Phonte Sends message To Fans & ABB Records - "We Havent Seen a Dollar | Update : IGTV vid

[Ziggiy]

No one is arguing about them connecting with fans directly, fans don’t directly affect ownership or artists winning these fights. If your fans stop listening and it’s no longer worth pressing albums or dealing with the administration of having it on streaming, labels take it off and sit on it - and artists still don’t own it.

I guess we’ll see. Phonte and Pooh have been in the business for 20 years now i’m sure there’s a method to this particular method they’ve taken

 

[DaHNIC82]

This probably explains 9ths absence

 

[TheDarceKnight]

I agree about him never being the only producer. it's more about them wanting him to be full-time with touring that confused me. They go out of their way to make it seem like he wasnt really little brother

Since 9th has never done a full album with Little Brother, its a little funny to me that he would want to all of a sudden. It seems like they dont like the nikka lol and it makes sense since he has a bunch of NC people not feeling him

I used to work for them and I'm happy to explain any issues. There's no animosity that I'm aware of. They don't fukk with each other like that, but there's no hate. The whole issue of wanting him to tour dates back to him not wanting to tour back when they were a trio except when they'd do local NC shows. Then he'd want to DJ, and they were frustrated that they had to go out away from their families on tour and he stayed at home and gave (what was maybe perceived at the time) his best beats to Murs, Skyzoo, Buckshot, and Jean Grae when they were out on tour.

Little Brother after The Listening became 3 different trios all at once, basically...

Phonte, Pooh, and 9th Wonder on the final product/music.
Phonte, Pooh, and Khrysis in the studio.
Phonte, Pooh, and DJ Flash out on the road on tour.

 

[TheDarceKnight]

nikkas signing bad contracts anytime after the 90's is a damn idiot. If you haven't learned how to read and understand even the simplest contract, you deserve to get fuxked over. I barely listened to this shyt when it dropped back then so I guess I did them a favor then and now, tho.

They didn't sign a bad contract. Their contract is not being honored, and they'd rather not have to lawyer up and sue over it. They want Beni B to do the right thing and pay them what they're owed.

 

[TheDarceKnight]

My bad, I replied then saw your post.

It seems like LB was really just talking the new vinyl.

Pooh just mentioned that they don't get paid off streams--which has more to do with Atlantic (who they seem cool with).

Yeah they're cool with Atlantic. It's just ABB.

 

[TheDarceKnight]

Have people forgotten BOTH ALBUMS FLOPPED? That was the whole deal especially with Minstrel Show. Of COURSE they're not going to get money from it. They probably OWED the label and Atlantic. As for 9th, he got paid as a producer which is completely different.

BTW I'll shut the fukk up soon, but I just have to say...Minstrel Show flopped for sure by major label standards, but The Listening was not a flop at all. The Listening actually over-performed. It was bought by ABB Records as fully finished burned CD with no album budget, released with no marketing budget, and I believe it did like 40-50,000 units or something. Which considering the circumstances (independent hip-hop album from North god damn Carolina in 2003) was wildly fukking impressive. It was all profit with nothing put into it.

And ABB too wasn't even a record label. It was just a distribution company. No one was really moving units like that in 2003 without being on a record label, with no machine, and no social media.

It directly led to them getting a deal with Atlantic Records and got their producer in the studio with Jay-Z and Beyonce in less than 1 year.

 

[aceboon]

Wish them the best, but was turned off to the group from an old interview. And the comment foreshadowed some of the financial problems they would have later, I guess.

A print magazine article from their heyday. Interview mentions them flopping at an important showcase/concert.
Phonte said "yeah, the crowd should have applauded us for not talking about x,y,z on our records"

Never heard rap artists cop pleas for not pulling off a great or good show. Never took the group seriously after that. Rap acts come up doing tons of shows, in different settings in front of different audiences. Either you slightly tailor your set to the audience, or your perform and let it be what it is. But you never ask for a participation trophy.

Groups that can perform well can always do dates, tours and eat....regardless of record sales.
I've been to shows where I didn't even know who the opening act was, and rocked with their performance.
The "y'all should applaud us on GP" is not it.

I don't know the context of the interview, but one thing you can never criticize LB for is having a weak stage show, they're one of the best performers I've ever seen. The first time I even heard of LB was when I went to a J Dilla show, he unfortunately had to cancel the night of because of Lupus but I decided to stick around because I had made the trip all the way from the BX to lower Manhattan and DJ Premier was gonna DJ with his group the NYGz. LB was on the same show and tore that shyt up and this was before The Listening had dropped back in 2002 and they just had singles and unreleased stuff to perform. Seen them over 5 times since and they never came wack with their stage show.

 

[TheDarceKnight]

Maybe I'm just dumb or something but isn't this the type of shyt you lawyer up for and make sure all the T's are crossed and all the I's are dotted when you sign these record label contracts? Shyyt, you can't get me to sign any damn thing without me or someone (lawyer, some one with experience) looking at it. Esp if it's some type of contract.

Wayne went thru the same shyt wth Baby and his catalog/ contract. I mean, you can't just trust ppl anymore, you really gotta look over shyt.

The contract they signed was fine. It's just not being honored. And the assumption that anyone getting fukked out of bread in the music business automatically signed a bad contract is a little bit frustrating to me.

Yeah, there are people that sign bad contracts. There are also contracts that are fine and don't get honored. And one more factor is contracts back then never could have predicted the streaming era. So what may have been a good contract 15-20 years ago can become a not so great contract now.

 

[aceboon]

I get frustrations with not being paid, but what do you want your fans to do? If they don’t already own it they’re going to buy or stream to listen to you, that also keeps y’all in their consciousness to have them think about checking out your shows, which I assume is the one thing your get paid for.

label fights aren’t for fans to fight cuz at the end of the day the only way you win is for us to not consumer your art

They're asking their fans not to support a nikka ripping them off by repressing vinyl in 2021 on a 15+ year old album, how do you see an issue with that?

 

[Mindfield333]

As I get older I realize 9th wonder is probably an ass hole who's best producing days are behind him. He can still make a great beat every now and again but he is kinda stale now. He also put so much of his time and energy into his girlfriend Rapsody that all the other acts on his label suffered. The more I learn about him the more I get disgusted and disappointed.

I'm not blaming 9th behind LB not getting paid but just speaking on him leaving the group.

I was on the Lawn and I could see him being an ass. He’s very opinionated. As is Phonte. And I lowkey think that’s why he never did anymore work with Kanye or Drake

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

They're asking their fans not to support a nikka ripping them off by repressing vinyl in 2021 on a 15+ year old album, how do you see an issue with that?

Because fans care about consuming music, telling your fans not to listen to you is one, the antithesis of why they even care about you, two, doesn’t get you any closer to getting paid or owning your music. Like I said, the label will simply stop printing it if the units don’t move and you’re still at square one - music owned by a label that’s not paying you.

 

[aceboon]

Because fans care about consuming music, telling your fans not to listen to you is one, the antithesis of why they even care about you, two, doesn’t get you any closer to getting paid or owning your music. Like I said, the label will simply stop printing it if the units don’t move and you’re still at square one - music owned by a label that’s not paying you.

What a fukking reach

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

What a fukking reach

It’s not a reach. The caption in the IG post in OP he’s asking fans to not purchase the reprint and to stop streaming their albums. No shyt he’s not talking to fans who already own the music, but those looking for a reprint or who use streaming, he’s asking them to stop. So please tell me how that’s a reach?

 

[Vintage Eclectic]

What bridges did Phonte burn that y'all speak of? Granted he can come off somewhat arrogant or diva-ish at times but what specifically did he do?

 

[TheDarceKnight]

What bridges did Phonte burn that y'all speak of? Granted he can come off somewhat arrogant or diva-ish at times but what specifically did he do?

I'd also like to know. He's not burned any significant bridges I know of.