Little Brother

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Little Brother (disambiguation).
Little Brother

Origin Durham, North Carolina USA
Years active 2002 – present
Genres Hip-Hop
Labels Atlantic Records
Members Thomas Jones
Phonte Coleman
Pat Douthit

Little Brother is an American hip-hop group from North Carolina that consists of Phonte, Rapper Big Pooh, and producer 9th Wonder. Their debut album The Listening (2003) was highly acclaimed, and was followed by The Chittlin Circuit 1.5 mixtape in 2005 and the group's sophomore effort, The Minstrel Show, also released in 2005. In an interview with MVRemix.com, Phonte acclaims the origins of his group's name: "Tribe, De La, P.E....were like our big brothers in the game so now we are the little brothers of that movement...carrying on the tradition of good music."[1]

Contents

[edit] History

Little Brother formed in Durham, NC at North Carolina Central University in 1998. The three members who met there were Phonte (Phonte Coleman), Big Pooh (Thomas Jones), and producer 9th Wonder (Pat Douthit). They are founding members of the North Carolina hip-hop collective called The Justus League, under the umbrella music group The Hall of Justus.

Their official debut came in August 2001 with their first recording, “Speed;” the song talks about making it big in the music business while still dealing with the troubles and hardships of life and holding down a full-time job. They continued to work the local scene and were picked up by ABB Records. In 2003, the group released their first full length album, The Listening. This record boosted the group to higher acclaim, but national recognition came when Jay-Z tapped 9th Wonder for the song "Threat," off of his eighth offering The Black Album.

That fall, they opened for the Hieroglyphics Crew on their Full Circle national tour. Little Brother’s sophomore album, The Minstrel Show, saw increased success due to their raised popularity. It's theme compares present day rap music and the music industry to the minstrel shows of the late 1800's.

In 2005, Little Brother became embroiled in a short-lived feud, when Young Jeezy's protege Slick Pulla Hoeski challenged the group to a battle after hearing an interview in which Phonte voiced some disapprovments concerning drug rap and the "snowman mascot". Little Brother did not respond, and instead, Phonte called Slick Pulla and the pair resolved the misunderstanding.

Outside of the group, Phonte collaborated with producer Nicolay as the Foreign Exchange, on Connected. Rapper Big Pooh released a solo album entitled Sleepers. 9th Wonder has produced songs for major artists like De La Soul and Destiny's Child, as well as underground artists such as Sean Price, Hieroglyphics, Splash, and fellow members of The Justus League.

In addition, 9th has produced whole albums for Jean Grae (Jeanius), Murs (Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition), Buckshot (Chemistry) and a remix album of Nas' God's Son entitled God's Stepson. In this way he has helped to facilitate the return of albums done entirely by one MC and one producer, which have seen something of a resurgence (RJD2 and Aceyalone's Magnificent City, the upcoming DJ Premier and Royce da 5'9" joint album). He is also working on a second Buckshot/9th album, to be called The Formula.

Little Brother are currently recording their second LP for Atlantic Records, entitled Getback. In addition to 9th Wonder, this forthcoming album is to feature outside production from the likes of DJ Premier, The Alchemist, Just Blaze, and Nottz, and is presently set for a spring 2007 release.

The Minstrel Show
Enlarge
The Minstrel Show

[edit] Discography

also see Little Brother discography

[edit] Little Brother Albums

[edit] Phonte Albums

[edit] Big Pooh Albums

[edit] 9th Wonder Albums

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.mvremix.com/urban/interviews/littlebrother.shtml

[edit] External links

Justus League
Members
9th Wonder | Away Team, The | Big Dho | Cesar Comanche | Chaundon | Darien Brockington | DJ Flash | Edgar Allen Floe | Joe Scudda | Khrysis | L.E.G.A.C.Y. | Little Brother | Median | Phonte | Rapper Big Pooh
Albums
The Listening (2003) | Connected (2004) | Sleepers (2005) | The Chittlin Circuit 1.5 (2005) | National Anthem (2005) | The Minstrel Show (2005) | The Commercial Free EP (2006) | Separate But Equal (2006) | Soldiers of Fortune (2006)  Getback (2007) 
Close affiliates
Jean Grae | Jozeemo | Kaze | Murs | O-Dash | Splash | Supastition | Yahzarah
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../l/i/t/Little_Brother_404e.html"
In other languages