If you’re into underground hip-hop, then this next interviewee needs absolutely no introduction. Big Pooh is one-third of the group known as Little Brother, and he was kind enough to answer a few questions for SpaceCadetz. Check it out!

Sup Big Pooh! Man, thanks so much for doing this interview with SpaceCadetz.com. First off, congrats on Little Brother’s second album The Minstrel Show, which was released late in 2005. You guys recently finished up a pretty intense two month tour promoting the new album. How did that go? Any favorite cities or crazy stories to share?

Whats good fam! The tour was crazy man. It’s always crazy to be out on the road for that long man. We acutally did two tours back to back, Fort Minor then Dilated. The Dilated/LB tour was long overdue. The whole tour was solid from beginning to end but some of the spots that really stuck out were House of Blues LA and Anaheim, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas..insane.

For those who haven’t heard your music before, how would you describe the Little Brother sound?

We are everyday man’s music. What I mean by that is, no matter who you are, what walk of life you come from, you can kick back and enjoy a Little Brother record. It’s like a fusion of Tribe, Slum, Kast, Ghetto Boys, De La..all the groups we grew up listening too man.

How does your second album The Minstrel Show differ from The Listening, in terms of both content and concept?

Well we all matured since we made The Listening. We all had the chance to step out and do our own thing and bring something different to the table when we sat down to do the next record. As far as concept, with The Listening, we were just 3 dudes having fun, sitting in a room, making a record. When we sat down to do The Minstrel Show we wanted to make a statement. We knew we were playing for bigger stakes with this being our first release on a major, wanted to show folks that we could make that type of record on a major.

Little Brother often draws comparison to now legendary hip-hop groups like A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, etc. What are your feelings on that?

It’s flattering! Who wouldn’t want that compliment, to be compared with some of the legends in music. I mean, we have nowhere near the body of work that some of the groups we are compared to have but its still flattering to hear.

After all the critical success of The Listening and now with The Minstrel Show, Little Brother is considered by some to be pushing the boundary between mainstream and underground hip-hop, especially now that you are signed to major label Atlantic Records. I also remember a while back you posted in your MySpace blog about a fan who was giving you shit for “going mainstream,” but that was also part of another issue all together. What are your thoughts on those who accuse LB of “selling out” and what do you say to them?

I look at it like this, some people may feel like they aren’t part of the movement anymore if we get any bigger because it takes away from them putting us “on” to people. We are slowly moving away from “this little group I’ve found” to something bigger. When you make music, you want as many people as possible to fuck with what you do, signing to a major allows us the opportunity to get noticed by more people than just being on a independent. I ain’t done nothing other than progress since I first came into the game, if people call that selling out…then oh well, I can’t satisfy everybody. I know when I rise every morning, take a look in the mirror, I have no problem looking at myself.

What are your thoughts on the current state of hip-hop as it exists today, and where do you see it going in the next say 10 years?

I just wish it was more balance in the music. It’s a lot of good stuff out there getting heard but its a lot that isn’t getting heard. It’s room for everybody in this business, its enough money for everybody in this business. As far as where it will be in the next 10, who knows man…we have come so far from niggas throwing parties in the park and back then they didn’t see it being part of corporate america. I just hope the kids coming up learn about the beginnings, learn the history, have respect for this.

What’s the hip-hop game in North Carolina like right now and who else besides Little Brother is doing it pretty big over there?

It’s a budding scene. I would like to think that the success of LB has played a part in people actually wanting to check for some of the talent that we have down here. Trust, it’s still a long way away from being an Atlanta, or a Houston, but we got a lot of cats down here trying to make some noise. We got my man Supastion, Big Treal, Shelly B, Jozeemo, Hot Write, P. Batters, The Allies, Tyler Woods…and of course the HOJ!

One of my favorite Little Brother tracks off The Listening is “Speed,” which I can totally identify with doing the 9-5 thing and trying to make things happen with SpaceCadetz at the same time. I mean, this is truly an anthem for everyone out there hustlin’. What is it you do when that rare chance to take a breather from the grind and restore some balance to your life presents itself?

I’m a sports fanatic, junkie even. Thats me man, I love sports more than I love music and thats real talk. I’m not just talking about watching games and shit either..I’m talking about offseason is some exciting shit for me…drafts, trades, contract negotiations, shit like that. I swear I want to shadow a GM for a season and learn some of the ins and outs of the business of the NBA.

You put out a solo project in between albums called Sleepers. Do you have any solo projects in the works again now that you’re done with the bulk of the heavy lifting for Minstrel Show?

I’m always recording. I got like 12-13 joints in the can right now but I’m going to wait a while for my next solo. We decided to go right back in the lab and do another LB project so thats the focus.

Speaking of being in between albums, I know I’m not the only one wondering when the third Little Brother album is going to drop. Can you let your fans in on any future plans/ideas/timelines for the next album?

We are working right now, I’m acutally bout to head to the studio to lay some shit right after this.
Hopefully we will be ready for the world again early 07

What’s on rotation in your iPod right now?

Lets see…I usually just put it on shuffle and let it go..I got like 4 thousand songs. This is what I’m going to do…I’m putting it on shuffle, lets see the first 10 joints that come up:
1. Broken Drum - Beck
2. If You Didn’t Love Me (Don’t Go Away) - DJ Rogers
3. Altitudes - Little Brother
4. Turn It Up Loud - Warren G
5. PSA - Jay-Z
6. Stop - J. Dilla (RIP)
7. Do It To Me - Usher
8. J’Davey (Don’t know the name of this joint, crazy tho! produced by
Marco Polo)
9. I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing - Aerosmith
10. Stab My Back - All American Rejects (This album is the shit!)

If you could give one piece of advice to all the unsigned artists out there, what would it be?

Create your own lane, be persistent, be dope.

Any shoutouts?

The Hall of Justus, SpaceCadetz, thank those who support Little Brother legally and illegally!

Little Brother’s MySpace Profile Link

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