NEW YORK (Atlantic Records) - ABB/Atlantic recording group
Little Brother is set for the release of their eagerly anticipated new album, "THE MINSTREL SHOW." The wildly imaginative collection - which follows the Durham, North Carolina-based hip-hop trio's critically acclaimed 2003 debut, "THE LISTENING" - arrives in stores coast to coast on
September 13th and marks the group's Atlantic premiere.
"Lovin' It (feat. Joe Scudda)," the first single from "THE MINSTREL SHOW," has just arrived at Urban radio nationwide. A companion video was recently filmed in New York City and is set to premiere in the coming weeks.
Little Brother - MCs Phonte and Big Pooh, with inventive DJ/producer 9th Wonder - are heralding the release of "THE MINSTREL SHOW" with a major North American tour that kicks off today in New Orleans. The trek - which includes a performance at Seattle's internationally renowned Bumbershoot Festival on September 2nd - will culminate in early October with a trio of home state shows in Asheville, Carrboro, and Charlotte, North Carolina.
Equal parts soul and satire, "THE MINSTREL SHOW" is a darkly humorous concept album detailing the rise of fictional television network, UBN (U Black N***as). When UBN purchases radio station WJLR (aka Justus League Radio, chronicled on "THE LISTENING"), the network scores a hit with the new series, "The Minstrel Show," starring Little Brother. Realized like a low-budget episode of "Saturday Night Live," complete with commercial breaks and musical guests, "THE MINSTREL SHOW" is a unique and powerful record, blending organic grooves and big ideas into an important work of hip-hop self-reflection.
"THE MINSTREL SHOW" has already begun to draw ecstatic advance critical praise. XXL - which called it one of the 10 Most-Anticipated Hip-Hop Albums of 2005 - has awarded the collection an "XL" rating, while Scratch has rated "THE MINSTREL SHOW" a 10-out-of-10.
Since officially coming together as a trio back in 2001, Little Brother has been hailed as among the hip-hop's most provocative and ingenious groups. They struck an instant chord within the rap community, garnering praise from the likes of Pete Rock and the Roots, as well as catching the ears of Jay-Z, who recruited 9th Wonder to craft tracks for both him and Destiny's Child. 9th Wonder has gone on to produce a wide array of artists, including Memphis Bleek, Jean Grae, Masta Ace, and Buckshot, among others.
With the ABB release of "THE LISTENING," Little Brother broke full on into the hip-hop mainstream. The group received rapturous coverage on MTV as well as in such publications as Vibe, XXL, Trace, Elemental, URB, and The Source, where "THE LISTENING" received 4-out-of-5 mics. Little Brother also earned praise for their live performances, sharing stages alongside such like-minded groups as Dilated Peoples, The Roots, Gang Starr, and Floetry.
LITTLE BROTHER NORTH AMERICAN TOUR 2005
AUGUST
22 New Orleans, LA House of Blues
23 Houston, TX Engine Room
24 Austin, TX Emo's
25 Dallas, TX Gypsy Tea Room/Ballroom
27 Albuquerque, NM Sunshine Theatre
28 Phoenix, AZ Old Brickhouse Grill
29 San Diego, CA Canes
30 West Hollywood, CA The Troubadour
31 San Francisco, CA Slim's
SEPTEMBER
2 Seattle, WA Bumbershoot Festival
3 Portland, OR Berbati's Pan
5 Boulder, CO Fox Theatre
6 Colorado Springs, CO Darkside
7 Lawrence, KS The Bottleneck
8 Chicago, IL Abbey Pub
9 Ann Arbor, MI Blind Pig
10 Toronto, ON The Reverb
11 Lansing, MI Temple Club
15 New York, NY BB King's Blues Club & Grill
16 Philadelphia, PA The Trocadero & Balcony Bar
17 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club
18 South Burlington, VT Higher Ground
19 Montreal, QC Foufounes Electriques
21 Providence, RI Century Lounge
23 Northampton, MA Pearl Street
24 Baltimore, MD Ottobar
26 Lexington, KY The Dame
29 Gainesville, FL Common Grounds
30 Cincinnati, OH University of Cincinnati
OCTOBER
2 Tallahassee, FL Club Downunder
3 Jacksonville, FL Fuel
4 Orlando, FL The Social
6 Asheville, NC Orange Peel
7 Carrboro, NC Cat's Cradle
8 Charlotte, NC The Room
