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Little Brother: The Group That Inspired Hip-Hop's Biggest Stars
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Little Brother made being an ordinary person sound worth rapping about. Over 9th Wonder’s soul samples, Phonte and Big Pooh could laugh at themselves, question their ambitions and admit when life wasn’t going to plan.
Among those listening were Drake and Kendrick Lamar, future stars who found something to learn from the North Carolina trio.
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Rappers Phonte and Big Pooh met producer 9th Wonder through North Carolina Central University and formed Little Brother in Durham in 2001. Their name acknowledged the generation they grew up on.
They considered themselves younger siblings of groups such as A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul.
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Released in 2003, “The Listening” introduced Little Brother through songs about trying to make a living while finding time for music. Fictional radio broadcasts linked the songs, as if they were playing on a station dedicated to music that commercial radio overlooked.
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The debut earned Little Brother support from artists they had grown up admiring.
Questlove championed the group, while Pete Rock left Phonte a voicemail praising the album and inviting him to collaborate. Phonte recalled that hearing the message convinced him to leave his retail job and pursue music. Later, Kanye also recorded for “I See Now.”
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Signing to Atlantic gave Little Brother a bigger platform for “The Minstrel Show” in 2005, an album that questioned how the industry sold Black culture.
But reaching viewers proved difficult. Phonte recalled that BET only began airing “Lovin’ It” months into the rollout, while the label kept promoting it despite the group’s requests for a second single.
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Before his breakthrough, Drake recorded with Little Brother on his 2007 mixtape “Comeback Season.” The group featured on “Don’t U Have a Man,” while Phonte joined the 9th Wonder-produced “Think Good Thoughts.”
Drake later named Phonte one of his biggest influences and apologized for failing to deliver a verse for his project.
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He [Phonte] knows he’s one of the biggest influences on my career.
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— Drake via The Village Voice
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Kendrick Lamar’s connection to Little Brother also began before his breakthrough. Still recording as K.Dot, he joined Ab-Soul and Jay Rock on “Nothing Less” from Big Pooh’s 2009 solo album “The Delightful Bars.”
The following year, he opened for Little Brother on tour, where Phonte recalled him expressing his gratitude as a fan.
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I definitely think we’re an influence on a lot of guys coming out like Drake and Kendrick [Lamar], because they told me so.
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— Phonte via Beats 1
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Doja Cat found a favorite verse on Little Brother’s debut. Replaying “Whatever You Say” on Instagram Live, she admired how Phonte kept it flowing without conventional end rhymes.
He later explained that the experiment came from studying Slum Village’s use of rhythm and space on “Fantastic, Vol. 2.”
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Bruh, that’s one of my favorite verses in the entire fucking history of rap ever.
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— Doja Cat
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After 9th Wonder left in 2007, Phonte and Pooh continued until their breakup in 2010. They repaired their friendship and returned as a duo with “May the Lord Watch” in 2019. Their writing had aged with them, with songs about paying bills and learning to be there for each other that spoke to listeners growing older alongside the group.
