Little Brother formed in Durham, NC at North Carolina Central University in 1998. The group began as a trio, featuring members 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 2002, they released the cult hit 7" single Atari 2600, with lyrics centering around video games. 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 1800s.
In 2005, Little Brother became embroiled in a short-lived feud, when Young Jeezy's protege Slick Pulla 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.
In late 2006, Little Brother began recording their third album, and second for Atlantic Records, Getback. However, in a drastic turn of events, the group announced in January, 2007 that they would be parting ways with Atlantic. This move was likely due to the commercial failure of The Minstrel Show, and creative differences over their future material. Big Pooh was quoted as saying "We as a group just felt that it was not in our best interest to remain in a situation where our needs were constantly being overlooked. We didn't have an A&R for The Minstrel Show. We don't have any type of relationship with our current A&R. There are just a lot of internal issues that ended up working against us." Their manager Big Dho added that there were no "ill feelings towards their (Atlantic) company."
More of a surprise to fans was news that the group has also parted ways with their longtime producer 9th Wonder. Although 9th Wonder's role in the group was that of a producer, the group's tours only consisted of the other two members and his contribution to recent Little Brother releases such as Separate But Equal were less than before (although it is worth noting that this release was a mixtape and not an official album). Nonetheless, news that he would be playing a smaller role and contributing less to their third album indicated a divide between the members. Big Pooh stated that the decision was amicable on both sides, saying "This is just a decision that had to be made so all three of us could move forward and continue to provide the world with dope music."
Little Brother formally announced the group's breakup in 2010.
Producer DeAndre Keaton (DJ Flash) who is featured on The Chittlin Circuit 1.5 is the official tour DJ for Little Brother.
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There is also second artist called Little Brother who is based in Brighton, Sussex. Using guitars, keyboard and a range of other instruments, little brother creates a unique alternative 'electronic' sound
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There is a third artist called Little Brother
Little Brother is the Acoustic Emo project of Newcastle-based singer/songwriter John Floreani (Trophy Eyes).
Drawing inspiration from the stylistic sensibilities of Daniel Johnson, Owen and Right Away, Great Captain!, Little Brother is an exploration of love, loss and heartache.
The project’s debut 6 track EP, 'Terrace' will be released late 2014.
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There is a fourth artist called Little Brother
Little Brother is a lo-fi singer/songwriter project, who released their first album ('Green for a While') on 18th August 2022.
The Way You Do It
Little Brother Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We like the way you do
Relax yourself, breathe easy 'cause
We like the way you do it
Yo, six minutes to showtime, I was out in the rain
Wit my nigga Big Pooh goin' over some thangs
No money in our pockets, just a buck and some change
Ran up in the hideaway wit niggas screamin' our names
Took the stage like a jet soarin'
Wildin' out wit the sweat pourin', til I woke up hoarse the next mornin'
An ill feelin' that it brings about
To see niggas mouthin' yo words and you ain't even got a single out
On stage stealing yo' spot
It's the equivalent of ten adrenaline shots
Just like L.E.G.A.S.Y. and Sean Boog when they killin' the R.O.C
Ain't gotta worry 'bout if niggas just pretendin' it's hot
'Cause I can see their hands in the air wavin', heads bobbin'
Neck snappin' back and forth, 'bout to break dat shit
Man I appreciate dat shit
Thanks for showin' us love and to the top we fin' to take dat shit fa y'all
Relax yourself, breathe easy 'cause
We like the way you do (inhale)
Relax yourself, breathe easy 'cause
We like the way you do it
Relax yourself, breathe easy 'cause (ooh)
We like the way you do (inhale)
Relax yourself, breathe easy 'cause (ooh)
We like the way you do it (doin' what ya doin' baby)
I see ya'll cats wit yo' hands high
Up front shoutin' out the songs real loud, real proud
Lettin' every other person know
Who you came to see and who you came to rock for (Little Brother)
That's why we stay vibin', pens stay scribin'
Rims rotatin' to keep your soul pulsatin'
It's been a long time, but most folks still waitin'
All apologies, but thank you for stayin' patient
And die hard, that's why we try hard
Dig deep demand, so we supply y'all
Pushin' man, and we wanna keep you high far
From consent wit dis current state of hip hop
We know music, we know why some don't choose it
Y'all know the truth, I hope y'all don't lose it
Bullshit, everyday we all go through it
We givin' y'all some shit that's therapeutic, so breathe easy y'all
Relax yourself, breathe easy 'cause
We like the way you do
Relax yourself, breathe easy 'cause
We like the way you do it
Relax yourself, breathe easy 'cause (ooh)
We like the way you do (inhale)
Relax yourself, breathe easy 'cause (ooh)
We like the way you do it (doin' what ya doin' baby)
Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh like this yo
Relax yourself, breathe easy 'cause (I like the way you do it baby) (yo)
We like the way you do (what you do to me) (yo yo, ch check a check it out like this y'all)
Relax yourself, breathe easy 'cause (appreciate you showin' love)
We like the way you do it (now 'til 'til 'til, can't save it yet 'cause that might outdate it)
(Y'all ready, yo, you dig)
Relax yourself, breathe easy 'cause (ooh)
We like the way you do (inhale)
Relax yourself, breathe easy 'cause (ooh)
The Way You Do It by Little Brother is a song that speaks to the gratitude and appreciation the artist has for their fans. The song begins with an acknowledgement of the anticipation of the show and the excitement that comes with it, which is conveyed through the use of similes and descriptive words like "wildin' out", "sweat pourin'" and "neck snappin' back and forth". Surely enough, the artist says that the energy on stage is equivalent to ten adrenaline shots and describes the feeling of seeing fans mouthing their words even though they don't have a single out.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the love and admiration that the artist has for their fans, as they repeatedly sing "Relax yourself, breathe easy 'cause, we like the way you do it". The second verse continues with the artist acknowledging their fans and the hard work they put in to stay relevant in the music industry. The lyrics are laced with metaphors that suggest that fans keep the artist pulsating and breathing easy, emphasizing that fans keep them going.
Overall, the song's message can be described as a love letter to fans, as Little Brother thanks them for their unwavering support and hints at their commitment to keep making music that resonates with their audience.
Line by Line Meaning
Relax yourself, breathe easy 'cause
Take it easy and calm down, don't worry about anything
We like the way you do
We appreciate and enjoy what you're doing
Yo, six minutes to showtime, I was out in the rain
I was getting ready to perform with my friend Big Pooh and it was raining outside
Wit my nigga Big Pooh goin' over some thangs
I was with my friend Big Pooh discussing some important matters
No money in our pockets, just a buck and some change
We were broke and only had a small amount of money with us
Ran up in the hideaway wit niggas screamin' our names
We arrived at the venue and people were excited to see us
Took the stage like a jet soarin'
We went on stage with energy and excitement
Wildin' out wit the sweat pourin', til I woke up hoarse the next mornin'
We performed with great enthusiasm and energy, to the point of sweating and losing our voice the next day
An ill feelin' that it brings about
It's a great feeling to see people enjoying our music
To see niggas mouthin' yo words and you ain't even got a single out
It's gratifying to see people singing along to our music even when it hasn't been released yet
On stage stealing yo' spot
We're performing so well that people might mistake us for someone else who's more popular
It's the equivalent of ten adrenaline shots
Performing live gives us a huge adrenaline rush
Just like L.E.G.A.S.Y. and Sean Boog when they killin' the R.O.C
We're as good as L.E.G.A.S.Y. and Sean Boog, who are known for their high energy performances
Ain't gotta worry 'bout if niggas just pretendin' it's hot
We don't have to worry about people pretending to like our music, because we can see that they genuinely enjoy it
'Cause I can see their hands in the air wavin', heads bobbin'
People are visibly enjoying our music by dancing, jumping and waving their hands
Neck snappin' back and forth, 'bout to break dat shit
People are nodding their heads so hard it looks like they might hurt themselves
Man I appreciate dat shit
We're grateful for the love and support we receive from our fans
Thanks for showin' us love and to the top we fin' to take dat shit fa y'all
We're grateful for the support and we're going to keep striving to be successful for our fans
I see ya'll cats wit yo' hands high
We notice people in the audience with their hands raised in enjoyment
Up front shoutin' out the songs real loud, real proud
People are singing along to our music with pride
Lettin' every other person know
They're making it known to others who they're there to see
Who you came to see and who you came to rock for (Little Brother)
They're letting others know that they came to see and support us
That's why we stay vibin', pens stay scribin'
We continue to make music that resonates with our fans, always with pen on paper
Rims rotatin' to keep your soul pulsatin'
We create music that makes people want to dance and feel good
It's been a long time, but most folks still waitin'
We may not have released music in a while, but our fans are patiently waiting for us to return
All apologies, but thank you for stayin' patient
We apologize for the wait, but thank our fans for their continued patience
And die hard, that's why we try hard
Our fans are loyal and dedicated, which motivates us to work harder
Dig deep demand, so we supply y'all
Our fans expect the best from us, and we strive to deliver
Pushin' man, and we wanna keep you high far
We want our music to inspire and uplift our fans
From consent wit dis current state of hip hop
We're not satisfied with the state of hip hop right now
We know music, we know why some don't choose it
We understand music and why some people choose not to pursue it
Y'all know the truth, I hope y'all don't lose it
Our fans know the truth about music, and we hope they never forget it
Bullshit, everyday we all go through it
Life can be tough, and we all face bullshit on a daily basis
We givin' y'all some shit that's therapeutic, so breathe easy y'all
Our music is meant to be therapeutic and calming, so our fans can relax and breathe easy
Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh like this yo
We're about to switch it up and bring something new
(I like the way you do it baby) (yo)
We appreciate the way our fans enjoy our music
(what you do to me) (yo yo, ch check a check it out like this y'all)
Listen up, we have something new and exciting to share
(appreciate you showin' love)
Thank you for your love and support
(now 'til 'til 'til, can't save it yet 'cause that might outdate it)
We have something new coming, but we can't share it yet because it might become outdated
(Y'all ready, yo, you dig)
Are you ready? Let's go!
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MATTHIJS ROOK, PHONTE LYSHOD COLEMAN, THOMAS LOUIS III JONES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind