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Such is the central idea behind Little Brother’s highly anticipated and wildly imaginative sophomore album, “THE MINSTREL SHOW.” The Durham, North Carolina-based trio of emcees Phonte and
Big Pooh, and producer 9 th Wonder, struck critical gold with their 2003 debut, “THE LISTENING,” a soulfully vibrant concept album that focused on a day in the life of a fictional radio station (WJLR, Justus League Radio).
Picking up where “THE LISTENING” left off, “THE MINSTREL SHOW” opens with the introduction of the fictional television network, UBN (U Black Niggers). After WJLR
is purchased by UBN in a corporate takeover funded by the Atlantic Group, the station finds a hit with its new series, “The Minstrel Show,” starring Little Brother. The underlying theme is that while the group finds success and escapes
their humble beginnings, they ultimately pay a price for it by sacrificing their dignity. Conceptualized like a low-budget episode of “Saturday Night Live,” complete with commercial breaks and musical guests, “THE MINSTREL
SHOW” is a darkly humorous album that is equal parts soul and satire.
“To me, ‘THE MINSTREL SHOW’ is ultimately about responsibility,” says emcee Phonte. “As rappers, we have to take responsibility for what we say, and for the images we portray
to our people. If not, we’re doing essentially what minstrel shows did: perpetuating negative images and reinforcing those negative stereotypes.”
Producer 9 th Wonder offers a different take on “THE MINSTREL SHOW” and its role in today’s hip-hop climate: “This album is basically us holding a mirror up to our community and saying,
‘Look what has happened to our art form, look how low our standards have dropped as far as what we accept as good music.’ If we can make people at least think about that, then we’ve done our job.”
“We knew we would probably make a lot of people mad,” says Rapper Big Pooh about the album’s controversial title. “That’s just the price you pay for taking a stand.
There’s a lot of craziness in hip-hop right now, and hopefully with this album we can bring about some type of balance.”
With songs such as “All For You,” which focuses on the pain of being an absentee father, and “Slow It Down,” which discusses the complexity of male-female relationships, “THE
MINSTREL SHOW” explores a wide spectrum of topics that speak directly to everyday people. Although much of the subject matter is serious in nature, the album is not without its comical moments. In “Cheatin,” starring Phonte in an
uproarious turn as his soul-singing alter ego Percy Miracles, the group takes time to mock present-day R&B.
“Minstrelsy doesn’t only occur in rap music,” says Phonte about the track. “A lot of people might ask why we would take time to satirize R&B on a hip-hop album, but nowadays
the two genres are virtually the same. A lot of these R&B records are just as silly and juvenile as rap is.”
Formed in 2001 in Durham, North Carolina, Little Brother first appeared on the hip-hop scene with their 2003 ABB Records release, “THE LISTENING.” The album immediately struck a chord with the rap
community, garnering praise from the likes of Pete Rock and The Roots, as well as catching the ears of Jay-Z, who recruited producer 9 th Wonder to craft tracks for him (“Threat”) and Destiny’s Child (“Girl” and
“Is She The Reason”). After swift sales and critical praise from virtually all of the mainstream media, the group inked a deal with Atlantic Records in 2004.
“Although we’ve been blessed with a bigger record deal, our goals remain the same,” says 9 th Wonder. “Our job is to make dope records. That’s what Little Brother is here to
do, and that is what we will continue to do.”
The Minstrel Show, In Stores Sept. 13 th
1. WELCOME TO THE MINSTREL SHOW
2. BEAUTIFUL MORNING
3. THE BECOMING
4. NOT ENOUGH
5. CHEATIN
6. HIDING PLACE
7. SLOW IT DOWN
8. SAY IT AGAIN
9. 5 TH AND FASHION
10. LOVIN’ IT
11. NOTEPAD OF A MAD BLACK DADDY (SKIT)
12. ALL FOR YOU
13. WATCH ME
14. SINCERELY YOURS
15. STILL LIVES THROUGH
16. THE MINSTREL CLOSING THEME
17. WE GOT NOW
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