Here is XXL's comments on Phonte of LIttle Brother:
“I keep telling cats at the label that the audience ain’t as dumb as we think, but I sometimes wonder yo….” - Phonte, Little Brother
This past weekend underground/backpack heroes Little Brother opened up for Three Six, Young Dro, Rick Ross, Young Joc, Franchise Boyz and The Musicianz in Fayetteville, NC. Above is a split screen between this show and the typical attendance at a show LB is headlining. See if you can guess which is which. 8,000 people in the crowd and not one of them cared.
Rather than accept his permanent underdog status (or, god forbid, actually go back to the lab to make a hit record), LB’s Phonte went on (and then okayplayer) to basically call the audience too stupid for his groups self proclaimed intelligent brand of hip hop*. This is not the first time the LB boys have presented this argument. Since signing to Atlantic (and subsequently bricking) the group has done nothing but complain about how they’re too smart for BET.
Which is odd. Outkast or Kanye West (for example) didn’t seem to have a problem making “smart” songs with a message and still selling truckloads of records. This is because they both have an aesthetic that, while definitely informed by the true school, is simultaneously pushing things forward.
Little Brother, on the other hand, continue to make throwback revivalist boom bap rap and continue to have zero commercial appeal. This isn’t even a matter of their music being boring (a claim some have made), merely outdated. If Mecca & The Soul Brother dropped today, it would be a resounding flop commercially. This is not because it’s a bad record. This is not because the audience is too stupid to understand all that vast knowledge that CL dropped (set to hurdle when I pop a girdle…
.
This is not because the south is ruining dat real hip hop, yo. It’s because popular music moves forward. Interests and styles change with the times. Either try to come with a sound that the masses are going to feel or play your position and deal with reality that the **** will only ever appeal to coffee shop chicks and white dudes. It’s that simple.
The whole situation is akin to a doo-wop revival group opening for Chris Brown and catching feelings when his audience isn’t into them. Except I’ve never heard a doo-wop group complain about how Chris Brown and his ignorant fans are ruining the culture.
But it’s likely that all of this has very little to do with Fayetteville’s indifference. Like it or not. most people don’t go to a concert to discover new artists. They go to see the ones they already love. And Little Brother may have carved out a little niche in their corner of the internet, but in the grand scheme they are still pretty much unknowns. I doubt anybody was mad about their subject matter or album title. That crowd probably didn’t even know the name of the album. LB were just another faceless act on the bill until Triple Six or Rick Ross or whoever they came to see hit the stage. A pre-”Goin’ Down” Young Joc would’ve probably evoked a similar response. People prefer what they know. This isn’t ignorant, this isn’t the product of clear channel conditioning - it’s just human nature.
Really LB should be thankful if this is the first time something like this has happened. More talented artists have played to disinterested crowds for their entire careers. I once saw a pre-Gnarls Cee-Lo perform to a dust and tumbleweeds arena. The Roots and Outkast were headlining. So ign’ant!
*It would seem that humility is the curse of the intellectual.
This past weekend underground/backpack heroes Little Brother opened up for Three Six, Young Dro, Rick Ross, Young Joc, Franchise Boyz and The Musicianz in Fayetteville, NC. Above is a split screen between this show and the typical attendance at a show LB is headlining. See if you can guess which is which. 8,000 people in the crowd and not one of them cared.
Rather than accept his permanent underdog status (or, god forbid, actually go back to the lab to make a hit record), LB’s Phonte went on (and then okayplayer) to basically call the audience too stupid for his groups self proclaimed intelligent brand of hip hop*. This is not the first time the LB boys have presented this argument. Since signing to Atlantic (and subsequently bricking) the group has done nothing but complain about how they’re too smart for BET.
Which is odd. Outkast or Kanye West (for example) didn’t seem to have a problem making “smart” songs with a message and still selling truckloads of records. This is because they both have an aesthetic that, while definitely informed by the true school, is simultaneously pushing things forward.
Little Brother, on the other hand, continue to make throwback revivalist boom bap rap and continue to have zero commercial appeal. This isn’t even a matter of their music being boring (a claim some have made), merely outdated. If Mecca & The Soul Brother dropped today, it would be a resounding flop commercially. This is not because it’s a bad record. This is not because the audience is too stupid to understand all that vast knowledge that CL dropped (set to hurdle when I pop a girdle…
.This is not because the south is ruining dat real hip hop, yo. It’s because popular music moves forward. Interests and styles change with the times. Either try to come with a sound that the masses are going to feel or play your position and deal with reality that the **** will only ever appeal to coffee shop chicks and white dudes. It’s that simple.
The whole situation is akin to a doo-wop revival group opening for Chris Brown and catching feelings when his audience isn’t into them. Except I’ve never heard a doo-wop group complain about how Chris Brown and his ignorant fans are ruining the culture.
But it’s likely that all of this has very little to do with Fayetteville’s indifference. Like it or not. most people don’t go to a concert to discover new artists. They go to see the ones they already love. And Little Brother may have carved out a little niche in their corner of the internet, but in the grand scheme they are still pretty much unknowns. I doubt anybody was mad about their subject matter or album title. That crowd probably didn’t even know the name of the album. LB were just another faceless act on the bill until Triple Six or Rick Ross or whoever they came to see hit the stage. A pre-”Goin’ Down” Young Joc would’ve probably evoked a similar response. People prefer what they know. This isn’t ignorant, this isn’t the product of clear channel conditioning - it’s just human nature.
Really LB should be thankful if this is the first time something like this has happened. More talented artists have played to disinterested crowds for their entire careers. I once saw a pre-Gnarls Cee-Lo perform to a dust and tumbleweeds arena. The Roots and Outkast were headlining. So ign’ant!
*It would seem that humility is the curse of the intellectual.
I totally agree with what Phonte is saying...
