Little Brother Retrospective

Cash Arenas

Music Journalist

Whenever you think of 2000s hip hop, you think of the likes of Jay Z, Kanye West, and Lil Wayne. However, one name that might not come to mind is Little Brother. Hailing from Durham, North Carolina, the trio consists of Phonte Coleman, Thomas “rapper Big Pooh” Jones, and DJ Patrick, also known as “9th Wonder”.  

The trio of Little Brother was formed at North Carolina Central University in 2001. Debuting on February 23rd, 2003, with their first album release, The Listening, featuring songs such as The Way You Do It and Whatever You Say. These songs showcase the skills of mastering and mixing a track from scratch by 9th Wonder while using samples and manipulating them to pave your own sound. One line I really enjoy from The Way You Do It is “Who you came to see, who you came to rock for (Little Brother) 

That’s why we stay vibin’, pens stay scribin’ Rims rotatin’ to keep your soul pulsatin’.”  

The Chittlin Circuit 1.5 is the next album by Little Brother, released on June 14th, 2005. This album features one song, I See Now, featuring Kanye West, which is very near and dear to my heart. Now, for Kanye West, this song is a deep dive, but for little brother, it is one of their biggest, garnering a little under 5 million streams on Spotify. This song showcases prime Kanye’s lyrical genius in his verse one, as well as very solid backup from Rapper Big Pooh and Consequence in verse two, holding it down.  

“That’s why I put ’em to the test like every day, not like the G.E.D. or an S.A.T. pop quiz, let ’em know that they meal ain’t free.” Overall, I feel like this is definitely their second-best album, and I recommend checking out other very good songs, such as War and Ladies’ Jam.  

 Last but not least, my Favorite album from the Group is The Minstrel Show, which was released on September 13th, 2005. This album, from top to bottom, is loaded with great lyrics and instrumentals within each track. Highlighting my favorite tracks from this Album are the songs Lovin’ It Featuring Joe Scudda and Little Brother’s biggest song, according to Spotify, with just shy of 12 million streams. “Yo, when ‘Te pulls his verses out Promoters pull their purses out That, money for a purchase out The charge card that they swipe for the worst amounts’ Cause this is business, not personal.” Next up is the song Slow It down, which is a slower song henche the name, once again showcasing 9th Wonder’s ability to manipulate the track to his liking to a tee. “My mother calls me Thomas. You can do the same. Damn its so refreshing when you calling out my name. Been Pooh for so long it doesn’t sound the same.” 

 However, in 2009, the trio split up as 9th Wonder left the group due to creative Differences and increased production work, separate from Little Brother. 9th Wonder would then go on to become the legendary producer he is today, working with multiple big artists, and Big Pooh and Phonte would come back together to make music still to this day.