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The Minstrel Show

Little Brother

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iTunes Review

Borrowing some conceptual inspiration from Spike Lee’s movie Bamboozled, North Carolina hip-hop trio Little Brother jump to a major label with The Minstrel Show. Rapper-producer 9th Wonder has garnered attention for his work with the likes of Jay-Z, but the group’s underground vision stands on its own here. Some incisively funny moments are among the highlights (the R. Kelly parody “Cheatin’” boasts a spot-on Ronald Isley imitation and a non-rhyme that may be the set’s best joke), but the three also bring earnest criticism of black culture, praise for romantic partners, and tales of the struggle toward recognition. The show-within-an-album conceit does break the fourth wall, allowing for Little Brother to dramatize all this within kicked-back tracks whose layers invite repeated listens.

Customer Reviews

Smartest Album In Years...(And Easily One Of The Best)

The Minstrel Show isn't just an album title. And the album itself isn't just a rap music album. It's a concept album, based on the fact that North Carolina group Little Brother (comprised of MC's Phonte & (Rapper) Big Pooh and producer/DJ 9th Wonder) is extremely unhappy with the current state of not only hip hop, but black music, and how African American culture is portrayed by the media. They use minstrel shows as a metaphor for what they believe is happening today. "And I ain't worried about n****s bitin' Minstrel Show They still teethin' off 'The Listening'" Hiding Place (Phonte) The way this is executed throughout the album (not to mention the addition of the most worth reading album booklet I've ever seen) is just genius, and takes an otherwise "very good/great" album to a CLASSIC album, which this is to me. But, it takes a couple listens for the whole album to sink in, and to really get a good feel for it. The afternoon I got this, I ended up listening to the album 4 times throughout the rest of the day...Probably the most times I've ever listened to an album in a single day, and it was worth it, as it got better with every listen. After the first time I listened to it, I was glad I bought it, and thought it was good, but by about the 2nd or 3rd time, I couldn't get enough of it, and decided it was the BEST album of 2005, and one of the best I had heard in years... "This is a movement, n**** it's bigger than showbiz I love hip-hop, I just hate the n****s in it" Say It Again (Phonte) Now to the actual musical content, which is dope in its own right. One of the other things that makes The Minstrel Show great is that Little Brother ADRESSES their weaknesses and qualities they're most often criticized for, which would be "Big Pooh is garbage, a lot worse than Phonte", and that 9th Wonder's beats sound too similar (mostly due to his samples he uses on almost every track, and the fact that he almost always uses the exact same drums). Personally, although I think that Phonte is a good amount better (and one of the best MCs in the game), I would say Big Pooh is a good rapper. 'Sincerely Yours', 'Still Lives Through' & 'All For You' are just a couple examples of how he can be enjoyable to listen to, and actually spit some nice verses. Now, he's not GREAT, but he isn't as bad as he's usually made out to be. As for 9th, I like his style, and although he could change it up a bit more once in a while, I really don't have any complaints about him at all. "One day, they giving you the thumbs up The next, they tellin' 9th to go and switch his drums up" Still Lives Through (Phonte) The production here is almost all handled by 9th Wonder (which should be obvious), but he gets some help from Khrysis of the Away Team ('Watch Me', with scratching provided by DJ Jazzy Jeff), Nicolay of Foreign Exchange ('5th And Fashion Skit') and Piano Reeves, who produces the song 'Cheatin', which is basically a parody of mainstream R&B music today. Personally, I think 'Cheatin' is very funny (and accurate), but a bit long (3:43 for a joke song). I was going to but this as the worst track, but in truth, it adds something to the album, and is entertaining enough not to skip. ""11, 12, 13, 14, 15...Cant think of nothin that rhymes with 15..." Cheatin' Top 5 Songs (In Order): 1. Lovin' It (Featuring Joe Scudda) - I was surprised, but the single is actually my favorite song on the album. A GREAT sample, and my favorite production on here 2. Still Lives Through - Pooh & Phonte drop 2 of their best verses over some of 9th's best production 3. All For You - Most personal song on the album, and the deepest lyrically...Really just a song you can feel, not to mention one of the best samples 4. Hiding Place (Featuring Elzhi of Slum Village) - Elzhi makes a dope guest apperance, but all 3 drop some of the hottest bars on the album here 5. Slow It Down - Basically the ladies song on here, but VERY well done. Phonte's verses especially just make this a great song. Worst Track: None. All of the tracks are at least very good. I can't pick one to call "the worst". Lyrics/Substance/Subject Matter - 9/10 Flow/Delivery - 9.5/10 Production - 9.5/10 Overall Feel - 10/10 Guest Apperances - 8.5/10 - Darien Brockington, Elzhi, Joe Scudda, Chaundon - All guests contribute to the album positively, but there aren't enough of them to make a big impact on the overall outcome Overall Rating - 10/10 - Just a great great album...Pick this up, and make sure you don't pass your final judgement too quickly. I have a feeling this will be one of my all time favorites not too long from now...

WOW!

Who would have thought that North Carolina could produce this kind of "fire"! Surely not I. If you played this in the tri-state(NY,NJ,PA) or Cali you would think they are from there for certain. There is NO "dirty" in this southern group just plain skillz i.e. "REAL" hip-hop. I am so proud that that there are artist below the Mason Dixon Line that exemplify what Hip-Hop is really about.

"Dope beats, dope rhymes--this hip-hop ain't really that hard..."

That's how Phonte opens up on "Not Enough" before he drops the 1st verse. It seems simple, but for some reason, most artists can't figure that out these days. Please check out this album as well as their others--The Listening and The Chittlin Circuit if you want groundbreaking, true-school hip-hop that conjures up memories from back in the day when this genre was still pure. You can't even think about saying you're a fan of hip-hop music if you don't at least check it out...

Biography

Formed: 2001 in Durham, NC

Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap

Years Active: '00s, '10s

Part of the new millennium resurgence of alternative rap, Little Brother drew from atypical inspirations for Southern hip-hop: classic Native Tongues outfits like De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest, as well as more recent torch-bearers like the Roots and Black Star. MCs Phonte (born Phonte Coleman) and Big Pooh (born Thomas Jones) swapped rhymes with an easy chemistry, but the group's real focal point was DJ/producer 9th Wonder (born Pat Douthit), an old-school sampling technician who quickly established...
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