Built around MC Speech and DJ Headliner, the rap collective Arrested Development delivered a funkier, brighter sound than early-‘90s contemporaries Public Enemy. Yet both groups covered similar topical terrain. Take Arrested Development’s smash “Tennessee”—a hook-packed Trojan Horse of a track about loss in the Black community—or their Sly & the Family Stone flip “People Everyday,” which narrates a tense cultural confrontation. And songs like “Mr Wendal” utilize engaging melodies as vehicles for Speech’s clear-minded raps about social change. As a solo artist, singer Dionne Farris kept the positive vibes flowing with soulful pop jams like “I Know.”