S. Samuel
Little Brother's Big Pooh and Phonte have offered some advice to rappers aiming to start their own hip-hop groups.
Phonte explained the difference a producer could have on a rap group.
“Don’t make a producer part of your group unless the producer raps too,” Phonte said in an interview. “That’s not a shot at 9th [Wonder] or anybody. It’s just that producers and MCs are two different kinds of people from a social stand point. MCs have to be out and about, talk sh*t and be aggressive so we tend to be more vocal with what’s on our mind. Producers tend to be more private so you’re dealing with different personality types and different approaches to their craft. When you try to apply it to real life?and considering everything?it’s almost a recipe for disaster.” (VIBE)
Pooh also stressed the importance of honesty and not withholding information with group members.
“You always have to let the other people that you work with know what your goals and aspirations are because they start the same when you’re in a group, but they eventually change,” Big Pooh said. “When me and [Phonte] sat down, had a conversation, saw where we were, realized what the bigger picture was and decided to call it what it was, we stayed friends as a result. We’re still family. I can’t stress enough how important communication is.” (VIBE)
Last month, Pooh compared Little Brother’s break-up to Q-Tip and A Tribe Called Quest.
“I was just thinking about our own situation and then I realized, when groups leave, it’s just like when a person dies. Every person dies and a baby is born. So, as Little Brother calls it quits, there are other groups to not necessarily take our place but to keep the tradition going…That’s what it’s all about — you don’t want your favorite group to force a relationship. Like, you don’t want Tribe Called Quest…If they don’t really want to be together, you want them to make another album. If they make an album just because you asked for it, it’s not going to be the same Tribe Called Quest you fell in love with. It’s going to be something forced.” (Hip Hop DX)
Chi-town’s Rhymefest recently spoke with SOHH about Little Brother’s run coming to an end.
“I’ve talked to Little Brother about their “break-up.” At the end of the day, they’re both my brothers and it’s just that they realize they’ve done as much as they can do with the Little Brother run. It’s like, to me, they have to go off and explore different avenues and transitions of them as artists and as men. Little Brother is like a child that’s ready to leave the house. It don’t mean “Ah man, it’s over!” People thought 9th Wonder leaving Little Brother was a moment where they had to say, “Oh man, they’re done.” And then they came out with so many dope albums after that. So now, they have to figure out who they are as individuals. And at the end of the day, you never know. How many times did Michael Jordan retire? [laughs] And then they find that their life experiences can bring them back together but regardless, I totally understand what they’re doing because I’m getting ready to go through a transition myself.” (SOHH)
Check out a teaser to Little Brother’s “Curtain Call” down below:
