Little Brother is an underground hip-hop group composed of Phonte, rapper Big Pooh and producer 9th Wonder. The group met in 1998, while attending North Carolina Central University.[2] The three shared common musical interests and decided to form a group. "Speed", the group's first song recorded together, led to them signing a deal with the independent ABB Records in 2002, and recording their debut album, The Listening.[3] The forums of the website Okayplayer were ignited by interest from a growing fanbase.[4] The album's success led to the group signing a non-exclusive deal with Atlantic Records in 2004.
The group's 2005 album, The Minstrel Show, was a concept album based on a fictional television network called "UBN" (U Black Niggas Network). The album has been described as satirizing the connection between minstrel shows and stereotypical industry and self-constructions of Blackness in entertainment and advertisements.[5] The album received positive reviews, without commercial success. During the recording of their third album, the group announced the departure of 9th Wonder, as well as a parting of ways with their label. They returned to ABB Records and released Getback in late 2007. Getback was Little Brother's first album as a duo.[6] In 2010, they released their fourth studio album, Leftback.
In 2023, Little Brother released the documentary film, May the Lord Watch: The Little Brother Story about the group's history,[7] which was directed by Holland Randolph Gallagher.
Phonte met Dutch producer Nicolay virtually on an Okayplayer message board.[8] The duo released their debut album, Connected in 2004, having never met face to face.[9]
Phonte has released two solo albums, and has appeared on numerous records by other artists as a vocalist. His lyrics tend to include perspectives on working-class life.[2]
He released his solo-debut titled Charity Starts at Home on September 27, 2011 on the label FE Music.[14] His second album, No News Is Good News (FE), was released on March 2, 2018. No News Is Good News was included in Bandcamp Daily's best-100-albums-of-2018 year-end list (placed at #42).[15]
TV and other media
Phonte has composed music for soundtracks and TV, and is a voice over artist and actor. He did voice acting and composed music for the animated TV series, The Boondocks, as well as the series, Black Dynamite.[16] He composed songs with DJ Premier for the TV series, The Breaks (VH1), 2016-2017. He was featured on several episodes in the role of “Imam Ali" in a script on the 1990s American music industry.[17] He did voice acting for a commercial honoring Russell Westbrook's NBA Most Valuable Player win in 2017.[18][19]
Phonte has composed multiple raps for Sesame Street characters, including a song for SZA’s Sesame Street appearance with a duet with Elmo entitled "Gratitude," in addition to other songs including “Apple vs. Banana” ft. Tavi Fields and “BBQ vs. Hike.” He was a member of "Team Supreme", co-hosting Questlove's podcast, Questlove Supreme from 2016 to 2025.[20]Questlove Supreme won six Webby Awards and the 2023 Music Podcast of the Year for the iHeartRadio Podcast Awards.[21]
Discography
Studio albums
List of studio albums, with selected chart positions
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