Little Brother

Little Brother surprise release first album in 9 years (listen)

Durham, NC hip hop greats Little Brother reunited for their first performance in a decade last year with a surprise appearance at hometown festival Art of Cool, and they’ve stayed together since. They have more shows coming up (including Hopscotch), and today they surprise-released their first new album in nine years, May the Lord Watch. Phonte and Rapper Big Pooh made the album without the involvement of original producer 9th Wonder, instead working with producers Black Milk, Khrysis, Nottz, and Focus. The album also has contributions from Questlove, Peter Rosenberg, Blakk Soul, Carlitta Durand, Darien Brockington, and more. The core duo says:

“People always ask me, ‘What is your favorite Little Brother album?’ Truthfully I respond, ‘It’s like asking someone to pick their favorite child.’ That answer changes today. Not because I believe this is the best album we have ever done, which I do. This is going down as my favorite Little Brother album because of the journey it took to get us here and the way Phonte and I were able to repair and cement our bond as brothers throughout this process.” – Rapper Big Pooh

“[The album title] is taken from a closing prayer most commonly heard at the end of church services or funerals: ‘May the Lord watch between you and me, while we’re absent, one from another.’ To me, it symbolizes the way in which me and Pooh’s brotherhood has matured and evolved over the years. We’ve always made music together, but the creation of this record was the first time we really took care of each other and had each other’s backs at every turn.” – Phonte

Listen to the album and watch a mini documentary about the band’s surprise reunion below: