Little Brother - The Minstrel Show
Released Sept. 13, 2005
on Atlantic
From the freestyles and audience interaction to the sample-based beats and on-stage spontaneity, this is a breath of fresh air. From the conceptual album to the energetic live performance, this is hip-hop done right.
The show
When Little Brother stepped into the limelight at Common Grounds in Gainesville, Fla., on Thursday night, emcees Phonte and Big Pooh didn’t just regurgitate the material from their latest album.In a recent interview with Citizen-Times, producer 9th Wonder explains:
If people want to have the album laid out, they can listen to it in the living room. When we’re on stage our job is to give the crowd another experience.Last night’s show reached an unexpected climax when a sassy and seemingly out-of-his-mind fan joined the group on stage for some spastic dancing.
“This right here is history,” Phonte said with a smile.
The album
LB’s cohesive sophomore album takes the form of a television show on the fictional UBN network, complete with announcers, commercials and appropriate skits. The Minstrel Show criticizes today’s exploitative mainstream hip-hop, comparing it to the blackface entertainment of the 1800s.Believing in the group and its message, Joshua “Fahiym” Ratcliffe stepped down from his position as editor-in-chief of The Source Magazine because his employers wanted to give The Minstrel Show a lower rating than he had intended.
In an interview with Ratcliffe, Big Pooh details the album’s intent:
We’re just trying to bring some balance back to music because black life isn’t all about pimping or thugging.With 2003’s The Listening, Little Brother garnered the attention that led to the group signing with Atlantic Records. Let’s hope that the new record continues to turn heads and more major labels give artists of this caliber a chance.
The song “Say it Again” sums up the trio’s collective sentiment:
“This is a movement. It’s bigger than showbiz.”