RATING: 6 out of 5  Loading ...

Perhaps the most persistent irony in Hip-Hop is that being dope does not always translate into fame and fortune. Conversely, being wack does not necessarily guarantee a four-digit income. But what is for certain is that respect will always enable soul wrenching poetry and unfettered creativity to ascend above the mediocre and formulaic in route to becoming a beacon of hope for desperate souls scouring the viberesphere for something they can feel. These were the sensibilities that made Little Brother’s The Listening (2003) and The Minstrel Show (2005) such welcome additions to the game.

Two years later, the L-Bees, minus super-producer 9th Wonder and a major label deal with Atlantic Records, are back in the indie-world and Phonte and Rapper Pooh sound as fresh as ever. Out of the gate, the Illmind produced “Sirens” packs enough punch to make Jesse Jackson, the NAACP, and Americas favorite Dad—Bill Cosby rethink their respectability plan to quell the nigga talk and “uplift” the hood. Pooh sets the tone with an intelligence that Al Sharpton (and now Russell Simmons) surely wouldn’t endorse. He opines:

they talk about us not using the word nigga, I wanna speak about a couple issues much bigga, like most Black folks live below the poverty line and they wonder why the fuck we are attracted to crime, we got niggas shootin’ niggas at the drop of a dime, babies in the streets dyin’ way before they time many single parent mothers packin’ welfare lines, and niggas being dumbass, the apocalypse is on us, niggas take onus, that’s all I ever asked and got pegged as a hata’, now they tryin’ to take niggas out with the fada’, started with three two six see you lata’, back independent cuz the kids I wouldn’t cata’, go against the system you in bed with Al-Quaeda, dog they ain’t playin,’ look here their going to war with more than Rap, this are mafuckin’ lives now it’s time to fight back!

Now for all of you Hip-Hoppas out there struggling to defend who you are and what you love, Phonte provides ammo for your next debate:

…they tryin’ to blame this Rap shit for all of our ills, like I can stick you up with a mic, like I could rape you with a verse or use a verb as a knife, like before Kool Herc everything was alright, like I wasn’t callin’ Black women hoes before Rappers Delight, shit that’s just idiot talk, this whole shit is a farce, I refuse to be Hip-Hop’s pallbearer, had to tell my son cut that bullshit off, them ain’t videos nigga’ that’ psychological warfare, twenty different variations of the same face, designed to keep yo broke ass in the same place, something else more, yo it’s got to be, because I’m in transition cuz they watchin’ me..

So now that the civil righters have been chin checked and the stakes of the game have been carefully delineated, Phonte and Pooh invite listeners to witness their growth and maturity as young men grappling with the same challenges that confront ordinary dudes searching for purpose and meaning in life. With gut busting humor (now a L-Bee trademark), the duo celebrate the everyday desires to dress well with “Good Clothes,” and gets assistance from the ubiquitous Yung Weezy (Lil’ Wayne) on the only 9th Wonder produced track, “Breaking My Heart.”

Although 9th plays the side, fellow Justus Leaguer Khrysis gets behind the boards on “After The Party” and expertly melds atonal shrieks and hums over an alternating bass and snare to create an end of the night feel that everybody can relate to. Jersey’s Illmind of Beat Society fame produced the bulk of the album, but the L-Bees employed the services of hit makers Hi-Tek and Nottz on “Step It Up” and “Two-Step Blues” respectively. In the tradition of Nas’s “Bridging the Gap,” the L-Bees bring to life, with the assistance of hometown crooner Darien Brockington and Nottz’s up-tempo arrangement, an evening at the Elk’s Lodge where young and old two step their blues away in a tradition that would make Bessie Smith proud and Ma Rainey show her black bottom. Here we see the L-Bee’s plea for intergenerational unity on full display.

One of the most distinguishing characteristics of Little Brother’s previous work was their amazing ability to create great albums that were well sequenced and contained a unity of feeling. This has become a lost art in the Itunes-era. Many believed (including this author) that much of this craftsmanship would be lost with the departure of 9th Wonder from behind the boards, but I was pleasantly surprised to realize that this simply was not the case. Like their big brothers before them–Tribe, De La, Public Enemy, Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth—they allow the album to tell a story about disappointment, perseverance, maturity, redemption, and just plain old having fun—something we all need from time to time. Get the Get Back and get in for the ride.

1. “Sirens”

2. “Good Clothes”