Bam, the Future of Hip Hop Music. Welcome to WJLR, Justus League Radio."
The opening line off the debut album from the Justus League's biggest act, Little Brother, explodes out of your speakers, and you're nodding your head, hoping, just hoping, that these guys are above the hype. Nobody in the fine state of North Carolina has been for a long time now, but the Justus League - a loose collective of MCs and DJs from all around the Triangle - and especially Little Brother, are trying to shake that.
That's right, the state that brought you the lyrical genius of Petey Pablo has also birthed what many people outside the Justus League are calling the Future of Hip Hop: Little Brother - two emcees, Phonte and Big Pooh, and their DJ/producer, 9th Wonder. This group, who met down the road at NCCU in '98, is being talked about by heads across the country, from San Francisco to Philly, from new converts to industry godfathers like Pete Rock and ?uestlove of The Roots. Everyone's in on them, it seems, except those of us in their hometown.
Their musical style, reminiscent of the Native Tongues movement of the early '90s and perfected by De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest, is driving their rising credibility. This old-school sound stems from the diverse musical influences each member brings to the group.
"My gateway into hip hop was the soul my mom would play on Saturday mornings when we'd clean the house," Phonte said in a recent interview. "My uncles were big funk and jazz fans, so there was always a mixture of sounds coming up in the crib." 9th Wonder had a different experience rooted in his high school marching band and orchestra days: "I listened to overtures during the day and hip hop at night."
Background aside, the real reason for all this praise is their debut album on ABB Records, The Listening. It's an 18-track masterpiece that spurred ?uestlove to exclaim, "I'm so friggin' jealous of Little Brother. Hip hop the way I love it - tight beats, on-point lyrics? What!!!"
Even though they would sometimes hammer out up to three cuts a night, The Listening still took eight months to finish and sequence. Only listen to the lyrics of "Speed" and you'll begin to understand why it took so long to complete the album despite their break-neck studio pace. "Speed" tells the story of hip hop artists who are still finishing up school (Pooh) or working a slew of odd jobs - anything from bouncing to an insurance sales for Blue Cross/Blue Shield (Phonte).
They won't have that problem on the second album, though. The success of their first single, "Whatever You Say," has effectively allowed them to escape the 9-to-5. It's also safe to say that there's little danger of Little Brother disappearing into hip hop purgatory, like Kriss Kross or Sir Mix-a-lot. They see themselves as having the ability to fill a void in hip hop - they aren't worried about putting out hot singles; they want entire LPs that are blazing.
"We just wanted to make an album that was an event," Phonte said. "Something you could listen to from top to bottom, and at the end, you feel like you lived a day in the life of Little Brother."
"Cats don't listen anymore," 9th Wonder later added. "People just don't take time to absorb albums. Probably because other cats put out bullshit records."
With talk like this from within the group and all the outside hype, Little Brother has a lot to live up to - a responsibility they will have to grapple with. But until they've cemented their position atop the hip hop game, they're content, as 9th Wonder says, with "following in the footsteps of our bigger brothers and just continuing the tradition." And the rest of us will just have to be content in watching as they try to create hip hop traditions of their own.
- Matt Siedsma
The Listening drops Feb. 25, and you can pick up your very own copy around here at Millennium Music in Durham and Schoolkids Records in Chapel Hill. And if you like your hip hop raw, check out Little Brother as part of the Hip Hop/Global Flows-sponsored concert with Dilated Peoples and DJ Seoul at the Cat's Cradle Friday. $18 in advance, $20 at the door.
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