t massively fussed on this one. Didn’t do much for me and towards the end it really felt like it was going on forever.

The one exception was Mr. Wendal. What an absolute belter of a track. Wish the rest of the album had been even half as good.

Kind of a mixed bag. Some songs were pretty cool and others a bit annoying

There seems to be a strong social consciousness to this record. Uplifting African Americans while highlighting contemporary social issues. It's celebratory, hopeful, and a powerful reminder to not let go of your roots because they give you your foundation. Do prefer their other contemporaries though like ATCQ and De La Soul.

Fete låter og fiffig samplebruk. Har ikke hørt dem før, men det fenga. Albumet lugger litt av og til, men kanskje ikke så rart med det antallet låter.

This was a Trip. Not super into southern hip-hop from the era, but there are some bangers on this one. Loved the sampling, and the spaciousness of the record, which is a rare occurence in rap music from the era. It’s a pretty good mix. Amazing samples of course. Low 4.