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LITTLE BROTHER
Getback
ABB, 2007
7.5/10, Solid [scale]

Getback

Contributed by Ryan Strauss on 11/21/07

If you’ve ever heard or read Little Brother’s MC duo, Phonte and Rapper Big Pooh describing their music, chances are you’ve noticed that the two like to downplay the storylines that underlie their music, almost to the point where you wonder if they even understand the importance of their group’s history.

Getback, their latest album, is first and foremost the world’s introduction to post-9th Wonder Little Brother, after the departure of the group’s original producer. The questions hanging around that dynamic can only help Little Brother’s not-so-subtly proclaimed attempt to “get back” into the spotlight after taking a back seat to their Justus League counterparts, and only making minor noise in the year and change since they released The Minstrel Show and garnered the distinction of most unanticipated artist to do a Gangsta Grillz mixtape.

This time around, Phonte decided to follow the recent trend of artists bypassing labels by leaking the album on the Okayplayer website. The tracks on Phonte’s leaked version, when lined up sequentially in iTunes, read from top to bottom under the Genre column, “Don’t ever say Phonte never did nothin’ for y’all niggas… lol, enjoy!”

Doing plenty to entertain their fans from the jump, they pick up where they left off two years ago by subliminally incorporating the opening riff from Rare Earth’s “I Just Wanna Celebrate” within the album’s first ten seconds. As soon as longtime Justus League affiliate turned G-Unit producer Illmind’s darker beats on the first two tracks kick in, however, it’s quickly clear that something has changed for North Carolina’s underground heroes.

The Little Brother of old is officially dead at the beginning of “Breakin’ My Heart,” the album’s only 9th Wonder-produced track, and also the album’s most buzz-worthy track, thanks to a guest spot from Lil’ Wayne. While the soul sample doesn’t stray far from 9th’s typical style, even the man that created the trademark sound arranges a more bouncy and pulsing rhythm section to help reinvent Little Brother. The track was good enough for Wayne to feature on his own Drought 4, but in the same vein as Wayne’s many satisfying but uninspiring guest spots, here he inadvertently reveals while speaking on the subject of females that he’s “just here to play [his] part.” 9th’s contribution is smooth and driving, but won’t have jaws dropping.

In the absence of 9th, the samples on the tracks are cleaner and the drum tracks are far less repetitive, but after the rather lackluster single “Good Clothes” and two awkward beats from all-star producers Mr. Porter and Nottz (who produced the much better “Life of the Party” for the Mick Boogie tape), it isn’t the beats, but Little Brother’s nearly-flawless rhyme schemes and captivating story-telling become the project’s biggest strength.

The subject matter of the album is sometimes reminiscent of Public Enemy (“Go against the system/ You in bed with Al-Qaeda” from the opening track “Sirens”), with surprisingly serious takes on often non-serious subjects (see the spoken interlude on “After The Party”) mixed in with the occasional humorous skit (see the opening skit on “After The Party”). Even the less significant underlying storylines drive this album, such as the strong production to close the album from fairly unknown newcomers Rashid Hadee and Zo!—a first for Little Brother on a full length.

The title of the album’s final cut seems to shed some light on the thought behind all eleven tracks, “When Everything Is New,” as the pounding, upbeat Zo!-backed, cipher-sounding song provides fitting closure to the album. The idea of a fresh start reflects Little Brother’s optimistic step into unfamiliar territory, creating circularity with the use of “I Just Wanna Celebrate” in the album’s opening that indicates that the two-man duo, who often rhyme about struggling throughout their journey as Little Brother, is trying to move forward with its collective head held high and shape its own path.

So while you’re listening to Getback, try to pick out the group’s efforts to push the project in their own direction, and notice the balance between that effort and their uses of proven formulas, underhandedly embracing the expectations placed upon them. It’s not always done effectively, but this is the smartest part of Little Brother’s act. Look up the album cover for EPMD’s Strictly Business, compare it with the mean-mugging but contemplative cover of Getback, and ask yourself if Little Brother isn’t reaching for relevance and trying to create a classic to take all the attention away from the storylines.