Max (an IMAX production). He built a home studio called the Podium in Fayetteville, Georgia. He licensed his second solo album in 1998, 1998 Hoopla, to Toshiba EMI in Japan. Hoopla was later released in 1999 in the United States on TVT Records. In 2000, Speech recorded and licensed to Toshiba EMI his third solo project entitled Spiritual People, which garnered his biggest solo album sales to date, being certified gold by the RIAJ in November 2000. Speech followed up with various sold-out tours and heavy promotional schedules. Spiritual People was later released in the United States in 2001 on ArtistDirect. Speech then licensed to Toshiba EMI, Down South Produckshuns which spawned another top 10 hit entitled "Braided Hair." Vagabond Productions later released a Speech solo compilation of Down South Produckshun songs, Spiritual People songs (U.S. version) and songs from Arrested Development's Among the Trees album, entitled The Vagabond in 2006. That album was released on Bluhammock records and won in The 6th Annual Independent Music Awards for Best Rap/Hip-Hop Album. Speech toured with US Vice President Al Gore and First Lady Hillary Clinton in the South during the 1996 United States Presidential election. Speech was also invited to and attended the inaugural celebrations. In November 1996, he toured with Hootie and the Blowfish. In addition to touring and releasing his own albums, Speech has performed on several other projects including 1 Giant Leap and collaborating with Zap Mama on "Each Step Moves Us On". Publications What Is Success?. Vagabond Records and Tapes, 2009. Discography Solo albums Speech (1996), Chrysalis Hoopla (1998), TVT Spiritual People (2000), Toshiba EMI Down South Produckshuns (2002), Toshiba EMI Peechy (2003), Toshiba EMI The Vagabond (2005), Bluhammock The Grown Folks Table (2009), Vagabond Records and Tapes Expansion (2020), Vagabond Record and Tapes References External links Speech video interview at allaboutjazz.com 1968 births Living people African-American male rappers American male singers Chrysalis Records artists Independent Music Awards winners Grammy Award winners for rap music Midwest hip hop musicians People from Fayetteville, Georgia People from Ripley, Tennessee Musicians from Milwaukee Rappers from Atlanta Rappers from Tennessee TVT Records artists Underground rappers Arrested Development (group) members 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians African-American Christians Christians from Tennessee Rufus King International High School alumni University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee alumni 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people