Life-Affirming Speech Makes You Think While You Groove : SPEECH: “Speech”; EMI ***

Speech’s solo debut continues Arrested Development’s tradition of “life music,” with songs that reaffirm human suffering, existence and sexuality, instead of fueling the already Inferno-esque fires of nihilism that characterize much of hip-hop culture.

He’s not so much a rapper as a crooner with a church-inflected delivery, and when he emphasizes this style, as on the low-key “If You Think the System’s Working” or the jumpy “Filled With Real,” he’s the master of his element. But he saves his best for the collection’s second half, where “Like Marvin Gaye Said” reworks the classic “What’s Going On” in a manner that acknowledges the original while clearing its own aesthetic space and the meandering “Tell Me Something” and subdued “Running Wild” float at their own soothing pace.

With an eclectic mix of live drums, organs, cowbells and acoustic guitars, Speech’s home-grown approach probably won’t be heard blasting out of Jeeps any time soon, but it’s worthwhile in that it makes you think while you groove. Arrested Development might be gone, but the legacy continues.