You don't know your future if you don't know your past. North Carolina trio Little Brother puts its own twist on this oft heard truth. The group's first album brims with reverence for hip hop pioneers, especially on "So Fabulous," into which they weave smile-inducing tributes to artists as divergent as Kool G Rap and Digable Planets. But these cats aren't just back-in-the-day revivalists--they add their own distinctive spin. Structured like a daily radio broadcast, The Listening unfolds into one of the most addictive debut platters in recent memory. Down-to-earth MCs Phonte and Big Pooh have great chemistry and thematic breadth: They craft emotional verses to an infant son and an incarcerated brother on "Away From Me," but also offer comic relief, as when Phonte recalls quoting Trick Daddy at a pretentious poetry reading ("The Yo-Yo"). Balancing their wordplay, producer 9th Wonder meticulously builds soul-drenched grooves like the bouncy swing of "Shorty on the Lookout." Having learned their lessons well from hip hop innovators, Little Brother stakes claim to a promising future. They've definitely been listening. - Vibe Magazine (April, 2003). I noticed they released a Deluxe Edition which includes all the bonus tracks in one place and the original album's instrumentals. Listen to that deluxe edition of The Listening now on it's original release date.
Props to Phonte, Rapper Big Pooh and 9th Wonder.
