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.
Curtain Call
Little Brother Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yo, yeah, huh, it's Phontigga
You know I been doing my thing
Foreign Exchange things, y'knahmsayin?
All kind of things
Then you got my brother Big Pooh
He doing his things, Dirty Pretty Things
A whole bunch of things
It's Little Brother
Aiyyo, automatic, systematic, me and my nigga at it
Last go round for the pound, get your Instamatics
with all the pictures added, we put our stamp on it
Not being Cam'Ronish, I mean +Diplomatic+
I say what I feel till I ain't gotta say no more
I dedicate this to the A&Rs
that said LB is the game but they ain't playing ball
And all the turncoat niggas who forgot what we was playing for
So you can call this the day tomorrow
It's the removal of a fixture, a complicated picture
and not even Clarissa could +explain it all+
You're mad with me? Tough tity, get a training bra
This is the marathon I have been training for
ever since me and Big Pooh was getting rental cars
Ever since Khrysis banging out on the ASR
Never leave the game, just changed the way I play the cards
[Chorus: Phonte]
Aiyyo, who them boys that make the record feel "so good"?
Turn the speakers up and let the record kill
Don't stop, you know it don't quit
But when it's curtain call, then that's all you gon' get
We do it like this, one time, make the record feel "so good"
Turn the speakers up and let the record kill
Don't stop, you know we don't quit
But when it's curtain call, then that's all you gon' get
And we do it like this
[Rapper Big Pooh]
This is it, the last monologue
Last act in the play, you can say the epilogue
New hooks to begin dear friends
You can always press rewind and relive it again
Listening in '03 made the people take notice
Shout to Beni B even though shit was bogus
Toured around the world, came home, new deal
Chittlin Circuit out, thank Koch for the meal
Minstrel Show here looking for mass appeal
Guess they wasn't ready for the real on the reel
It did what it did, know them boys bounced back
Hit drawn with a car, Gangsta Grillz got that
Boogie came through before Getback dropped
Three became two but the party ain't stop
Before the curtain close, before the music ends
Had the time of my life, let me thank you again
It's LB
[Chorus: Phonte]
[Phonte]
Yeah, shout out to all the fans that's been supporting us from day one
Big ups to y'all
Shout out to all the brothers coming up in the game
that's continuing this tradition of what we started, carrying the torch
The Little Brother's song Curtain Call is a farewell song that talks about their last performance as a group, expressing sentiments of both gratitude and bitterness. The track features verses from Phonte and Rapper Big Pooh that describe their journey as a hip-hop duo, from the beginning to the end. Phonte leads off with the opening verse, making clear his and Big Pooh's respective activities since the group disbanded. He reveals in his lyrics that he has been busy with projects like Foreign Exchange, while Big Pooh has been doing Dirty Pretty Things, working on other projects as well. Phonte's verse also mentions several setbacks they've experienced throughout their career, such as the A&R executives who praised their music but never ultimately signed them or those who chose to forget what they stood for.
Big Pooh picks up where Phonte leaves off, stating that this track marks the end of their group's story. He evokes memories of their early days and the experiences they’ve shared, thanking their fans for their support throughout the years. Pooh's verse stresses how they've come a long way since their 2003 debut album "The Listening," including their attempts to reach universal appeal with "The Minstrel Show" and their break out into the mainstream with “Getback”. As the chorus builds, the Little Brother duo shares their final thoughts on the end of the curtain call, emphasizing that it’s one final opportunity for listeners to feel the music's weight and power.
In conclusion, Curtain Call stands out as an emotional song from two artists who have accomplished much, and the lyrics paint a picture of two individuals who have grown tired of playing by the rules and have, therefore decided to part ways.
Line by Line Meaning
Aiyyo, automatic, systematic, me and my nigga at it
I'm effortlessly flowing with my brother, having an easy time making music
Last go round for the pound, get your Instamatics
This is our final time making music together, capture the moment
with all the pictures added, we put our stamp on it
We're confident in the quality of our work and we're proud of it
Not being Cam'Ronish, I mean +Diplomatic+
We're not being cocky, we're being diplomatic and respectful
I say what I feel till I ain't gotta say no more
I'm speaking my truth until it's understood
I dedicate this to the A&Rs that said LB is the game but they ain't playing ball
This is a message to those who didn't believe in us and betrayed us
And all the turncoat niggas who forgot what we was playing for
Those who turned against us forgot what we were trying to accomplish
So you can call this the day tomorrow
This is our last day and tomorrow is a new chapter
It's the removal of a fixture, a complicated picture
We're leaving something complex behind us
and not even Clarissa could +explain it all+
It's so intricate that not even Clarissa could explain it all.
You're mad with me? Tough tity, get a training bra
If you're upset with me, deal with it and don't be sensitive
This is the marathon I have been training for
I have been preparing for this moment for a long time
Ever since me and Big Pooh was getting rental cars
We've been working and grinding since the beginning
Ever since Khrysis banging out on the ASR
We've been making beats since the ASR days
Never leave the game, just changed the way I play the cards
We're not quitting, just taking a different path
Aiyyo, who them boys that make the record feel "so good"?
Who are those guys that make music that feels amazing?
Turn the speakers up and let the record kill
Play our music loud and let it take over
Don't stop, you know it don't quit
Don't pause the music, just let it keep playing
But when it's curtain call, then that's all you gon' get
When the show is over, that's the end
We do it like this, one time, make the record feel "so good"
We put our all into our music to make it feel amazing and we do it passionately
This is it, the last monologue
This is our final statement
Last act in the play, you can say the epilogue
This is the final scene, the afterword
New hooks to begin dear friends
We'll have new hooks to start fresh with our friends
You can always press rewind and relive it again
You can always go back and listen to our music again
Listening in '03 made the people take notice
When people first heard our music in '03, they became interested
Shout to Beni B even though shit was bogus
We shout out to Beni B even though things didn't go well
Toured around the world, came home, new deal
We toured worldwide and came home to a new deal, which was exciting
Chittlin Circuit out, thank Koch for the meal
We left the Chittlin Circuit, but appreciate Koch for helping us
Minstrel Show here looking for mass appeal
We aimed for mass appeal with The Minstrel Show
Guess they wasn't ready for the real on the reel
People weren't prepared for the truth in our music
It did what it did, know them boys bounced back
Our music had its impact, and we bounced back stronger
Hit drawn with a car, Gangsta Grillz got that
We had a hit with a car song and Gangsta Grillz helped
Boogie came through before Getback dropped
We had support from Boogie before Getback was released
Three became two but the party ain't stop
We lost a member, but we kept going
Before the curtain close, before the music ends
Before our music stops completely
Had the time of my life, let me thank you again
We've had an amazing experience and we're thankful for it
Yeah, shout out to all the fans that's been supporting us from day one
We thank all of our fans who have been with us since the beginning
Big ups to y'all
We appreciate and respect all of you
Shout out to all the brothers coming up in the game that's continuing this tradition of what we started, carrying the torch
We acknowledge and support new artists that are carrying on our legacy and making similar music
Contributed by Cooper R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Cashew559
Someday, in a future generation, someone is gonna dust off a little brother cd, pop it in a disk player, listen and wonder how the HELL these guys never blew up!
Jay
They did blow up though. They did it their way. Anyone who can stay relevant and make money off rap for 2 decades is the definition of “made it”.
jacb630
💯
jacb630
You couldn’t have said it better bro!
A.R. T33
Man what
The Scent Profiler
Knowing you guys are back together and making new music makes it a great time to be a Little Brother fan. We waited 5 years for this day to come.
Abdul-Rashid Yakubu
This is the group that made me fall in love with hip hop. Always so soulful
Marc Smith
Little Brother is my favorite group. Real Hip Hop!!!!
jacb630
💯
jacb630
Why haven’t these guys gone multi-platinum?