7 thoughts, feelings and

reflections about the

Little Brother
documentary, ‘May the
Lord Watch’
OPINION: The trials, tribulations
and triumphs of the North
Carolina hip-hop group are on full
display through the lens of Big
Pooh and Phonte.

Panama Jackson | Nov 29, 2023

Recording artists Little Brother comprised of (L to

R) Big Pooh, 9th Wonder, Phonte and their manager
(in front) attend the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop
Conference Award ceremony at the Jackie Gleason
Theater on August 8, 2003 in Miami Beach, Florida.
(Photo by Ronna Gradus/Getty Images)

Editor’s note: The following article

is an op-ed, and the views
expressed are the author’s own.
Read more opinions on theGrio.

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When Phonte Coleman of the group

Little Brother announced in March
2022 that there would be a
documentary about the group
coming in 2023, like many people, I
was excited. I have been a fan of the
group since I Trst heard in 2002
when I used to use the University of
Maryland-College Park’s
tremendous ethernet speed to
bolster my bootleg CD collection. I
didn’t know it at the time, but I was
downloading songs from what
would be their debut album, “The
Listening.” I was pretty much all in
from the jump and have been
through all of their albums, both as
a “collective” (more on this later)
and individually — in particular 9th
Wonder, the group’s producer who
has become a well-renowned
producer, professor and DJ, and
Phonte whose solo work, television
work and albums as part of Foreign
Exchange are basically the
soundtrack to my life post-
graduation from college.

They’ve also been part of my life

because to know Little Brother is to
also know them because of the
group’s “are-they-or aren’t-they-a-
group?” dance that has been
happening (at least to us fans) for
doggone near the entirety of the
group’s public existence. The
documentary, “May the Lord Watch”
(which also shares the same title as
their 2019 album) — released on
Nov. 24 via YouTube — promised to
address that very question and it did
not disappoint. I would imagine
most fans of the group watched the
documentary and had a bunch of
thoughts, feelings and redections
based on what we saw in the
documentary, which did not feature
9th Wonder. I am one of those
people. Here are some thoughts,
feelings and redections based on
the documentary.

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Also Read:
20 years after
its release,
Little Brother’s
‘The Listening’
is still as good
today as it was
back then

1. While 9th Wonder’s perspective is

obviously missing, Big Pooh and
Phonte DEFINITELY laid bare their
issues with him and his
participation in the group.
The biggest question for basically
all Little Brother fans is one that
centers 9th Wonder: What
happened with 9th Wonder and why
did he leave? According to this doc,
he was basically told to kick rocks
at one point because it seemed like
he more or less beneTted from
being part of Little Brother while
essentially just providing beats
while he was off doing his own
thing. And yes, the opportunity to
work with Jay-Z (and Destiny’s
Child) for 2003’s “The Black Album”
was the point that seemed to more
or less change everything. If you let
Phonte tell it, 9th Wonder basically
just provided beats for “The Minstrel
Show” but the label wanted him to
be included as part of the
promotion. For Pooh and Phonte,
though, 9th Wonder wasn’t really
part of the group as soon as they
started touring.

2. I remember going to see Little

Brother shows in DC in the mid-
2000s and while I’ve met and seen
9th Wonder DJ, I have never seen
him DJ a show with Phonte and
Pooh on stage.
Just like the doc illustrated, I
absolutely remember being at the
Black Cat in D.C. while Big Dho was
DJing and hearing folks in the
crowd asking where 9th Wonder
was. I can imagine that being
frustrating for Pooh and Phonte.
Same with 9th who, it seems, wasn’t
welcome at all, at one point, outside
of providing beats. By 2007’s album
“Getback,” 9th Wonder provided just
one beat for the song “Breakin’ My
Heart” featuring Lil Wayne. This
documentary answered many
questions folks like me had who
were at the shows or who interacted
with the group members but really
didn’t feel comfortable asking.

3. Pooh and Phonte addressing

what broke them up as brothers was
as real of a behind-the-music
moment as possible.
I often feel like when we get docs,
we never really get the real story
behind group breakups.

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Not this time. I don’t have any more

questions about what happened
between Pooh and Phonte and why
they broke up. It seems they
answered honestly and sincerely
and expressed their issues with one
another and how they also managed
to get over them. Like, I feel like if
you ask ME what happened with
Little Brother, I could answer that
question. That’s a rare thing and I
appreciate the vulnerability and
honesty.

4. It’s always so amazing to me how

regular celebrities are and how they
react to the same things we
“normal” folks do.
The more famous people I’ve met
and/or gotten to know and the more
interviews I listen to with artists I
love, the more I realize just how
much they pay attention to the
same stuff everybody else does and
how that stuff impacts them. The
moment that brought Phonte and
Pooh back together as humans was
the death of Phife Dawg from A
Tribe Called Quest. I’m not surprised
by this because that same moment
had a similar reaction for a lot of
people I know personally. I even
wrote about how hard his death hit
me and how it made me redect on
both my own mortality but also the
space I’ve carved out in the world
for those who know and love me. To
see his death, the death of one of
the members of one of their favorite
groups, be a catalyst to
reconciliation (for Pooh and Phonte,
at least) reminded me that they’re
regular folks underneath the talent
and celebrity. It’s always interesting
to get that reminder.

Also Read:
‘May the Lord
Watch’? I hope
so. But I
deTnitely will
watch the
documentary
about the rise
and fall of
Little Brother.
Thanks for
asking

5. This doc was really well done,

and I really enjoyed it as a piece of
art.
I had to make sure I pointed this
out. This documentary was free on
YouTube, and I still wanted to pay
for it AFTER I watched it twice. It
was thoughtful, considerate, well
produced and really dug into the
entire story of Little Brother, which
is still ongoing, although minus 9th
Wonder … still.

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6. It’s funny how I think we (the

fans) perceive Little Brother versus
how the group actually exists.
I think that EVERYBODY views the
group as Pooh, Phonte and 9th
Wonder. EVEN NOW, after two
albums without him and watching
the documentary where it is quite
clear that 9th isn’t part of the group
(and we don’t know how he feels
about it or if he considers himself
essential to the group; I’d bet he
does), I still think of them that way.
The mural they’re standing near at
the end features the three
“members” of the group. That,
again, has to be frustrating if you’re
Pooh and Phonte who essentially
have stopped viewing 9th as part of
the group since they were TOURING
for “The Listening” album back in
2003. According to the doc, they
basically told 9th not to even join
them back on tour after a certain
point. Sure he was around for
production, etc. on “The Minstrel
Show” but I kind of feel like Phonte
and Pooh would have preferred if
the album didn’t read: “Phonte,
Rapper Big Pooh & 9th Wonder are
Little Brother,” which was clearly an
Atlantic Records decision.

7. I’m appreciative that one of my

favorite groups is able to have their
story told and address their issues
(well, mostly) while demonstrating
how they’ve grown as men.
Seeing Pooh and Phonte discuss
their journeys as men and as people
into who they are now and how the
music they now make can redect
that is something I don’t take for
granted. Especially when we keep
losing so many artists whose music
has been essential to so many of
our lives. Little Brother is one of my
favorite groups, and I even got a
chance to speak to them for my
podcast, “Dear Culture,” and I’m just
glad they’re both still around,
especially after Pooh spoke about
some of his health concerns.
Phonte sharing his own personal
traumas and how that has affected
him raising his boys was also
moving to me as a father. I
appreciate them. And I appreciate
that they not only have a story to tell
but that they told it.

I’m lovin’ it.

Panama Jackson is a columnist at

theGrio. He writes very Black
things, drinks very brown liquors,
and is pretty My for a light guy. His
biggest accomplishment to date
coincides with his Blackest
accomplishment to date in that he
received a phone call from Oprah
Winfrey after she read one of his
pieces (biggest), but he didn’t
answer the phone because the
caller ID said: “Unknown”
(Blackest).

Make sure you check out the Dear

Culture podcast every Thursday on
theGrio’s Black Podcast Network,
where I’ll be hosting some of the
Blackest conversations known to
humankind. You might not leave
the convo with an afro, but you’ll
deZnitely be looking for your Afro
Sheen! Listen to Dear Culture on
TheGrio’s app; download it here.

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