Little Brother – The Minstrel Show (CD) (2005) (FLAC + 320 kbps)

Few groups earn a major-label contract based on their producer’s merits, but when Little Brother jumped to Atlantic for their second full album, The Minstrel Show, any cynic looking for a good reason would point to the increased profile of trackmaster 9th Wonder (Jay-Z, Destiny’s Child). But it wasn’t just 9th Wonder that made Little Brother’s first album one of the best underground rap debuts of the new millennium; rappers Phonte and Big Pooh matched a smooth Southern drawl with up-North smarts. Like their influences in the Native Tongues family, the trio cast a clever eye over music and culture, sniffing out hypocrisy and greed, then dismissing them with sparkling satires. The Minstrel Show presents more of the same, expanding the palette to a host of hot topics: R. Kelly’s “Trapped in the Closet” series, which gets skewered by the spot-on “Cheatin”; exploitative urban TV stations (the album’s main concept); and even the need for brand-name clothes (“5th and Fashion”). And any fans who feared that 9th Wonder’s success would lead to a diluted or overly polished record have nothing to worry about; awash in ’70s soul and mellow, slapping beats, his productions make the message tracks carry just as well as the humorous material.

Tracklist:

01 Welcome To The Misntrel Show (feat. Yahzarah)
02 Beautiful Morning
03 The Becoming
04 Not Enough (feat. Darien Brockington)
05 Cheatin’
06 Hiding Place (feat. Elzhi)
07 Slow It Down (feat. Darien Brockington)
08 Say It Again
09 5th & Fashion
10 Lovin’ It (feat. Joe Scudda)
11 Diary Of A Mad Black Daddy (Skit)
12 All For You
13 Watch Me
14 Sincerely Yours
15 Still Lives Through
16 Minstrel Show Closing Theme (feat. Yahzarah)
17 We Got Now

Download:

FLAC – Wayshare

320 kbps – Wayshare