VIDEO: Phonte On Working With 9th Wonder Vs Nicolay

If you’re anything like me, when you heard/read Phonte say that he was the “Quincy Jones” producer of Little Brother and that 9th Wonder was “the beatmaker” you bristled just a little bit. In producer circles making such a distinction to someone’s face could end up with someone having a Triton shoved where the sun don’t shine. Ya Dig?

But even though the tension tween 9th and Phonte is no secret I had to ask him man-t0-man to explain exactly what he meant in this instance.

Watch the clip for his response and to hear how his process of making music differs with his Foreign Exchange partner Nicolay.

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EXCLUSIVE: King Karnov On Making Little Brother’s “So Cold”

King Karnov shares how DJ Khalil gave him the assist on a placement and the use of live instruments in his track “So Cold” for Little Brother.

[It all happened ] Through Bishop Lamont, and through DJ Khalil at a studio session. Khalil gave Little Brother the beat cd and my beat was on there. They really liked it and Bishop Lamont was supposed  to have the 3rd verse on the song.

From what I understand, Khalil was playing beats in the studio, and he already has a lot of my tracks on his HD, I send him stuff every so often, and pooh and tae was in Khalil studio listening to beats. They thought it was a Khalil beat but he told them naw it’s a King Karnov beat.

He gave them my contact info, we talked about putting it on the EP that was coming out but they liked it so much that they placed it on the album.

[The beat] is me playing instruments. I was playing the organ, and tweaked up a farfisa rock organ sound and played a chord progression with that. Then layered a live bass with bass synth, and keyboard bass. That’s why the bass sound like it’s either live or keyboard played because it was.

The kick is a live kick the snare is from a CBS library record. I just mixed them and EQed them.

I heard the final product like 3-4 months ago. I thought it was incredible. I’m like dang, I wanted to work with them after hearing The Listening. But man they want to work with me, that’s crazy.

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Little Brother F/ Chaundon “So Cold”

Next track from “Left Back” produced by Hydrosonics alumnus King Karnov!

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Left Back Art Work & Tracklisting

End of an era… Khrysis, Denaun Porter, Zo!, Symbolyc One, J. Bizness and Hydrosonics alumnus King Karnov on the beats.

Little Brother – LeftBack Offical Track Listing:

1. Curtain Call (Prod. By Khrysis)
2. Table For Two Feat. Jozeemo & Yahzarah (Prod. By Khrysis)
3. Tigallo For Dolo (Prod. By Khrysis)
4. Revenge Feat. Truck North & Median (Prod. By Khrysis)
5. So Cold Feat. Chaundon (Prod. By King Karnov)
6. Second Chances Feat. Bilal & Darien Brockington (Prod. By Denaun Porter)
7. Go Off Go On (Prod. By Khrysis)
8. What We Are Feat. Quiana (Prod. By Young R.J.)
9. After The Party Feat. Carlitta Durand (S1 and Caleb’s Who Shot JR Ewing Remix) (Prod. By S1 and Caleb)
10. Two Step Blues Feat. Darien Brockington (Zo’s Purple Suit With The Matching Gators Remix) (Prod. By Zo!)
11. Get Enough Pt. 2 Feat. Khrysis (Prod. By Khrysis)
12. Before The Night Is Over (Prod. By J.Bizness)
13. 24 Feat. Torae (Prod. By Khrysis)

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Little Brother Announce Last Album “Left Back”

My man DJ Brainchild got the scoop from Phonte on Gordon Gartrell Radio, but here is the official announcement:

Favorites of fans and critics alike, Little Brother, the North Carolina duo of Phonte and Rapper Big Pooh, is proud to finally confirm the release of an album people have been waiting on for years. LeftBack, which will be the fourth album of Little Brother’s illustrious career, will be available April 20th via Hall Of Justus.

Little Brother members Phonte and Rapper Big Pooh worked through several versions of the album before locking in the final version of LeftBack. Close followers of Little Brother may already be familiar with the LeftBack title, however, any previously held notions of this album being an EP should be dismissed. Little Brother opted to scrap the EP concept and instead, crafted an album’s worth of material for those who have been waiting patiently for new content. “I didn’t want our last record to be a bunch of second-rate material,” says Phonte. “I wanted to walk away from Little Brother knowing that I gave our fans all that I had to give, and said everything I wanted to say. With LeftBack, I’ve done that.”

Continuing the tradition they set with the critically acclaimed GetBack, Big Pooh and Phonte have enlisted multiple producers for LeftBack, both from within and outside of the Justus League camp. Producers for this album include frequent collaborator Khrysis and GetBack producers Denaun Porter and Zo!, as well as efforts from Symbolyc One and first time Little Brother contributors, J. Bizness, and King Karnov.

In addition to production, Khyrsis will also be contributing guest vocals on the album. Joining the North Carolina producer/MC are Torae, Truck North, Jozeemo and fellow Justus League MC’s Chaundon and Median. Resident crooner Darien Brockington and songstress Yahzarah also supply vocals on the album.

Despite Little Brother’s dominating presence in the hip-hop world since the 2003 release of The Listening, LeftBack will mark the duo’s first album with a true multi-media experience. Accompanying LeftBack will be four official music videos, all shot and directed by Matt Koza, known for his previous work with Foreign Exchange, Rapper Big Pooh, Kam Moye, RJD2, and more. While not customary for a Little Brother release – the group has had only one previous official video, for The Minstrel Show’s “Lovin’ It” – with LeftBack, Little Brother is excited to offer loyal supporters a long-desired visual take on the group’s music. Says Big Pooh, “Three albums, three mixtapes, one video. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense in this day and age. We have always lacked in the visual department, and I think it will be refreshing to finally offer the people those visuals.”

Building on the album’s multi-media offerings, the initial pressing of LeftBack will also feature a limited edition DVD full of exclusive bonus material. Compiled in a documentary format, the bonus DVD will include recent tour footage, as well as exclusive Little Brother footage shot and archived throughout their career. For fans that miss the initial run, a subsequent DVD-only release will also include all official music videos from LeftBack.

Fans can expect further announcements from Little Brother, including tour info and other interesting developments on LeftBack’s road to the release.

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9th Wonder Denies Little Brother Reunion Rumor

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Bloggin For Beats: Life of The Party Remix

I grabbed some Bob James and took on a remix of Little Brother’s “Life of The Party.” While it isn’t my favorite LB record it’s the only dang acapella of theirs I’ve been able to find. But with a little “pure imagination” I was able to pull off something to bring some life to a party. [Read more]

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