Todd “Speech” Thomas, founder of the Grammy-winning hip-hop group Arrested Development, found himself inspired by Richmond. Specifically, Richmond’s jail.
A show on CNN called “This Is Life” featured a story on a daddy-and-daughter dance at the Richmond city jail. Thomas was impressed by the sheriff, that he’d allowed such an event and done so with dignity and no bars in between family members. “It was such a visionary thing to do,” Thomas said. “I really wanted to talk to this particular jail and see if they’d be willing to do anything else.”
His manager reached out to the staff at Richmond’s jail about Thomas going in and writing music with a handful of inmates. Two years later, he got started and the result was the powerful documentary, “16 Bars,” about how the inmates worked to transcend their cycles of addiction and incarceration through their unlikely artistic collaboration with Thomas.
The documentary was a success, both with the public and in terms of what Thomas learned about life behind thick stone walls (Style covered it at the time). “I was thoroughly impressed with how much real talent was behind bars,” Thomas recalls. “And I was equally surprised by how much deep thought they’d given to their lives, the injustices of the system and the inconsistencies of the law.”
Launched on April 15 to coincide with National Second Chance Month, “Track Change” is a new podcast co-produced by VPM and Narratively, a storytelling platform, while hosted by Thomas [disclosure: VPM owns Style Weekly]. The five-part series follows that group of men in Richmond city jail as they recorded an album, and also details their efforts to successfully re-enter society. The music ranges from country to hip-hop and R&B, with each episode proving the potential of music not only to break through generations of entrenched inequities, but to affirm the humanity of people that society has written off.
Behind the bars
The series explores the challenges of breaking the cycle of recidivism, looks at the interconnected relationship between addiction and incarceration and shows the power of creative expression in healing trauma.
Because it’s been six years since “16 Bars” was released, “Track Change” contains much more information, much of it new. “With hundreds of hours of film and audio captured at the jail, there’s so much more to work with,” Thomas says. “And we could include all that’s happened since we wrapped, much of it information about the inmates.”
Afro-centric hip-hop group Arrested Development has always been about affecting positive change and Thomas’ career focused on uplifting his audience while tackling complex issues, from homelessness to racism. Working with United Kingdom producer Configa, the group released “Bullets in the Chamber” in January, its third Configa-produced album since the pandemic began. “The bullets are the music we’re shooting out into the existing negative sea of lyrics, our way of combating all that with positivity,” Thomas says. “We want to be the guys who share hope.”
Even after 35 years as a group, Thomas sees this album as special because so many of the topics covered are not being discussed in today’s music. “For Free” addresses climate control and the importance of connecting to nature, while “This I Know” looks at the war and exploitation of resources in the Congo for the sake of electronics manufacturing. “This record is chockfull of that kind of content. It would be amazing to get mainstream exposure for it because it would change so much in the music cosmos today,” he says. “My hope is to make music dope enough and competitive enough to do that.”
With recording comes touring. For the first time, Arrested Development will be touring with the Roots beginning in June. “They’re a band and we’re a band and we’ve always respected each other,” Thomas says. “The Roots will be backing us up, so it’s going to be exciting.”
Just as exciting for hip-hop fans in Richmond is that Arrested Development will be this year’s headliner at the Second Street Festival in the fall. They’ll take the mainstage Oct. 5 for the Saturday show at Jackson Ward’s biggest street festival. “If you ask why I’m a human being in this life, it’s because of my music and melodies, that’s my input,” Thomas says. “It’s one of the major reasons I exist on this planet.”
In the meantime, Thomas is hoping podcast fans will check out “Track Change” for the stories as much as the music. “Listen while you’re driving and take a journey inside Richmond’s jail,” he says. “You’ll meet some extraordinary men, but also hear some amazing music.”
The third of five episodes of “Track Change” comes out this Wednesday, May 1. The last episode will release on May 15.
