Tuesday, December 05, 2006

PHONTE of LITTLE BROTHER

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Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with Phonte....enjoy another exclusive interview by yours truly.......

Is Little Brother considered backpack or conscious rap? Though it may be quite difficult to classify Little Brother’s style of music, the most outspoken member of the group, Phonte, describes their music in one word, “real”. Since the 2003 release of The Listening, the North Carolina natives, Little Brother (Phonte, Big Pooh, and 9th Wonder), have served as a refreshing, antithesis to the promotion of misogynistic, “minstrel rap music” that has flooded the hip-hop industry. In fact, Little Brother’s sophomore release The Minstrel Show, spoke directly to this stemming problem with insightful tracks designed to place the onus of creating self-respectable hip-hop music back upon the artists’.


It is impossible to shy away from the fact that Hip-Hop, as we know it, is on life support. Can we save this beautiful culture of ours? According to Phonte’s diagnosis, he is not so optimistic about Hip-Hop’s recovery. Phonte doesn’t seem to believe the devilish marketing of the generic, “cookie cutter” rappers will stop being promoted by careless, money- hungry record executives and corporate-run radio stations unless the masses put a stop to the greedy corporate machine. With that said, the logic behind his eloquent argument could not be anymore clearer, “If I could sh*t between two slices of bread and sell it to you as a hamburger, why would I actually cook you a hamburger?”

Recently, Phonte sat down with Yo! Raps Magazine to discuss why Little Brother’s next album, The Getback will feature producers other than 9th Wonder, the transition from being independent to signing with a major label [Atlantic Records], and why Little Brother doesn’t get spins on mainstream radio. Be very afraid and pay very close attention. The new millennium minstrel show has been unleashed upon the Hip-Hop Community. It just might be up to Little Brother to become the driving force that puts an end to the nonsense we have been calling “Hip-Hop”.

Continue to article post here.

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