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May The Lord Watch · Hip-Hop Now Podcast

0:02
Welcome to hip Hop Now pop as if from the future. You know what
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you do show as out of my past lifetime, So disrespect the leg hip
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hop can say this today, escape right into the business. What up,
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y'all? I'm your host Vegas and this it's hip Hop Now podcasts and podcast
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specifically designed to keep you caught up on all things hip hop, music and
0:31
culture that happened throughout the week. Big shout out to the supporters over at
0:35
Patreon dot com. You can visit the link in the description of this episode
0:40
to find out what that's all about. Fifty years of hip hop and I
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must say, y'all, we are winding down. We are winding down.
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The top five of the year is on the way, the best albums of
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twenty three to fifty year. If hip hop is on the way, They're
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gonna be one episode. I'm trying to make room for a couple of other
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excuse me, big releases that could happen, that are slated to happen.
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But I don't know if this is something that's gonna drop after the holiday,
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which is probably most likely what I would do, or before, because I
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need to take a break for a little bit, So stay on the lookout
1:36
for that and for those who don't know. In years past, I've like
1:40
ran through a number of albums I thought that were good and then I would
1:45
do my top five. Well, this year, I decided I have to
1:49
focus. So what we're gonna do in that episode is there's gonna be ten
1:55
albums that I think are ten great albums for the year, almost like recommendations
2:00
for you if you haven't checked them out, and then I'll get to my
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top five. And my top five is going to be very interesting because when
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I did the Best of the Year so far, that list was very different,
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and some people came off the list, some people went back on the
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list, and I'm right now, I'm just listening to music, right I'm
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going back to those albums, listening like, yeah, this one was dope,
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this one was good, this one was this, this one was that,
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and trying to you know, dwindle down right now. I have a
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working list, but like I said, recently, a couple of albums dropped,
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you know, Conway dropped another project. Blue and Nots have a project
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coming, Benny the Butcher has one, what else bust Arounds released Just No,
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it's not going to be on this list. Okay, a couple of
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people you know dropping joint recently. They you know, I just got to
3:02
check out and see what they're all about. So we'll do that. Subscribe
3:07
to the channel. If you're listening on your favorite podcasts and app make sure
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you subscribe there as well. Hit that like button if you like the content,
3:15
but most importantly, share it with people you know would enjoy it.
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I mean, it's just that simple, Like, Yo, you saw this,
3:24
did you check this out? And right before I get into this review,
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I just want to say thank you for everybody who checked out the I
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Am the Biography review. It was a review of NAS's once unreleased album that
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if it had released, we'd be having a different conversation. But a lot
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of people showed up. A lot of people liked the conversation, like the
3:50
episode, so I appreciate you. Let's keep the party going. Now,
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let's get right into the business. So on the week of Thanksgiving, Little
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Brother dropped their I Like to Call It for Hip hop heads highly anticipated documentary
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made The Lord Watch, named after their twenty nineteen Kind Of Like Comeback album,
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their fifth studio album by the same name. And I remember just watching
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people you know, the week of Thanksgiving just online just talking about it,
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what's dope and debating and stuff like that, weighing in and I kept thinking,
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well, damn, maybe I need to watch now so I could be
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a part of the conversation. But that's just not how I roll right for
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me. I knew what was ahead of me with this documentary, so I
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wanted to take my time. I wanted to find a space where I had
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the time to watch because it's about an hour and forty some minutes, excuse
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me, and I you know, I could really soak in what's being presented
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because I've been in this game a long time. And around the time that
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Little Brother was out, I was already working in radio. I was producing
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a hip hop show, shout Out to Strictly hip Hop, And I remember
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the first time I learned of Little Brother on the listening, and a lot
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of it had to do with the guys that were hosting the show trying to
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get me to like, yo, you haven't heard Little Brother. They got
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this joint the listening, it's crazy And I remember listening and the thing that
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caught me off guard was when people were saying, like they're like the new
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tribe and for somebody like me who where Tropical Quest is one of my favorite
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groups of all time, that's big praise. So I'm probably already walking in
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skeptical. But you know, I listened to it and I was like,
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well, that's cool. I mean a lot of people are nice with it,
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a lot of people make beats, and you know, they're just another
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group to me, right, But it wasn't. And again that's in no
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way to say that the listening is not dope, because sometimes when you walk
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into a situation like that, you're listening with those ears of the New Tribe.
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Okay, your expectations are set there. But I had to reset my
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expectations because I did like a lot of joints on there. But the Minstry
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Show was the one that did it for me. That was the one where
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I was like, these dudes are incredible. Like the beats, the concept,
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the fact that Fontaine could sing like that, you know what I'm saying,
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The comedy, it was just there was nothing like it in hip hop.
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See the listening, you know, I'm I'm hearing a bunch of dudes
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who could rap and got dope beats. So it's really about like punchlines,
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Catching You, and some of them were dope, but with the Minstry Show,
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it was such a complete album that not only had beats and bars,
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but it was just the entire package that really resonated with me, and it
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made me go back and listen to the listening listening and appreciate it more right
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as their origin, as their start right and obviously the albums that came afterwards
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in the Gangs the Girls tape. So the documentary was interesting because on one
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hand, I was like, man, ninth isn't an it like here we
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go again, like because for me, I took the break up really hard,
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like I was just tired of, you know, my favorite groups breaking
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up. I was a huge EPMD fan, and then when they dropped one
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of their best albums and one of the best four album runs in hip hop,
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you know, I was extremely disappointed. And the same thing with Tribe
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and it was just kind of like come on, man, like y'all knew
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and we ain't really get started. Well. Part of me always felt like
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Little Brother is those three. It will forever be those three as a fan,
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because that's the impression that I got when I hit play on that album.
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It wasn't just oh, Pool and Fonte and that's it. It was
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those three. So the admiration that had for the group, you know,
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circulated through those three. It was my admiration was for them. So every
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time it was like, Oh, they're doing this, but there's no ninth
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they doing that, and maybe Ninth did a beat or two, it just
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wasn't the same. But I think they kind of turned that around with the
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projects that followed. Once Knife wasn't in a group. So I felt the
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same way going into this project, like there can we at least here you
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know Nine's thoughts, you know whether it's true or not, because I'll tell
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you like this, this documentary, Excuse Me is full of non communication as
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far as their history in some respects insecurities and stubbornness and demons, right,
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demons that they're dealing with and having learned how to communicate that so that they
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can make this thing work. And what made it what it was was each
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one of them dealt with those insecurities and that's just a recipe for disaster right
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right now. It also fueled what we got, right because everybody has a
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chip on their shoulder, right, But in a lot of ways, it's
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the cause of them not being able to just let go, let go of
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everything's being said. What one thing I liked about it was that they didn't
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pull any punches, and even though ninth wasn't there by the end, you
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don't feel like they just only told their story. Even though he has a
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perspective. Maybe he has stories of things that happened that he saw as being
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fouled and he didn't want to be around it. That's that's the thing that
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gets left out. And Fonte, you know, he did come across and
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I remember, even back then, he did come across as a person who
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was extremely stubborn. But I didn't know why. And there's a few reasons
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why. And I'm not gonna you know, I'm not gonna spoil the ones
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that you know will have an impact as you're watching. You should watch it.
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The link to the documentaries and the description of his episode because it's on
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YouTube, which is so dope, you know, because I get it.
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You know, you don't have to have a subscription service to see it.
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I think that's really dope. But just looking at how Fonte would react to
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things and the things he would say, and even and I was even shocked
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when some of it was big pooh. Also, I was like, yeah,
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it's one of those things where if you know your guy, you and
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he's your guy, he should be treated as an outcast, even if you're
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within your rights because of the work he's not putting in with the rest of
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it, right, I mean, it's just true. But if you truly
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are fam sometimes you have to meet people where they are. Sometimes you just
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have to understand you have to make the environment comfortable for your homie. Right,
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this is what he liked, you know, this is what he don't
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like. You get. Sometimes you can accomplish all of that amongst several people,
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the most important people, those three at least, and it just felt
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like, again it was just a mass situation with communication not being there and
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attitudes and stuff like that. So like, even with this review, right,
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I'm hesitant to like retell the entire story, but I'll tell you some
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things I liked about it and some things I kind of didn't like. Let's
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just start out with the things I liked. I like them telling the origin
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story of little Rubb and how they came together and how they met each other.
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And I like the end animation they used. It was so organic and
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relatable. Excuse me for someone like myself who attended the HBCU and when I
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got there, they were producers who had equipment in their creer, I mean
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in their rooms, in their dorm rooms. And obviously the mcs and the
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producers you know, were inciphers. Some are performing, you know, we're
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making albums and demo tapes. And so I could relate to Fonte telling the
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story of seeing you know, Knife reading the Source magazine and then sitting there
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reading it with him and they kind of both like, oh word, oh
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it's just really dope, right it was. It's one of those things where
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you look at it and say, these dudes did not grow up with each
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other. And this was faith, I mean not faith, destiny, right,
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pure destiny. What if Fonte feels like, now I'm not gonna ask
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this dude to see his Source because he might act funny. What if Ninth
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didn't let him write like, oh naw, homie, I'm watching this right.
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What if Big Pool goes to Old Dominion, right, totally different school
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from what they you know, the school they attended. It's just how things
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lined up and happened organically. And I think that story is just so dope.
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It's so hip hop, it's so relatable for those that can relate of
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them having respect for each other based off of music, right, and talents.
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Everybody had a talent. Other things I liked. There was a lot
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of footage, right, a lot of it. It was nice to hear
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them talk about moments and just see all they like I remember that video,
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Oh, I remember that show and just seeing that play out, and yeah,
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it's a music group, so chances are they do have footage. But
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we're not talking about a group that sold millions of records right where there's so
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much footage and history with them that you know, you wind up getting a
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smortgage bag up content to look at. And I really enjoyed that because a
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lot of what was shown right, like they got clips of Drake and like
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Kendrick Lamar and all of them, like Doojah Cat giving props to Little Brother,
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And at that point in my life, I wasn't where those those individuals
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were. They kind of like grew up on it, so they have an
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affinity for it that you know, I don't necessarily have. I just like
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them right a lot. At that point in time in my life. You're
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talking about what was it, two thousand and two, two thousand and three,
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stuff like that. I mean I had a two year old and I
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was two years into my marriage, getting the house, you know, trying
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to work my way up the radio ladder. So the music resonated with me
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in a different way. You know, It's tied to my life in a
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different way. And I think that's what came across. And not to say
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that somebody who wasn't around then can't relate, because you have music that will
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be the same exact thing for you. Right, our parents and grandparents can
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be like, oh yeah, remember when Chubby Checker came out and you know
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your father was in elementary school or Marvin Gaye came out and blah blah blah.
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I just got married, and right, the music is a soundtrack to
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our lives. And for me and a lot of people, I know,
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you know, hip hop was that, and this documentary just really gives you
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a sense of how popular Little Brother was with the hip hop audience. Like
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you feel it. Those of us that know know it obviously, but you
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feel it. You're like, yo, I remember that time, Like I
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remember, I remember there was the ringtone rappers, and it was like Little
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brother was the saviors of that and it was a battle. Unfortunately, the
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things I will say I probably didn't like. It's the main thing I mentioned,
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just not having Ninth there to get insight into what he was thinking.
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What was Ninth thinking when they met, What was Ninth thinking when they got
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their first record deal and did the listening and did the minstew show, and
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you know, working with jay Z and Beyonce, like were getting secondhand reactions
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to him. And I guess what I don't like the most is the fact
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that they were right. Because Fonte and Pooh said something in a documentary about
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you know, he's he's sort of kind of like an introvert and he really
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don't like a lot of people around and blah blah blah, and you know,
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he doesn't want to deal with certain things. He kind of does it
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out of obligation, right, like I'm a part of Little Brothers, so
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and just for him not to not to be here for this says there's just
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more to the story. And that's what was kind of disappointing, because don't
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get it twisted, say and Wrap a Big Pool are the the O the
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heart and soul of Little Brother because of what they did after the breakup.
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What they did after the breakup just increased the legend of those two the breakup
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of ninth before they potentially broke up or inevitably broke up. But that was
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probably the biggest thing. I was just like, can we get a statement
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from name something? You know, some some thoughts and really I don't want
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to see tweets either, because my thing is like, YO, sit down
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and talk, tell tell, you know, tell what you gotta tell.
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And maybe he just didn't want to talk about it, you know. But
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again that goes back to what I said about what was clear about the three
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individuals was them struggling to be transparent in certain situations. I think Fonte is
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the least transparent because he gonna say what he's gonna say, but also him
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not thinking about how that affected folks also, and whatever happened in their lives
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just kind of came out within the group, and you know, some of
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it is still there even though it ended lovely, you know, because it
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made it seem like, Okay, Knife's not here, but he is a
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part of Little Brother. He's our brother always, you know, be indebted
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to him like all that, all the good stuff, but I just don't
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know why. I don't know what happened. But it feels like what you
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learn about this group in this documentary and their lives at that point in time
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and the miscommitmunications and the breakups and blah blah blah, it still somewhat exists
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under the surface, maybe not between Fonte and Pooh, but definitely with Knife,
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because there's no reason, there's no reason why he shouldn't have been a
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part of this. This is Little Brother, This is made the Lord watch
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the story of Little Brother. The story cannot be told without Knife Wonder and
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having secondhand, you know, information regarding how he was and who he was.
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It just takes a little bit away. But nevertheless, I'll say this,
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if you are a Little Brother fan, this is a must watch.
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When it was over, I'm like, I'm about to run the whole catalog
21:53
all weekend because I don't think they are as a appreciated as they should be.
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You know what I'm saying. If you don't even know Little Brother,
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you never heard of them, you never heard the album. You heard people
22:08
talking about them back then, but you never an album. Do yourself a
22:11
favor listening to mental show, Gangster Grills, tape, separate but equal,
22:18
get back, get back to I think they have one of those. Come
22:22
on, man Chitlin circuit, all of that, get go digging in the
22:26
streaming services, go buy vinyl, all that. Because if you love hip
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hop, it's easy to love Little Brother. It's easy to love them,
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you know, like, unless there's some personal situation you have with them or
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whatever they do, it should be very easy to like them as a group.
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And if you know, if you never heard of them, sit back
22:52
and watch watch your man Drake, Skinny Drake talk about them on camera.
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You know a lot of people felt that way. They opened up a lane
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for a lot of artists and what they do today, and they always get
23:12
the credit for it. So I think it's worth your time. That's gonna
23:18
do for me. You can follow me on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok,
23:22
spill and all of that at Vegas World I n C And please subscribe to
23:27
this podcast. Like it if you liked it, and also know that if
23:33
you want to watch the documentary, why I put the link and it's down
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there. It's in the description. You can just click on it and just
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relax, you know, watch it. Donate also to them brothers after you
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watch it. So until next time, y'all, I'm not a credit,
23:48
I'm a fan. Please