Oakland, CA, August 8, 2007 – Nearly two years since the release of their critically acclaimed sophomore album The Minstrel Show, North Carolina’s Little Brother returns with Getback, a slim and trim 11 track album slated for release this fall on ABB Records.
The new album features production from Illmind, Hi-Tek, Nottz, Denaun Porter and 9th Wonder, as well as guest shots from Lil’ Wayne (the playful “Breakin My Heart”) and fellow Hall of Justus family members Jozeemo and Darien Brockington, (the bittersweet thump of ‘That Ain’t Love’ and the vibrant ‘Two Step Blues’ respectively).
The inspiration for Getback came out of a desire to “get back” to the original reason Little Brother wanted to make music in the first place; simply for the love and fun of it. Frustrated with “the industry”, they wanted to return to that place in their hearts that made them want to create music. “When I sat down to write my first rhyme I didn’t say, ‘Maybe if I write this, the people at Clear Channel will love me…I never gave a sh*t about that…so when I saw myself caring about that, I knew it was a problem and I had gotten away from the original reasons why I started making music.”
The album is a return to basics for the group and hope this time around the real focus is on the music itself and not what label they’re on, how many records they’re going to sell or who’s in the group. “I think this is the closest we could get to the feeling and energy we had when we made our first record” says Rapper Pooh “Back in 2001 no one knew who we were or that we were even making music. Fast forward to 2007, fresh off Atlantic, the three man group now a duo, people either counted us out or don’t know what to expect anymore. That gave us the freedom to be just that, free.”
Formed in 2001 at North Carolina Central University in Durham, NC, Little Brother has become one of the premier names in soulful hip-hop. With influences that range from the expressive boom bap of A Tribe Called Quest to the rugged back and forth chemistry of EPMD, the group’s members, Phonte and Big Pooh, have become essential names in hip-hop circles worldwide.
Little Brother released their debut album, “The Listening,” on ABB Records in 2003 to widespread critical acclaim. After receiving props from hip-hop luminaries such as Pete Rock and DJ Premier, and touring nationally and internationally with the likes of Hieroglyphics and The Roots, the group signed a deal with Atlantic Records in 2004. Their sophomore effort, “The Minstrel Show,” was released on Atlantic in 2005 to a mass of critical praise and media controversy. The video for ‘Lovin It,’ “Minstrel Show’s” lead single, was deemed ‘too intelligent’ by the BET network and was subsequently banned. Similarly, the group’s 4.5 mic rating in Source Magazine was challenged for political reasons, forcing the magazine’s editor-in-chief Fahiym Ratcliffe to resign from his position.
After the release of “Minstrel Show,” the group released a pair of stellar mixtapes; “Separate but Equal” with DJ Drama (2006) and “And Justus for All” with DJ Mick Boogie (2007). Boasting collaborations with Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Kardinal Offishall and Ray Cash, “And Justus for All” continued Little Brother’s long running streak of critical admiration, receiving an XL rating in XXL Magazine, and made free to the public via internet download. Shortly after the release of “Justus,” Little Brother left the Atlantic label.