Meet Speech Thomas | Music artist / keynote speaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Speech Thomas and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi speech, is there a quote or affirmation that’s meaningful to you?
A young South African boy once said, “do what you can, with what you have and with the people around you”. That quote has been a mantra for me for the past 35 years! What I find so amazing about this quote is it gives me a way to move forward no matter what your situation is and where you find yourself at in the moment.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I started a hip-hop group called Arrested Development. We released our first single in 1992 called Tennessee. That song would go on to be named one of the Rock n Roll hall of fame’s top 500 songs of all time. We are a hip-hop group that pushes positivity and solutions to some of the very complex And heavy issues involving the Black community.
Our Music was a very bold statement at a time when most successful artists were bragging about gang life, drugs, and demeaning women we were the antithesis to that and yet we made it to the top of the charts and sold well over 5 million albums

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I live in a rural area of Atlanta, Georgia. The county is called Fayetteville, and forDelicious food we would go to Thai Spice, then we would go downtown to a restaurant called Houstons. In order to just get a feel for the magic of Atlanta I would take them to the belt-line and we would walk and people watch all the various cultures of Atlanta the next day. We would have to go to the King center and learn about the Rich history of Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement. Lastly, we have to enjoy the parks, some family & friends homes and more amazing restaurants.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’m going to credit my father, Robert Thomas, and my mother, Patricia Pattillo. They both were amazing entrepreneurs and gave me a first hand example of how to be bold, resilient adaptable, vulnerable and encouraging! My father started numerous businesses varying from a roasted corn stand – to a fast food restaurant the first of it sort within the Black community of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. My mother started a newspaper that would go on to become the largest black newspaper in the state of Wisconsin.

Website: https://BrotherSpeech.com

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Speech