May the Lord Watch


May the Lord Watch is the fifth studio album by American hip-hop duo Little Brother. It was released on August 20, 2019 by Imagine Nation Music, For Members Only Records and Empire Distribution.
The album is the duo's first album since 2010's Leftback release.

Background

The album's development secretly began during the previous year of 2018, after Rapper Big Pooh, Phonte and 9th Wonder reunited during September's Art of Cool festival. However, this wasn't made public until shortly after Big Pooh and Phonte announced the group's reunion as a duo in May 2019. Like the previous album Leftback, there was no production input from 9th, who departed the group to embark on a solo career as a producer and label CEO. Instead, the album was primarily produced by longtime collaborators and Soul Council members Nottz and Khrysis. Other producers such as Black Milk, Focus..., Devin Morrison, Blaaq Gold, and even Phonte himself also contributed to the album's production. Sharing continuity with The Minstrel Show, the album's theme continues the running concept of a fictional television network called UBN, which is a satire of stereotypical programs, advertisements, and pop-culture for African Americans. A notable moment on the album was a skit from Peter Rosenberg announcing the death of Phonte's alter-ego Percy Miracles, which served as a tribute to Phife Dawg, and how his death was a significant moment that brought Phonte and Pooh back together.
In multiple interviews and podcasts - including the Premium Pete Show - it was revealed that 9th Wonder was originally supposed to be a part of the reunion album, under its original title Homecoming. The title was changed due to Beyonce releasing Homecoming: The Live Album to coincide with her concert film Homecoming. Phonte and Pooh decided to continue the project without 9th after a series of creative differences, mostly regarding production for the album.

Critical reception

May the Lord Watch was met with universal acclaim reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 86, based on 5 reviews.

Track listing

Credits adapted from istandard producers

Samples

  • "The Feel" contains a sample of "A Man Alone", as performed by Alan Hawkshaw
  • "Everything" contains a sample of "In My Life", as performed by Mahavishnu Orchestra
  • "Black Magic " contains a sample of "The Chase", as performed by Anderson.Paak
  • "Goodmorning Sunshine" contains a sample of "Eternal Love", as performed by Utopia
  • "Sittin' Alone" contains a sample of "Open Your Eyes", as performed by Bobby Caldwell

Personnel