This past November saw the release of Little Brother’s documentary, May the Lord Watch: The Little Brother Story. The North Carolina hip hop group’s latest film is a vulnerable and transparent story of hip hop, brotherhood, and family. Just two months removed from its initial release, the documentary has already become an essential viewing for underground rap fans. However, it also reaches beyond music, as those unfamiliar with Little Brother can still feel touched by its story. May the Lord Watch is named after the group’s 2019 reunion album, their first release in nine years.
Phonte, Rapper Big Pooh, and 9th Wonder started Little Brother in the late ’90s after meeting in college at North Carolina Central University. They were also a part of the Justus League collective. Throughout the early 2000s, the group released now-classic albums like The Listening and The Minstrel Show. While 9th Wonder left Little Brother in 2007, his role as a founding member remains part of their legacy. Before taking a hiatus until their 2019 reunion, Phonte and Big Pooh became a duo, releasing both Getback and Leftback. With a brand new documentary that highlights the group’s turbulent yet-triumphant story, the future is clearly still bright for Little Brother. Here is a look into where each member of the group is now.
Phonte
Aside from working on the May the Lord Watch documentary with his Little Brother counterpart, Phonte has his own solo career independent from the group. During Little Brother's initial run, he joined forces with Dutch producer Nicolay to form The Foreign Exchange. With Phonte opting to sing instead of rap, The Foreign Exchange created numerous albums. Phonte has also created albums with Zo! and Eric Roberson. As a solo rapper, he has two studio albums, including 2011’s Charity Starts at Home and 2018’s No News is Good News. His most recent solo effort was a 2019 EP titled Pacific Time. More recently, Phonte has been lending guest features to albums from Your Old Droog, Oddisee, Black Milk, and Rory.
Rapper Big Pooh
Rapper Big Pooh’s solo catalog is significantly larger than Phonte’s, releasing albums as an individual artist since 2005. He has teamed up with producers like Apollo Brown and Nottz for full-length projects, including Words Paint Pictures and Home Sweet Home. Pooh released his latest album, To Dream In Color, in 2022. When he is not rapping, he manages Dreamville’s Lute, Blakk Soul, and T. Smith. Rapper Big Pooh and Phonte have not worked on an album since May the Lord Watch, but Little Brother dropped a two-track EP and toured the United States in 2023.
9th Wonder
Despite not being a group member since 2007, 9th Wonder played an integral role in the Little Brother story. In 2018, he joined Phonte and Big Pooh onstage for a surprise reunion set at The Art of Cool Festival in Durham, North Carolina. The show served as a catalyst for the May the Lord Watch album, though 9th Wonder was not involved in its creation due to a difference in group expectations.
In 2019, Phonte and Pooh told The Premium Pete Show that they initially started working on the album with 9th. However, their dynamic revealed “the exact same problem [they] ran into 10 years ago when [they] became a duo.” 9th Wonder was also noticeably absent from the May the Lord Watch documentary. “We reached out to him multiple times so he could offer his perspective on things but he didn’t answer,” Little Brother said during a film screening.
Aside from Little Brother, 9th Wonder is one of hip hop’s most esteemed producers. He has crafted beats for the likes of JAY-Z, Destiny’s Child, Anderson .Paak, Kendrick Lamar, and more. The producer is also the founder of Jamla Records, home to artists like Rapsody. This past week saw 9th Wonder’s latest release as he teamed up with Hus Kingpin for a collaborative album, The Supergoat.
Outside of hip hop, 9th Wonder’s recent musical output has consisted of installments of his Zion instrumental series. Additionally, he is a member of the jazz supergroup Dinner Party alongside Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper, and Kamasi Washington. Beyond music, 9th Wonder previously taught hip hop at Harvard and Duke Universities. His latest venture into academia was becoming a visiting professor at Long Island University at the Roc Nation School of Music, Sports, and Entertainment.
