{"id":784,"date":"2010-07-12T02:26:38","date_gmt":"2010-07-12T09:26:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/?p=784"},"modified":"2014-08-01T23:17:15","modified_gmt":"2014-08-02T06:17:15","slug":"arrested-development-interview-essence-music-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/?p=784","title":{"rendered":"Arrested Development Interview- Essence Music Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

Interview: Arrested Development Eshe and Tasha
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\nVenue: Essence Festival, New Orleans, LA – Ritz Carlton Hotel lobby
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\nBy: Amy Harris
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\nDate: 7\/02\/2010
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\nThe Atlanta based- group Arrested Development, won two Grammy Awards in 1993 for Best New Artist and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, and was also named Band of the Year by Rolling Stone magazine. In January 2010, they released a new single “The World is Changing”, which was #9 on Japan Pop.
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\nI sat down with Eshe & Tasha before their performance at the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans on July 2, 2010 to discuss their musical journey over the years.
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\nAmy: It\u2019s been a long time between albums 2006 through 2009. Why the break?
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\nEshe: We\u2019ve been together for 15 years. We took a small break at one point and got back together in 1998-1999. When we got back into the studio it just happened organically.
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\nAmy: When Speech formed your group, it was as an alternative to gangsta rap. Music has changed a lot in the past 15 years. How do you feel about the current state of hip-hop and rap today?
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\nEshe: Well, in the beginning we just wanted to do good music that the family could listen to and was positive for the community and the world. It was just natural for us. We didn\u2019t start out with an agenda. Today, I think there are a lot of good artists out there, but there isn\u2019t balance in music. I have a daughter who is seven and I try to expose her to a broad view of music. There are a lot of great groups out there that are under the radar.
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\nAmy: What up-and-coming bands do you enjoying listening to or what is your current favorite?
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\nEshe: Great question! There are a lot of groups out that are under the radar.
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\nAmy: I know you talked on CNN today, and I\u2019m trying to be better than Anderson Cooper.
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\nEshe and Tasha: [laughing]
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\nEshe: I like Janelle. She\u2019s been on the Atlanta scene for some time now, but hasn\u2019t had her big break. I like Janell!
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\nTasha: We love Janelle.
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\nAmy: You guys tour all over the word. What\u2019s your favorite place?
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\nTasha: Australia! I love that place.
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\nEshe: We are going to be there in December to bring in the New Year over there. It\u2019s so beautiful there.
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\nTasha: I love Australians. I could live there forever.
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\nEshe: I also love Japan, but I\u2019m so glad I\u2019m going to Australia in their summer and our winter. It\u2019s going to be great.
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\nAmy: What\u2019s been your most fulfilling career moment?
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\nEshe: Wow. [Long pause] I think for me it\u2019s when we do shows and people come up to me and say \u201cDon\u2019t change\u201d and \u201cYou inspire me.\u201d and \u201cI love the way you look because you inspire me.\u201d I think it\u2019s great when you can connect with people. I see babies at our shows all the way up to elders.
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\nAmy: Do you have any charities that you work with personally?
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\nEshe: I\u2019ve taught dance at a number of locations. As a group, we have worked with UNICEF and homeless organizations across the country along with Feed the Hungry in Atlanta.
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\nAmy: What\u2019s your favorite song to perform live?
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\nTasha: Mama\u2019s Always On Stage. I\u2019m not the best dancer in the world, but when you put that song on it makes you want to dance. You can dance as crazy as you want to and it doesn\u2019t matter. When you see people come to the show, it gives them the freedom to dance any way they want.
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\nEshe: For me, I don\u2019t really have a favorite because there are so many I like. I like Fishing For Religion, Mama\u2019s, We Ran, and Bloody.
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\nAmy: I liked The World Is Changing. Is there a story behind that one?
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\nEshe: Have you seen the video? You\u2019ve got to go out on youtube and see the video. In the video, we go through different eras. The 50\u2019s, 80\u2019s and the 90\u2019s and show how the world is changing. Like rotary phones to cellular phones.
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\nTasha: Everything, even the style of dress.
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\nEshe: It\u2019s simplistic, but shows the world is forever changing.
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\nTasha: It\u2019s impossible to keep up with everything changing.
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\nEshe: It reminds you to appreciate the moment.
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\nAmy: What do you wish you knew 15 years ago that you know now?
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\nEshe: I wish I were more knowledgeable about the business aspect of the music business. At the time, I just wanted to sing. It\u2019s 98% business, and the rest is the artistic part of it. I have balance now. At the end of the day, I understand the business, but I still like to perform.
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\nTasha: For me, it\u2019s things in life. I wish that I would have known that things weren\u2019t as easy as my mother created them to be when I was a kid. Parents shield you as a kid, but then when you get to high school and college you don\u2019t know how to handle a situation. I wish I had been exposed to a little bit more so I would know how to make the right decisions and why it\u2019s the right decision to make as an adult without looking for someone to give guidance.
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\nCheck out the entire photo gallery of Day 1 at the Essence Festival on CityBeat.com
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\nhttp:\/\/citybeat.zipscene.com\/photos\/view\/10489\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Interview: Arrested Development Eshe and Tasha   Venue: Essence Festival, New Orleans, LA – Ritz Carlton Hotel lobby   By: Amy Harris   Date: 7\/02\/2010   The Atlanta based- group Arrested Development, won two Grammy Awards in 1993 for Best New Artist and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, and was also named […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[117,118],"tags":[1576,271,264,1639,273,266,268,269,267,265,270,263,272],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=784"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3820,"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784\/revisions\/3820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}