Why aint Little Brother Blow?

[Guvnor]

What songs should have blown up?

These two joints come to mind imo

 

[Turbulent]

These two joints come to mind imo

Thanks for posting examples. Songs are cool but I don't really see it.

 

[Bryan Danielson]

What songs should have blown up?

Yo-Yo for one



But not just them but the whole Justus League should’ve blown up….

Cuz L.E.G.A.C.Y. & Ceasar Comanche was dope for me too

 

[Monoblock]

I’m a big fan but this is the part I didn’t like. You could’ve easily been a bridge within the south but being on NY dikk so hard was very disgusting to me. That’s the difference between them and Cunninglynguists… both southern lyricists but one just tried so hard for an NY stamp while the other didn’t and also collaborated with many southern legends.

Kno had a production style that would work great with All the southern legends

This is a very good observation and I actually somewhat agree. The Carolinas are weird like that though. I mean they are the South but it just depends on the group of people who influences them. I think LB were more influenced by the East Coast rappers and culture which is tied into their name and if you hear their music you see it. Very little appreciation or mention of southern rappers which can be a turn off.
CL on the other hand were drenched in Southern pride and appreciation, even had tracks with The Dungeon Family and love for the South. LB seemed like they kind of were embarrassed by it at times and like I said I can see how it could be a turn off and have someone look at them like they thought they were better than. Very good observation and post.

 

[Mindfield333]

This is a very good observation and I actually somewhat agree. The Carolinas are weird like that though. I mean they are the South but it just depends on the group of people who influences them. I think LB were more influenced by the East Coast rappers and culture which is tied into their name and if you hear their music you see it. Very little appreciation or mention of southern rappers which can be a turn off.
CL on the other hand were drenched in Southern pride and appreciation, even had tracks with The Dungeon Family and love for the South. LB seemed like they kind of were embarrassed by it at times and like I said I can see how it could be a turn off and have someone look at them like they thought they were better than. Very good observation and post.

Yeah I’m from South Carolina but I live in NC. I think it might be more of an age thing I think. I was born in the mid 80s and my most influential age im discovering Goodie Mob, Outkast & Scarface. Even earlier I remember Luke and all that Bass music being played. Maybe at their influential age they were rocking with Big Daddy Kane and Rakim.

 

[JustCKing]

To be fair they signed in what, 2004? I'm never gonna fault struggling artists from signing with a label in hopes of changing their circumstances. They got paid (initially), got some breathing room and started working on the record. I don't think it's odd that they thought the album wouldn't be a problem either. De La Soul had done similar things, parodying music/radio/etc. And lets not forget Dilated Peoples had a Kanye-assisted minor hit record that year (This Way) that parodied rap/vices/etc in a similar fashion. The video for This Way was also pretty similar to Lovin It.

End of the day they just went too far for the label and didn't have a hit to back it up. I think the label treated them poorly and fukked it up, so I'm not defending Atlantic. BTW I know LB and Kanye had a relationship earlier, dunno if it had soured by 2005 but I wonder if there was talk of getting a Kanye assist for the album. @TheDarceKnight would remember.

I don't fault them for trying to better their circumstances, but why Atlantic? If you look at the make up of the label at the time in regard to Hip Hop, their flagship artists were T.I., Lil' Kim, Trick Daddy, Fat Joe, and Twista. Where does Little Brother fit in?

Then when Little Brother was dropping Minstrel Show, it was around the time of Lil Kim's Naked Truth and Twista's The Day After. Of course, the priority was Lil Kim and Twista.

 

[get these nets]

I disagree with that. The Listening, Minstrel Show, Separate But Equal, and Chittlin Circuit were all great to good albums. Let's not even mention the Foreign Exchange projects. Even the mixtapes were good JL Vol.1-5.
And lets not go with the "Rescuing hip-hop narrative" They got signed to Atlantic, dropped the single for Lovin It, it got banned from BET for some reason and the album review was changed in The Source. They got shytty promo, 9th basically quit the group to be affiliated with Jay-Z and they still managed to make great music in 2020 with May The Lord Watch and Phonte's solo projects.

I think they are at best average, and their debut and early career corresponded with elite acts dropping hot albums and songs. Easy for them to be overshadowed, even If they were making great music. Which I don't think they were doing,

Bad reviews, poor promo, etc won't hold back artists that the fans are really feeling, and I never got the impression that fans really dug them like that.

I mentioned this before, but the "rescue hip hop" line didn't come out of thin air. They poured jelly on themselves in a print interview. Reporter asked them about when they bombed at an important concert or showcase. Dude responded "they should have cheered us on GP, because we're not rapping about x,y,z"
Have NEVER taken them seriously after that. Crowds don't "owe" applause to artists. You either rock a crowd or you don't.

*Also, to the dude who said that LB was riding the East Coast.
That I disagree with. Brooklyn, NY Newark, NJ and other pockets of the ""East Coast hip hop world" are extensions of, and damned near sister cities to the parts of Carolinas that LB are from. Their cousins are up here. artists, execs, and fans. Many people from the tristate have attended HBCUs in that region. Lords of the Underground, Das Efx , and dozens of behind the scenes people. How could LB be riding a region that they're connected and plugged into for years?

 

[Shadow King]

Far from hyperbole. I can show you technically by way of syllables he uses why Doom is a great emcee as they are many YouTube videos and articles that exist which discuss his lyricism.

I mean have you even listened to Accordin or the whole Madvillany album with an open mind?

I also would like to know who you think is better.

Absolute hyperbole. I've listened to Doom records years before this back and forth with you, my opinion was the same. Accordion does not change it.

An "open mind" means "ready to agree".

 

[Monoblock]

Yeah I’m from South Carolina but I live in NC. I think it might be more of an age thing I think. I was born in the mid 80s and my most influential age im discovering Goodie Mob, Outkast & Scarface. Even earlier I remember Luke and all that Bass music being played. Maybe at their influential age they were rocking with Big Daddy Kane and Rakim.

Yea I hear you but them nikkas not that much older than me and even though I have appreciation for the East Coast I'm a southern nikka through and through. 8Ball and MJG, UGK, Three Six, Dungeon Family, ESG, Scarface, Devin, SUC, Playa Fly are more my influences when it comes to music. It's just weird that they were so influenced by the East Coast to the point they tried to make their own version of it with hardly any southern influences at all. They still made great music though.

 

[KnickstapeCity]

 

[EA]

Phonte and Pooh said on QLS that they wanted to sign to Def Jam but Atlantic Records allowed ABB Records (Indie label they were signed to) to keep the vinyl rights to The Minstrel Show so they didn’t have much of a choice. I don’t necessarily think their trajectory would have been completely different but having Jay-Z and Guru in their corner probably would have resulted in a better push.

If I was picking singles from Minstrel Show, I would have gone for Say It Again, Slow It Down & All For You. Those have the most accessible sounds and topics on the album.

 

[Turbulent]

I think they are at best average, and their debut and early career corresponded with elite acts dropping hot albums and songs. Easy for them to be overshadowed, even If they were making great music. Which I don't think they were doing,

Bad reviews, poor promo, etc won't hold back artists that the fans are really feeling, and I never got the impression that fans really dug them like that.

I mentioned this before, but the "rescue hip hop" line didn't come out of thin air. They poured jelly on themselves in a print interview. Reporter asked them about when they bombed at an important concert or showcase. Dude responded "they should have cheered us on GP, because we're not rapping about x,y,z"
Have NEVER taken them seriously after that. Crowds don't "owe" applause to artists. You either rock a crowd or you don't.

*Also, to the dude who said that LB was riding the East Coast.
That I disagree with. Brooklyn, NY Newark, NJ and other pockets of the ""East Coast hip hop world" are extensions of, and damned near sister cities to the parts of Carolinas that LB are from. Their cousins are up here. artists, execs, and fans. Many people from the tristate have attended HBCUs in that region. Lords of the Underground, Das Efx , and dozens of behind the scenes people. How could LB be riding a region that they're connected and plugged into for years?

Exactly, they were seen (rightly or wrongly) as "we are better than y'all and will tell you what you should like" type dudes. The cool thing about acts like Outkast, kanye, kendrick, ATCQ, De La, Dead Prez etc. was that you never felt that vibe from them. They just made cool music and let people choose. Most people don't want to be talked down to. The excuse that they were "too smart" is too easy. Plenty of "conscious" rappers before and after them had various degrees of success. I haven't even listened to enough of their stuff to say for sure (i used to think The Listening was cool) but is it possible that they were kinda corny even within their own genre?

I mean even common and mos def who kinda came off as "we need to save hip hop from the wackness" type rappers AT LEAST had distinct voices/deliveries. I never felt there was anything particularly interesting about their production or deliveries. It was cool. It just felt like the generic "you have to like this group if you love real hip hop" group who was making technically ok music.

 

[Turbulent]

Another point I'd like to add, it's not about lyrical content 9 times out of 10. It's about delivery, production and how catchy the whole thing is. That's what makes a hit usually. Shyt that just stays in your head.

Camp Lo had minor hits for their time and while I love their sound, i have no idea what the fukk they are talking about.

Jada around the same time as LB had one of the biggest hits of his career with "Why?" which was semi conscious.

LB's music wasn't particularly catchy.

 

[Guvnor]

Absolute hyperbole. I've listened to Doom records years before this back and forth with you, my opinion was the same. Accordion does not change it.

An "open mind" means "ready to agree".

Lol you still have yet to name anyone better so we'll just agree to disagree.

Also for the record an open mind means listening without prejudging the music .

 

[Shadow King]

Lol you still have yet to name anyone better so we'll just agree to disagree.

Also for the record an open mind means listening without prejudging the music .

I find it unnecessary and I already know you won't agree if you think Doom is a god-tier lyricist. And lyricism isn't even my original point I made to the other poster.

I had an "open mind" years ago before you've tried to convince me.