Little Brother

While the appearance of Lil Wayne on a hypnotic, handclap-heavy "Breakin My Heart" may suggest Top 40 aspirations for the backpack-rap heroes in Little Brother, a quick listen to Getback and the group's previous breakthrough (2005's The Minstrel Show, their controversial question-the-game concept album) reveals just how indebted Little Brother is to the Native Tongues school of artists like De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest. "Good Clothes" tackles commercialism but keeps things fresh with a sun-baked horn section, "Lovin' It" and "Not Enough" lift their easygoing sound from the golden age of '70s soul, and "Watch Me" chops and pitch-shifts vocal samples like a modest Kanye West.

As strong as those two albums are, our Next Steps also show how much Little Brother shines in the realm of mixtapes and solo projects.

A quick clarification: The Chitlin Circuit is technically a Little Brother mixtape from 2004. Not that you'd realize it after hearing the haunting nostalgia of "War," a steam-pressed remix of "Nighttime Maneuvers," a minimal, moonlit treatment of "The Yo-Yo," or the sweeping strings and soul-kissed samples of "Altitudes." To get the full Little Brother experience, though, you might want to explore the former trio's part-time projects. (9th Wonder left on good terms in 2007.) "Life of the Party" is a feel-good affair featuring North Carolina's finest underground hip-hoppers, "The Animal" is a 9th Wonder production steeped in DJ Premier-caliber boom-bap beats, and "My Mind" reveals a softer side to Big Pooh.

As harmless as Little Brother appears in magazine spreads and music videos (conscious rappers — how cute! how '90s!), the North Carolina group has courted quite a bit of controversy over the years. Especially during the promo push behind The Minstrel Show, a damning account of the greed and hustle-glorifying rhymes that drives many mainstream rap acts. As a matter of fact, BET refused to air the video for "Lovin' It," deeming its satire-driven storyline "too intelligent." That kind of knee-jerk reaction is common when it comes to some Little Brother listeners, despite their grossly accessible sound and a producer (9th Wonder, who's featured prominently on every Little Brother album but Getback) who's worked with Jay-Z, Lloyd Banks, Mary J. Blige, and Memphis Bleek. And you thought the golden age of mid-stream hip-hop (A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Common, Blackstar) was over. Not in the singular minds of Little Brother. To them, it's just begun.