Wow, I haven't anything from this guy since the early days of Arrested Development, not that I ever really followed his career. I do remember really liking that Arrested Development album, 3 Years 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life of --. After that, though, I never paid them much mind. I do know Speech had put out a few solo albums over the years, but never really went out of my way to listen to them. Why is this release different from all the others he had? Well, the answer is pretty simple, it arrived on my doorstep, so I decided to give it a spin. If not for that event, I am pretty sure I would have been left, uh, speechless.
Vagabond is a strong, mature work and is likely to appeal to a wide variety of R&B and hip hop fans, possibly even expanding out from there. His music is not offensive, there is no gratuitous rapping about bling, violence, sex, or use of vulgarities. His songs contain words about relationships and personal responsibility, family, and spirituality.
Speech's music is at the crossroads of R&B and rap, and even a bit of funk and jazz. He blends laid back beats with his smooth rapping style and some guest singers to create an album you can put on and just relax to. This is not something that is usually in my realm of expertise, well it isn't in my realm at all, but I am willing to give all of it a chance. Vagabond is just an enjoyable album from start to finish.
Despite the smooth, easy to listen to style, there is something that is slightly gnawing. Speech doesn't seem to be taking any chances with the music. Content to just tell his tales, without making any waves. It would be nice to see an intelligent well spoken artist, of which Speech appears to be, take his style to the people. Take the socially conscious lyrical skills and seek to spark change. I find someone like Michael Franti to be more along that route. Those thoughts slip away as easily as they have come, as the music flows so smoothly. It is the kind of album you can put on and expect pretty much everyone to enjoy. This is feel good music at its finest.
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