Which Little Brother Does The Essence prefer?

Lou Cypher
Lou Cypher Members Posts: 52,521 ✭✭✭✭✭
edited July 2012 in The Essence
05minstrel.jpg

Or

Little-Brother-The-Listening-Instrumentals.jpg

Now these 2 albums are very close to classic. Im sure many circles would call them both classic. But which one do you think is the better album?

To me it's gotta be the Minstrel Show. I listen to it completely no skipping (unless its a skit). Don't get me wrong i LOVE the listening, has tons of gems on it like Speed, Love Joint Revisited, The Yo Yo. But to me the concept behind the minstrel show and 9ths production on this make it the better album. 9th Grew a lot as a producer on this album and the beats had better usage of the samples imo. Phonte and Big Pooh's Chemistry on each track was top notch.

I could go on all day about these 2 albums lol, theres no wrong answer but what did you think was the better album? and if you think Leftback or Getback were better albums drop a little info on why.
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Comments

  • bigev240
    bigev240 Guests, Members, Writer, Content Producer Posts: 10,925 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Damn that's a good question but I am going to give the edge to The Minstrel Show.
  • rip.dilla
    rip.dilla Members Posts: 17,412 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The Minstrel Show is more or less a classic album to me

    The Listening is good as well, gave it a listen over the past week
  • traestar
    traestar Members Posts: 6,030 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The Listening!! Monumental to Hip Hop, to know who Little Brother and the JUSTUS League are, you go to the Listening and all of the JUSTUS League material. The Minstrel Show is one of my favorites in hip hop albums, but the Listening opened ears!
  • RuffDraft
    RuffDraft Members, Writer Posts: 4,753 ✭✭✭✭
    Personally prefer The Listening and have been inspired to listen to both because of this thread!!! I just prefer the earlier work, following that, I'm all over The Foreign Exchange.
  • ocelot
    ocelot Members Posts: 10,019 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The Listening is a personal classic...

    The Minstrel Show is a hip hop classic...
    cosign The Foreign Exchange albums, especially the first...Nicks Grov stays on repeat...
  • Lab Baby
    Lab Baby Members Posts: 8,154 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Minstrel Show... love the concept of it, and 9th's production stepped up crazy.
  • traestar
    traestar Members Posts: 6,030 ✭✭✭✭✭
    One thing about Foreign Exchange, it was definitely a hip hop classic but it was very separate from the Justus League group! Nicolay really made a sound of his own with the Foreign Exchange projects and City Lights projects.
    I've yet to hear the third Foreign Exchange album, but Foreign Exchange should definitely be mentioned in hip hop history.
  • scarfacetf
    scarfacetf Members Posts: 59
    I have to say the minstrel show. That album for me is top 5 of all time. I can just about play it through from start to finish. Only certain tracks from the listening still get play
  • waterproof
    waterproof Members Posts: 9,412 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited July 2012
    The Listening is a hip-hop classic period point blank and was robbed of that 1/2 mic, to me i perfer The Listening over The Minstrel Show because of the pureness of the album and the grittyness of the production. The Minstrel sound was little to polish for me but still a classic

    I aint going to lie i might be a little bias of the album because at that time i was damn near done with hip-hop, i was all but finished but when i copped the album at the mom and pops store when it dropped just of the strength of the album cover and when i played it and took me back to the early-mid 90's with that autumn/winter feel to it in 2003, i damn near felt like shedding a tear the production was flawless the sequencing of the album was flawless and the lyrics was on point. and i remember why i was in love with hip-hop since mid 80's

    This song sealed the deal for me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYLKWTwMSE8 it took me back to the 91-95 era
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CguF82ysbY
  • ocelot
    ocelot Members Posts: 10,019 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Why do you get me hanging on a string?... Baby for you ill do anything... Just make up your mind and decide if its real what you fee ee ee ellllll....

    Song was in my head...lol
  • Meta_Conscious
    Meta_Conscious Members Posts: 26,227 ✭✭✭✭✭
    the Minstrel Show is their magnum opus...
  • achewon87
    achewon87 Members Posts: 5,464 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I will put it like this.

    The Listening = The Low End Theory

    The Minstrel Show = Midnight Marauders

    They are both so dope it is hard to choose one, I will personally take The Minstrel Show as the concept, production and execution are near flawless on this album. Even the skits are dope and fit the concept. Great stuff.
  • traestar
    traestar Members Posts: 6,030 ✭✭✭✭✭
    achewon87 wrote: »
    I will put it like this.

    The Listening = The Low End Theory

    The Minstrel Show = Midnight Marauders

    They are both so dope it is hard to choose one, I will personally take The Minstrel Show as the concept, production and execution are near flawless on this album. Even the skits are dope and fit the concept. Great stuff.

    Thats a great comparison!!
  • RuffDraft
    RuffDraft Members, Writer Posts: 4,753 ✭✭✭✭
    Good discussions… would be nice to consider other group/artists discogs in comparison…
  • I.B. Blackman
    I.B. Blackman Members Posts: 3,323 ✭✭✭✭✭
    achewon87 wrote: »
    I will put it like this.

    The Listening = The Low End Theory

    The Minstrel Show = Midnight Marauders

    They are both so dope it is hard to choose one, I will personally take The Minstrel Show as the concept, production and execution are near flawless on this album. Even the skits are dope and fit the concept. Great stuff.

    Well no need for my $0.02.... This man summed it up right here.

    Honorable personal classic mention for me tho....


    cd-cover.jpg

    .....Still can play this tape all the way thru. I love it.
  • traestar
    traestar Members Posts: 6,030 ✭✭✭✭✭
    achewon87 wrote: »
    I will put it like this.

    The Listening = The Low End Theory

    The Minstrel Show = Midnight Marauders

    They are both so dope it is hard to choose one, I will personally take The Minstrel Show as the concept, production and execution are near flawless on this album. Even the skits are dope and fit the concept. Great stuff.

    Well no need for my $0.02.... This man summed it up right here.

    Honorable personal classic mention for me tho....


    cd-cover.jpg

    .....Still can play this tape all the way thru. I love it.

    ? I had to look for this in my library, THIS IS DEFINITELY slept on! A mixtape, but still slept on!

    Alot of favorites in here:

    http://youtu.be/Ag9H6ZRGedY

    http://youtu.be/nqVVeMSPGa8
  • StillFaggyAF
    StillFaggyAF Members Posts: 40,358 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The Minstrel Show stay on repeat, no skips
  • SunflowaSeeds
    SunflowaSeeds Members Posts: 12,210 ✭✭✭✭✭
    So impossible for me to choose.
  • Valentinez A. Kaiser
    Valentinez A. Kaiser Members Posts: 9,028 ✭✭✭✭✭
    both dope and c/s on the ATCQ comparison, I've always used the same comparison for the 2000s generation.

    9th made a classic with the listening's production tho - ? used fruity loops for Gawd's sake man and showed a producer's talent is his creativity and not his hardware or machinery.
  • The Recipe
    The Recipe Members Posts: 10,570 ✭✭✭✭✭
  • COUPCOUPCAL
    COUPCOUPCAL Members Posts: 9
    The Minstrel Show is a masterpiece to my ears. Haven't heard anything from any of them since that's ? with it. Not even the Listening retroactively.
  • dwade206
    dwade206 Members Posts: 11,558 ✭✭✭✭✭
    ...as long as Phonte is involved, I'm good
  • #1hiphopjunki3
    #1hiphopjunki3 Guests, Members, Writer, Content Producer Posts: 3,557 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I love both albums so much but I personally think that the Gangsta Grills "Separate but Equal" got more bangers on it than both albums. But if I had to choose between the two albums at the beginning of the thread I think I would choose "The Minstrel Show" because that is what introduced me to them.

    I copped that first and then worked my way backwards. I wish they would get back together and put out more quality like "The Listening", "Seperate But Equal" and "The Minstrel Show"
  • traestar
    traestar Members Posts: 6,030 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I love both albums so much but I personally think that the Gangsta Grills "Separate but Equal" got more bangers on it than both albums. But if I had to choose between the two albums at the beginning of the thread I think I would choose "The Minstrel Show" because that is what introduced me to them.

    I copped that first and then worked my way backwards. I wish they would get back together and put out more quality like "The Listening", "Seperate But Equal" and "The Minstrel Show"

    The only thing I have to say tho is the Drama version was better IMO, there was alot more epicness with that one!!