Little Brother Getback At It
By Kas
No major label deal! Well wave bye, bye, to the little bit of major radio and MTV2 run they had!
The Listening… Classic!
The Minstrel Show… Arguably, classic!
They can’t follow up two solid albums with another solid album????? Not in this Hip Hop day and age… They have to stumble, right?
Man, no 9th Wonder! Them niggas album gonna be garbage!
All the cards seemed to be stacked against them and now we are blessed with Getback. Phonte and Big Pooh, the middle-east’s (N.C.) finest, are back again with another soulful addition to their already impressive discography. The album is a journey into the last two years since The Minstrel Show dropped. It is a very “grown folks” type album lyrically. Phonte and Pooh lace every record with their classic personal, gem dropping, everyday grind, let me learn you something little nigga, flow. That is why L.B. albums are always critically acclaimed and they are one of the few groups left whose material can get copped on name recognition alone. Why? Because you know what the fuck you are getting with a L.B. album and that is good Hip Hop music!
No punch pulling lyrics, over soulful boom-bap beats, is a genetic trait of this crew and that didn’t change with the disappearance of 9th. They just threw on some new “good clothes” and enlisted the help of some intelligent Hip Hop beat-crafters. Yet, they didn’t go outside their lane and stuck with producers who could concoct that classic L.B. elixir in a new shinny shot glass. The producers seemed to try and keep 9th’s soulful sound that he crafted for Tay and Pooh and just throw their own little spin on it (except Zo! LOL…). Which really worked out to Tay and Pooh’s advantage on Getback, as it is another solid album.
If you are expecting the social commentary of The Minstrel Show once again on this one then…. Ummmm…. Well, you are out of luck sunny. The album starts off with an intro instrumental, which is a jazzy acoustic version of We Got Now, the last record off The Minstrel Show. That intro leads right into Sirens, which is an Illmind produced banger… That is about as much of that political shit as you gonna get on this one… With Pooh spitting shit like:
“They talk about us not using the word nigga
I want to speak about a couple issues much bigger
Like mos black folk live below the poverty line
And they wonder why the fuck we attracted to crime”
And Tay:
“They trying to blame this rap shit for all of our ills
Like I can stick you up with a mic
Like I can rape you with a verse or use a verb as a knife
Like before Kool Herc everything was alright
Like I wasn’t calling black women hoes before Rappers Delight”
And that is it…
This flows right out of The Minstrel Show and into the Getback… There are a few skits, but the concept album feel is gone. It is more just banger after banger and head nod after head nod.
The relationships between woman and man are a big topic on this one… Records like Breakin’ My Heart, After the Party, and Step It Up, all have a lady drama feel to them. Which is cool, because grown folks can relate to lady drama (say word) and the other records are more introspective. There aren’t any real braggadocios, nonsense records on this album. The closest to braggadocios is the Denaun Porter, aka Mr. Porter, produced heat rock ExtraHard. But even then, they manage to slide in a message of self improvement, do for self, and keep it movin’ness. Each song has a clear message and hits with soulful quality production. Can’t Win for Losing, Two Step Blues, That Ain’t Love, Dreams, When Everything is New, and even Good Clothes, are all those relatable records that you can affirm with a head nod like: “Yeah, nigga… Church… I can relate to all that shit you just said!”
If I had to pick a weak record on the album (which is hard), it would have to be the only 9th Wonder produced record, Breakin’ My Heart feat. Lil Wayne (as much as I love Tay’s verse on it). Yes, that is right, Lil Wayne… This nigga is everywhere! I can’t even cop a L.B. album without hearing him now… Yo, dude is camping outside of every studio in America, waiting to get on dudes albums… LOL… I’m sayin’… The beat is just lack luster to me and the claps get annoying after a minute into the record. Also, Wayne’s verse is not that great… With lines like “…and my game is skin deep like a first tattoo/ I get all in your head just like shampoo…” C’mon Mr. Weezy… What was that??? **shakes head** But, the song is still listenable on the strength of Tay and Pooh’s verses.
Quick play by play:
1. Sirens Feat. Carlitta Durand – produced by Illmind:
Crazy! Illmind is a beast on this one! Nasty keys and eerie Carlitta Durand sang hook, give this record a dark feel. Awesome pro-Hip Hop, lets get right, message from Tay & Pooh, reminiscent of that Minstrel Show shit.
2. Can't Win For Losing – produced by Illmind:
Claps + Ye styled soul sample + solid drum work and synths = Another Illmind banger! Tay and Pooh lace it with the personal real talk that L.B. fans expect from them. Speakin’ on the trials and tribulations of being Hip Hop artist and how shady the biz can be...
3. Breakin' My Heart Feat. Lil Wayne – produced by 9th Wonder:
Starts off with a hilarious skit, with dudes girl breaking into his email and finding messages from some other woman… Then a lazy, monotonous, clap filled 9th beat comes in (well, it isn’t as bad as I’m making it sound… LOL). Tay’s verse is church and Weezy’s verse is not.
4. Good Clothes – produced by Illmind:
The single off the album… Simple looped joint with Illmind solid drum work. The lyrics carry this one! Y’all know you can relate to this record… Don’t front!
5. After the Party Feat. Carlitta Durand – produced by Khrysis:
If you haven’t heard of Khrysis (Away Team), you will sunny… Dude is a beast! He will be a household name in the near future. The beat captures the essence of that late night after the club is closed and the lyrics follow that theme. Smooth and laid back… Subtle synths and another Carlitta Durand murked hook…
This one is connected to Good Clothes through a skit… Yo, the intro to the song is hilarious too… It starts with Tay in the parking lot after the club closes, trying to spit at a woman and his conscious telling him what to say… LOL… One of my favorite records on the album.
6. Extra Hard – produced by Mr. Porter:
Tay says it best at the beginning of the song… This beat is provocative… That is the only way to put it. Honesty, this record sounds more like something 9th would have crafted. Nice, looped sample with Pooh and Tay spitting that meth.
7. Step It Up Feat. Dion – produced by Hi-Tek:
Y’all know Tek’s pedigree… This shit is meth! Tek’s crooner, hook maestro Dion, assists Tay and Pooh with an ode to the ladies.
8. Two-Step Blues Feat. Darien Brockington – produced by Nottz:
Again L.B.’s enlist another solid pedigree producer in Nottz. Who kills on this jazzy, smoke filled, soulful, banger! Darien Brockington laces the hook with a neo-soul vibe. Highlight is Pooh’s Phife’ish, TCQ inspired, sounding verse… Very nice!
9. That Ain't Love Feat. Jozeemo – produced by Illmind:
Man, another Illmind gem! Mos def a standout track on the album… Along with Two Step, Step It Up, After the Party, and When Everything Is New. “If this is love, I don’t want to see hate… If this is real, I don’t want to see fake!” If you can’t feel that, then you ain’t living.
10. Dreams – produced by Rashid Hadee:
Nice looped sample with a killer bassline and subtle keys… Another 9th inspired sounding track. They message on this one is meth. Just sit back and listen to what they are saying… This song is real talk and Tay drops a gem with his verse:
“I still go to the crib and see my niggas on the corner
Chillin’ with the pounds on they waist
Gettin’ old, gettin’ round in the face
And when I hang with them
They ask me if The Minstrel Show means I’m ashamed of them
Well, I can’t say that I’m proud
But all the same, can’t say I’m allowed to judge
I’m just glad to see you”
11. When Everything Is New – produced by Zo!:
Yo, Zo! Murders the synths on this record… This is not one of your normal L.B. cut right here… But oddly, it fits them and this album… It is more in the vain of Foreign Exchange too me. Very up beat record and with all the negative shit they vent out on the album, this is one of the happier lyrical tracks… LOL…
All and all, any Little Brother fan will be happy with this album. The whole thing is cover to cover and only one possible skippable record. Some may say that the album is a bit angry, bitter, and dark. But, if you ask me, they just sound hungry… Classics are created off of this type of hunger… In this era of topicless, cookie cutter, dumb downed Hip Hop; it’s nice to hear some Emcees that actually have something to say.
On a scale of 1 – 5
Getback – 4.5
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