https://www.instagram.com/p/BoUzBkcn9Hd/?taken-by=9thwonder
Despite the repeated insistence of each member of defunct mid-2000s underground rap trio Little Brother that the group would remain that way, Rapper Big Pooh, Phonte Coleman, and producer 9th Wonder finally reunited to perform together for the first time in a decade at the Art Of Cool Festival in downtown Durham, North Carolina. After an apparent cancelation from one of the original acts booked for the 8 PM performance, 9th Wonder apparently shined the bat signal, resulting in Instagram posts on all of their respective accounts announcing the reunion.
Durham’s Little Brother performed on stage for the first time in over a decade. They found out about the possibility to reunite just a few hours before the show and it was 🔥 #AOCFEST pic.twitter.com/ssiinX2KuF
— Discover Durham (@DurhamNC) September 30, 2018
The announcement was met with an outburst of excitement from hip-hop fans, including The Roots drummer Questlove, who further expressed frustration at being unable to attend the groundbreaking moment. Those same fans were ecstatic in later posts recounting Little Brother’s renewed chemistry and memorable catalog of straight up jams.
While the group has remained adamant that they were not going to reunite to perform their songs or record new ones for years, they were able to patch up the initial rifts that had forced them to break up in the first place. Despite their rejuvenated personal relationships, the members remained split up and pursuing solo and other projects. While Phonte and Pooh have released solo albums, Phonte also joined The Foreign Exchange with producer Nicolay and released multiple albums — some shortlisted for prestigious awards — while 9th Wonder pursued his Jamla Records label with groundbreaking artist Rapsody — who was also nominated for a Grammy this year.
So while this reunion may not exactly be a sign of new music to come, it’s a milestone in hip-hop history, marking the return — even if only for one night — of one of the most influential rap groups of all time. Check out more video below.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BoVMuMtAXSJ/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=1llu057y9qskm
