May the Lord Watch explained
| May the Lord Watch |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Little Brother |
| Cover: | May the Lord Watch - Little Brother.png |
| Recorded: | October 2018 – August 2019 |
| Studio: | The Autumn Attic
The Burlap Place
Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Prev Title: | Leftback LP |
| Prev Year: | 2010 |
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.[1]
The album is the duo's first album since 2010's Leftback release.[2]
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.[3] 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.[4] [5] [6] 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.[7] A notable moment on the album was a skit from Peter Rosenberg announcing the death of Phonte's alter-ego Percy Miracles (previously appeared on The Minstrel Show album track "Cheatin'"), which served as a tribute to Phife Dawg, and how his death was a significant moment that brought Phonte and Pooh back together.[8]
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 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.[9]
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[10]
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 (Make It Better)" 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
- Phonte - writer, performer, recording engineer, mixing, additional background vocals, executive producer
- Rapper Big Pooh - writer, performer, executive producer
- Peter Rosenberg - voice
- Questlove - voice
- Jemele Hill - voice
- Laiya St. Clair - voice
- Joe Scudda - voice
- Evan Pollock - voice
- Dyana Williams - voice
- Jermaine White - voice
- Devon Moore - voice
- Ryan Davis - voice
- Austin Hall - voice
- Cesar Comanche - voice
- BlakkSoul - writer, background vocals
- Darien Brockington - background vocals
- Carlitta Durand - background vocals
- Shana Tucker - background vocals
- Madison McFerrin - background vocals
- Kristi Ae - background vocals
- Tamisha Waden - background vocals
- Be My Fiasco - background vocals
- Carmen Rodgers - background vocals
- Lorenzo "Zo!" Ferguson - keys, additional keys, additional synths
- Sheldon Williams - keys and synths
- Nottz - drums, bass
- Nicolay - keys
- Howard "Soul" Joyner - keys
- Chris Boerner - recording, mixing, mastering
- Antoine Lyers - photography
- Tobias Rose - graphic layout, design
- Deborah Mannis-Gardner (DMG Clearances, Inc) - sample clearance
Notes and References
- Web site: Little Brother Reunite & Release New Album. Stereogum. Breihan. Tom. August 20, 2019. October 26, 2019.
- Web site: Little Brother Release First New Album in Nine Years. Pitchfork. Strauss. Matthew. August 20, 2019. October 26, 2019.
- Web site: Phonte & Rapper Big Pooh Are Returning As Little Brother. hiphopdx.com. Dana. Scott. 21 May 2019 .
- Web site: Little Brother Reunite & Release New Album \'May the Lord Watch,\' Their First in Nine Years . 20 August 2019 .
- Web site: Little Brother Comes To Terms Their Elder Status On 'May The Lord Watch,' Their First Album In Nine Years. uproxx.com. Aaron. Williams. 20 August 2019 .
- Web site: Stream Little Brother's First Album in Almost 10 Years, 'May the Lord Watch'. okayplayer.com. Dimas. Sanfiorenzo. 20 August 2019 .
- Web site: 10 Takeaways from Little Brother's Brilliant Comeback Album 'May the Lord Watch' . 21 August 2019 .
- Little Brother, Episode 74 . Little Brother . 74 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190925204848/https://tidal.com/browse/video/118638179 . 2019-09-25 . Tidal.
- Web site: Little Brother Reveals Why 9th Wonder Wasn't Part of Reunion Album . 10 September 2019 .
- Web site: Little Brother - May The Lord Watch (Credits) . istandardproducers.com . istandard, inc. . 2019-11-25.
