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.
All For You
Little Brother Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Power steering style, I'm killing niggas at will
Freestyle legend act, capture the ears of show veterans
When the stakes got raised like brown letterin
Down to the exact scale measurements, time to
Let these motherfuckers know exactly what it is I represent
Real rhymes, you prone to remember me, I roam
Like a cell phone in Italy in search of the real shit
Rhyme for they personal pleasure till four in the morn
With my back and my chest sore and never have to press
Pause till I stop the tape and hit em with a yes ya'll
Phonte still considered the best deliverer of threat
Troubled nigga got more issues then jet
If you a showin put your stage up, cornball niggas
Throw your maze up, Microsoft niggas say word and page up
To this new style that's about to open doors
Carolina sickness that I wrote with force
Then smack a nigga like he broke his jaws, on the real man
y'all niggas out there is just a hopeless cause
Right now, what you need
Phonte true in deed
Little Brother on the mic
About to rock it for you
You nice as this, so I'm a verbal chemist
Scientist on the mic yo societies menace
Hip-hop's Popeye and the beats is spinach
No need for olive oil cause her feets is lemon
Overlooking blue notes cause they speech is gimmick
Give a fuck about your car if the jeep is rented
You cheap nigga, it ain't even got features in it
Like to talk about money when you can't even spend it
This is real life and there's more things that's hollow
The tips that chicks swallow throw up tomorrow
Or shells that pierce chests leaving niggas to death
Whispering last words and taking their last breath
Only the mimic emcees is left
Watch em search the earth so they can grieve what's left
Even every rappers know we the best of the best
I'm the reason why most of ya'll keep tapes in ya decks
Right now, what you need
Big Pooh, true in deed
Little Brother on the mic
About to rock it for you
It's for you
Ohh Ohh, Ohh Ohh
It's time to settle the score
Little Brother on the mic
About to rock it for you
Now for the low low price of only 8.99
Witness Phonte slice a phony, and spit a rhyme
That will settle your bets in 30 measures or less
I stay ahead of the rest with incredible text
We fire off like its New Year's Eve, Pooh is here for
Sucka emcees, this year I made it hard to breathe
I'm the shit so your squad can't leave, got them waiting
To applaud in the club, standing tall like trees
Making the crowd cheer massively, I tell niggas
Ya'll ain't wack, y'all just sound wack rhyming after me
Cause I'm the most magnificent, life is a blessing
And I'm living it, for better worse or indifferent
Thugs getting open to me, and yo mad
Hands up in the air like I told them to freeze
9th Wonder on the boards, who it supposed to be
Rock bottom to the calm standing close to me
Ya'll niggas know ya'll out of there, come on with the real
Ya'll niggas faking the funk, come with it
Right now, what you need
Phonte true in deed
Little Brother on the mic
About to rock it for you
Right now, what you need
Big Pooh, true in deed
Little Brother on the mic
About to rock it for you
It's for you
Ohh Ohh, Ohh Ohh
It's time to settle the score
Little Brother on the mic
About to rock it for you
In the song "All For You" by Little Brother feat. Darien Brockington, the first verse is a phone call to the rapper's father, addressed as "Deah Pops." The rapper expresses his feelings about his father's absence in his life and how it has affected him. He recalls holding a jack in the middle of his basement, anticipating a call from his father that never came. The rapper expresses his frustration and pain of not having his father around as he grew up.
In the second verse, Phonte speaks about the parallels between him and his father. He remembers looking at his father's photograph and realizing how much he favored him. However, his mother could never stay with his father. Phonte learns that his father was a wild and crazy dude, and the memories he had of him were misleading. He feels like he is repeating his father's mistakes as his son is leaving and his girlfriend has split. He did everything possible to make the relationship work, but it still ended in an empty house. Despite all the struggles, Phonte feels like he has to succeed as a father and doesn't want his son to feel the same pain that he felt growing up.
Line by Line Meaning
Time to face it
I need to confront and deal with this situation
Sitting in the middle of the basement
I am alone and isolated, deep in thought
Holding a jack
I am holding a tool, symbolizing the need to fix things
How I'm anticipating he 'gon call me back
I am waiting for a response, hoping for reconciliation
Got so much on my mind
I am burdened with thoughts and emotions that I need to express
Ain't no holding it back
I cannot keep my feelings bottled up any longer
In fact, I give a fuck how he 'gon react
I don't care how he responds, I need to speak my truth
Through my first nineteen
Up to this point in my life
Asking where he at
Wondering where my father is, both physically and emotionally
Never seen him in the spots where we be at
He was never present in my life or in places where I was
For the next couple hours I sat 'til the phone rang
I waited anxiously for a call from him
No luck or no cigar
He never called back
So I said to myself I'll try tomorrow
I postponed the conversation to another day
Me and my Vincent left out
I went out with my friend Vincent
Went to shoot play some ball
We played basketball
Came back, had message like 'this your pa'
When I returned, there was a message from my father
Then I took to the phone
I called my father back
Conversation was raw
The conversation was honest and emotional
Shit, I had to let him know that his child was scarred
I needed to express how his absence and actions affected me
And right now we working through our mess
We are trying to mend our relationship
But I had to get some shit off my chest
I needed to express my feelings
So bear with me, y'all
Please listen and understand where I'm coming from
Just want to take the time to let you know
I want to express something important to you
Sometimes it's hard to let my feelings show
I struggle to express my emotions
The thoughts of guarantees are really so
The future is uncertain and unpredictable
This is all for you, you
I am speaking directly to you, my father
I was looking at your photograph amazed how I favored you
I noticed how much I resemble you in a photo
I remember being young wanting to play with you
I have fond memories of wanting to spend time with you
Cause you was a wild and crazy dude
You were known for your reckless behavior
And now I understand why my momma couldn't never stay with you
I realize why my mother had to leave you
From the roots to the branches to the leaves
All aspects of my being, from my family to my personal identity
They say apples don't fall far from the trees
Children often inherit traits and qualities from their parents
I used to find it hard to believe
I used to doubt this idea
And I swore that I would
I made a promise to myself
Always hold my family as long as I could
I would prioritize my family above all else
But damn
However,
Our memories can be so misleading
Our recollections of the past may not reflect reality
It's misery
It's painful
I hate to see history repeating
I don't want to repeat the same mistakes and patterns as my father
Thought you were the bad guy
I used to believe you were solely responsible for our problems
But I guess that's why
But now I understand why things turned out the way they did
Me and my girl split
Me and my girlfriend broke up
And my son is leaving
My son is moving away from me
I did chores, did bills, and did dirt
I took care of my responsibilities and obligations
But I swear to God I tried to make that shit work
I put in effort and dedication to our relationship
'Til I came off tour to an empty house
When I returned home from touring, the house was empty
With all the dressers and the cabinets emptied out
All the furniture and belongings were gone
I think I must've went insane
I felt like I was losing my mind
Thinking I was in love, but really in chains
I was trapped in a relationship that wasn't healthy
Trapped to this girl through the two-year old who carried my name
I felt obligated to stay with her because of our child
I tried to stop tripping
I tried to let go and move on
But yo, I couldn't and the plot thickened
But I couldn't let go, and the situation became more complicated
That shit affected me, largely
That situation had a significant impact on me
Because I know a lot of people want me
Because I am a public figure, many people have expectations of me
To fail as a father
To not be a good parent
And the thought of that haunts me
That idea scares and worries me
Especially when I check my rear-view mirror
When I look back at my past
And don't see him in his car seat
And I am not with my son
So the next time it's late at night
In the future, when it's late at night
And I'm laid up with the woman I'mma make my wife
When I am with the woman I will marry
Talking 'bout how we 'gon make a life
Discussing our plans and goals for the future
I'm thinking about child support, alimony, visitation rights
I am reminded of the possible legal and financial consequences of a failed relationship
Cause that's the only outcome if you can't make it right
If the relationship doesn't work out, these are the consequences
Pissed off with your children feeling the same pain
Angry at my father for causing me and my child to experience pain
So, Pop, how could I blame cause you couldn't maintain
I can't entirely blame my father for our problems, as it is a difficult task
I did the same thing
I made similar mistakes
The same thing
Similar mistakes and patterns were repeated
Chorus
Reiterating the message of the song
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: TIMOTHY JONES, P. COLEMAN, PATRICK DOUTHIT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind