The Minstrel Show


The Minstrel Show is the second studio album by American hip-hop trio Little Brother, released on September 13, 2005. It followed the critical success of their 2003 debut, The Listening. The album was highly anticipated and touted as a probable breakthrough for the group, even before its release. The title is a reference to the minstrel shows that were popular in the United States during the 19th century.

Themes

The album has a running concept based on a fictional television network called "UBN", which is a satire of stereotypical programs and advertisements for African Americans. For example, on "Cheatin", Phonte, spoofs the over-dramatic R&B sagas performed by singers such as R. Kelly and Ronald Isley. Many of the skits contain tongue-in-cheek references to black pop-culture in the United States.

Controversies

The controversy surrounding The Minstrel Show release drew more attention than the music itself. On August 16, 2005, Editor-in-Chief of The Source magazine, Joshua "Fahiym" Ratcliffe, announced his resignation due to conflicting opinions on the rating The Minstrel Show was supposed to receive in the next issue of the publication. According to Ratcliffe, after the review was finalized and the album's score was set to 4.5 out of 5, the magazine's Chief Brand Executive Raymond "Benzino" Scott and CEO Dave Mays announced their plans to reduce the score to 4. Benzino believed the album should not receive a higher score than Young Jeezy's Let's Get It: [Thug Motivation 101], which received a rating of 4. For his part, Benzino admitted at the time of questioning, that he had yet to listen to the album for himself and had no problem with Ratcliffe's original rating. Little Brother's Phonte later remarked that the controversy brought more attention to the album than it could have received from the rating alone.
Another controversy was regarding the entertainment network BET, which refused to play the group's video for the single "Lovin' It", allegedly because they deemed it "too intelligent". Michael Lewellen, a publicist and program director for BET, responded, "It's not true, not in that context. BET reserves the right to show or not to show music videos of any type based on the network's own standards and decision-making processes." In an interview with GQ magazine, Phonte explained that BET never told them about the ban and he only found out about it on the Internet. In a portion of the video, the group lightly pokes fun at the different stylistic aspects of hip hop subgenres such as "gangsta", "backpack", "earthy" and "icy". The rest of it sees them performing to a zealous crowd.

Reception

The Minstrel Show received praise from contemporary hip hop publications, such as XXL magazine, who gave the album an "XL" rating, and Scratch magazine, who gave it a perfect 10 out of 10 rating. The Minstrel Show debuted at number 56 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 18,000 copies in its first week. As of 2010, the album sold slightly more than 100,000 copies. A second official single and any further promotion of the album was abandoned by Atlantic Records, and although the group soon began recording their follow-up album, Getback, their relationship with the label drew to a close before its release.

Track listing

Unless otherwise indicated, information is based on the album's liner notes.
#TitleProducerPerformerTimeSamples
1"Welcome to the Minstrel Show"9th WonderYahZarah
Chris Hardwick
Darien Brockington		1:17
2"Beautiful Morning"9th WonderRapper Big PoohPhonte2:20
3"The Becoming"9th WonderPhonte2:05
  • "Circles" by Rufus & Chaka Khan
    • 4"Not Enough"9th WonderRapper Big PoohPhonte
    Darien Brockington    		4:30
    5"Cheatin'"Piano ReevesPercy Miracles Mr. Diggs3:43
    6"Hiding Place"9th WonderRapper Big Pooh
    Phonte
    Elzhi
    Additional Skit by Joe Scudda    		4:00
    7"Slow It Down"9th WonderRapper Big PoohPhonte
    Darien Brockington    		4:19
    8"Say It Again"9th WonderRapper Big PoohPhonte
    Chaundon
    Pamela Graham*    		3:47
    • "Do Something Special " by The Five Special
    9"5th & Fashion "Nicolay*Interlude*1:19
    10"Lovin' It"9th WonderRapper Big PoohPhonte
    Joe Scudda
    YahZarah*    		3:51
    11"Diary of a Mad Black Daddy "9th Wonder*Interlude*0:40
  • Little Brother song "Lovin' It"
    • 12"All for You"9th WonderRapper Big PoohPhonte
    Darien Brockington
    Keyboards & Strings by James Poyser    		4:39
    13"Watch Me"KhrysisRapper Big PoohPhonte
    Khrysis
    DJ Scratches by DJ Jazzy Jeff    		4:19
    14"Sincerely Yours"9th WonderRapper Big Pooh3:15
  • "Whatever Goes Around" by Jerry Butler
    • 15"Still Lives Through"9th WonderRapper Big PoohPhonte3:25
    16"Minstrel Show Closing Theme"9th WonderYahZarahChris Hardwick1:28
    17"We Got Now"9th WonderRapper Big PoohPhonte
    Chaundon    		4:34
    18"Hold On " 9th WonderRapper Big Pooh Phonte4:35
    19"The Olio" 9th WonderL.E.G.A.C.Y. Phonte
    Rapper Big Pooh    		3:35
    ;Notes
    indicates the performer contributed additional background vocals to the track.

    Album samples songwriting credits

    Information is based on the album’s Liner Notes

    Welcome to the Minstrel Show and Minstrel Show Closing Theme
    Beautiful Morning
    The Becoming
    Not Enough
    Hiding Place
    Slow It Down
    • "Slow Dance" as performed by David Ruffin; written by C. Curtis Gadson, Rosslyn Sanders and Rollin Sanders
    Say It Again
    • "Do Something Special " as performed by Five Special; written by Jerry Q. Jones and Ron Banks
    Lovin' It
    • "One Night Affair" as performed by The Stylistics; written by Teddy Randazzo, Roger Joyce and Victoria Pike
    All for You
    Watch Me
    Sincerely Yours
    Hold On