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Darien Brockington

No matter how you feel about LB’s most recent offerings you would be crazy to deny the talent of their early work.  ‘The Listening’ and ‘The Minstrel Show’ are both gems in their own right.  Back in the day I was volunteering for the underground radio station at my college and we had to go hand out flyers but our reward at the end was getting to go to the bomb ass record store to pick up some goods at the end of the day.  I remembered seeing some comment about this new album out called ‘The Minstrel Show’ and at this point not only had I never heard of LB but I also had no idea what a Minstrel Show was.  For some reason I felt a need to cop this album and oh what a good choice that was.  Love at first listen for sure.  Didn’t leave my stereo for a good 4 months after I got it which lead me to explore their other work such as ‘The Listening’.  Little Brother was my favorite group for a minute!  To the point where I almost played them out and had to take a break lol.  And even though I’m not the biggest fan of the direction they decided to take later on, their early work will always hold a soft spot in my hip hop heart.

Production:  9th Wonder, Khrysis, Nicolay, Piano Reeves

Features:  Chaundon, Chris Hardwick, Darien Brockington, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Elzhi, Joe Scudda, YahZarah

Label:  Atlantic Records

Full Preview: The Minstrel Show

Website:  http://www.myspace.com/littlebrother

Little Brother – ‘ Hiding Place (ft. Elzhi)’

This album will take you to a different world.  It’s like an audible cloud that lets you float far and away into a distant land.  Kenn Starr’s gentle but strong presence lends well to the whimsical, ethereal beats provided by the likes of Oddisee/Kev Brown/Illmind etc.  His lyrics are so real but are portrayed with a delicate poetic nature.  This album reminds me a bit of Blu & Exile – ‘Below the Heavens’.  It’s like you take a mini vacation when you listen to albums like these.  This album came out a few years ago (2006) but its a mainstay on my playlist.  And even though Kenn Starr isn’t the most well-known cat around, he is extremely well-received by the underground.

Production:  DJ Roddy Rod, Illmind, Kev Brown, Khrysis, M-Phazes, Oddisee, Young Cee

Features:  Asheru, Chronkite, Darien Brockington, Kev Brown, M-Phazes, Median, Oddisee, Sean Born, Supastition, Talib Kweli, Wayna

Label:  Halftooth Records

Full Preview:  Starr Status

Website:  http://www.myspace.com/kennstarr

Kenn Starr – ‘If (ft. Asheru & Talib Kweli)

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