Phonte Of Little Brother Interview

Phonte of Little Brother (Best EMCEE in the game right now, my opinion), speaks about Major Labels vs. Indie, LB’s breakup, being nominated for a Grammy, and a multitude of other topics!

via A.V. Club
by Nathan Rabin
Little Brother exploded onto the underground hip-hop scene with 2003’s The Listening, a classic debut that won accolades from top tastemakers like ?uestlove and Pete Rock. When the group signed to Atlantic for its controversial follow-up, The Minstrel Show, it looked like it was primed to cross over from the underground to the mainstream. But the trio’s stint on a major label proved disastrous, and the album tanked commercially. Producer 9th Wonder left Little Brother before the release of 2007’s underrated Getback, for which the group re-upped with the independent label that released its debut, ABB.

Frontman Phonte, meanwhile, branched out as half of The Foreign Exchange, an ambitious collaboration with Dutch musician/producer Nicolay; together, the pair compiled an album through instant messaging and trading sound files. The 2004 debut, Connected, was one of the best hip-hop albums of the decade, a lush, seductive masterpiece that perfectly fused laid-back soul with thoughtful, introspective, melodic hip-hop. The Foreign Exchange shocked many people by picking up a Grammy nomination for best urban/alternative performance for “Daykeeper” from its 2009 follow-up, Leave It All Behind, which abandoned hip-hop altogether in favor of R&B and soul, focusing on Phonte’s singing. This year, Phonte reunited with the remaining half of Little Brother, Big Pooh, to release Leftback, the group’s fourth and purportedly final album. The A.V. Club recently spoke with Phonte about ending Little Brother, music-industry bullshit, and beefing with 9th Wonder on Twitter.

“I brought Luda in, because I felt like her and Luda have had so much success together, they just sound right together. Especially on that record, ‘Ride,’ that’s the first record me and Trick did [for her new album]. It sounded like Luda, and it sounded like Ciara. So [we] blessed the summertime with both of them.
She has a point she’s trying to prove. But I don’t think she meant it literally like that. She’s just trying to do as much as she can to regain her status. And I think she’s did a good job of doing it.” – MTV-

Here at the University of Missouri, there a many things that make it a great college to attend:  a great downtown, a sweet rec center, and Truman the Tiger.  Yet the thing I love most about Columbia is the fact that they have so many venues and attract so many great musical acts.  In our  few years here, JZ Axe and I have been fortunate enough to see the likes of Common, The Roots, Bone Thugs, Slaughterhouse, and Talib Kweli/Hi-Tek.  Brother Ali and Fashawn would have been added to the list as well if it weren’t for tests/papers that I had to do.  Nonetheless, Wiz Khalifa was the latest hip-hop artist to grace The Blue Note with his presence this past Monday as a stop on his Deal or No Deal tour.

After waiting nearly two hours, the crowd was more than ready for Wiz to burst onto the stage, as he commanded their attention running through a few of his mixtapes (including KushxOJ) and his album, going out on one of his most well known songs “This Plane.”  Though his set could have been longer, it was very energetic, and the crowd loved him all the same.  After the show, I was fortunate enough to kick it backstage with Wiz and ask him a few questions about his upbringing, his relationship with Curren$y, and his favorite tattoos.  Hit the jump to see the interview! (Also, look for an update with the full audio of the interview)

I love my job here at 5STARHIPHOP.COM; I get to meet, and chop it up with some people that are true doers, and extremely talented. Take my man Lid Law, The Jrunk Unk for instance.  I had the privilege, (after listenin’ & vibin’ to his music for a while now), to kick it with the Chicago native on multiple topics & issues……

Ya boy TS Wun had the privilege of choppin’ it up with Rapper Big Pooh of  Little Brother. We covered slew of topics including the Digital Revolution, Sports, Hip Hop, and the new album, Delightful Bars.   Check it out.

I was fortunate enough to be a part of an interview with Bfochs, of Bfochs.com.  We covered a multitude of topics; from the current state of 5STARHIPHOP.COM, the death of the DJ, and the economic crisis currently going on and much more.  To check out the full interview over at Bfochs.com, click here.

I want to take this time to out to say thank you for the opportunity, Bfochs.  Also, thanks to my entourage, Exclusive1, Ts Wun, Luminati, and Source who hold 5 Star Hip Hop down on a daily basis.  Also, thank you, the people for the continued support.  Again, check out the interview over at Bfochs.com.

Throw your diamond in the sky and wave it side to side. When Roc-A-Fella was in its prime, when Jay and Dame were still Batman and Robin, the Young Gunz reigned supreme. With various hits ranging from luke warm to summer time hot, respect was given. Fast Forward to 2008. Roc-A-Fella is broken, Jay and Dame are distant friends, hip hop sales are as low as Danny Devito, and Young Chris (half of the Young Gunz duo) is still on his grind. The Young Gunz are still together but nowadays Young Chris is on a solo mission. It’s the end of the summer, fall is here. And I caught up with Young Chris to talk some fourth quarter politics. It went something like this…