Phonte

To some of you, seeing this name on the list might be even more shocking than seeing Q-Tip was.  But if you’ve ever listened to Little Brother (shout out to Rapper Big Pooh) and/or The Foreign Exchange (shout out to Nicolay), maybe you feel me on this one.  Phonte Coleman is not so much underrated as he is underexposed.  His talent is undeniable, and I think the industry recognizes that (his fans definitely do), but he has truly chosen the path less traveled in his career.  After Little Brother’s deal with Atlantic bombed, Phonte accepted something about himself that most other artists who’ve been exposed to the major label machine never believe or re-connect with – he embraced the fact that his own intelligence, talent and work ethic were all the components he needed to continue to make a living from recording great music.  And when you make great music, the real music fans follow you.  It’s that simple.   Phonte’s choice to remain independent, his refusal to give up his creative license in any way, is a tribute to his passion for music more than a lust for money, fame or accolades.  But none of that really explains why he’s easily my favorite MC/songwriter of the past decade.  I relate to just about everything the man writes – he is like a window into the soul of the everyday, common brotha’ who is flawed but still sensitive and trying to do the right things in life.  If you aren’t familiar, hopefully these top 7 joints will give you an idea of why he is the coldest dude in hip-hop (and R&B) right now…

7. “Speed” from Little Brother’s The Listening

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wx5YJK4BocY

The beginning is all about the grind.  Te’ raps about the 9-5 life and struggling to make ends meet and support his son while staying up late nights to perfect rap songs.  But even from the jump, it is evident that Little Brother is in the game for the right reasons.  The music (home) video for “Speed” definitely loses points for obviously being shot with the Sony camcorder, but it was all about getting the product out – product that brought Little Brother highest accolades from legends like Pete Rock and A Tribe Called Quest.

6. “Next Day” from Little Brother’s Getback (iTunes bonus track?)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhKDPyveHYc

This track is kinda hard to find… I’ve heard other websites say it is an iTunes bonus track from Getback, but the only bonus track I’ve seen on iTunes from that album is “The Getaway.”  Regardless, once I found the song on the ‘net I instantly searched until I found a free download.  This song is a great example of Phonte’s strong storytelling ability, as he raps about the transitions he endured during his career up until the Getback album.  Aspiring musicians, or anybody with dreams of doing what they love as their career, will be able to relate.

5. “Brave New World” from The Foreign Exchange’s Connected

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbQAhGVpQvk

Phonte is not really political or preachy when he has a message in his music, but he gives us a glimpse of his social consciousness on this track to let us know he’s paying attention to the world and how it’s growing and changing.  At the end of it all, though, he always connects global economies of scale to the plight of the everyman individual.  He always suggests that if we all do our part to step it up a little, then the world will be better and we’ll all reap the benefits.

 

4. “Hold On (Tellin’ Me)” B-side to Little Brother’s “Lovin’ It” single (vinyl)

http://www.undergroundhiphop.com/audio/detail.asp?=Little-Brother-Hold-On-Tellin-Me-ABB-Records&ID=9302

This track is very hard to find… I’ve also heard that this song is supposed to be a bonus track on the Japanese version of The Minstrel Show, but again I’ve never been able to find where I can buy that album or song (can’t even find it on YouTube, people).  It is however available for purchase on vinyl on the B-side of their first single off of The Minstrel Show, and I posted a link for the one place I’ve found it recently.  It’s a shame this song is not more accessible because Phonte kills his verse, boasting about how he is one of the illest with the craziest wordplay and metaphors to back it up!

3. “All For You” from Little Brother’s The Minstrel Show

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXv2exiuGjM

This song is one of the instances where Phonte reveals his flaws and shows a deeply personal side of himself on record.  A complicated relationship between parents and children is something a lot of people can relate to, and Phonte (and Pooh as well) lays all of his insecurities out in this very touching and thoughtful song about his parental relationships as well as responsibilities.

2. “Boondock Saints” from Little Brother’s Separate But Equal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoz8JmaoD4M

This song contains the frustrated but focused Phonte that I promise no MC in the game wants to see in a beef.  He cuts down everything corporate, from shifty and shady major labels to the pride and joy of the black community, Black Embarrassment Television.  He also challenges the young generation of hip-hop consumers as well as fellow artists in the game to hold our music to higher standard.  And he does all of this with some of the most incredible punch lines and metaphors of the new millennium.

1. “Bless the Child” from Jake One’s White Van Music

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ljp_b_om57Y

This is yet another slept on track unless you are familiar with Jake One, but again Phonte is the most deadly when it comes to these obscure, gotta dig in the crates to find it type of tracks, and “Bless the Child” is the best one yet.  This is my daily theme song, because he’s simply rapping about approaching every day, every goal or obstacle in life, with the “I will not lose” mentality.  He wrecks the “life’s a bitch” metaphor by extending it throughout most of the verse, and the wordplay is pure magic – hard knock life theme music at its finest, like great hip-hop is supposed to be.

**Some Honorable Mentions** (I just couldn’t keep this list to 7; if you were feeling these tracks, you should follow up with these): “Slow It Down” from Little Brother’s The Minstrel Show, “Sincere” from The Foreign Exchange’s Connected, “Can’t Win For Losing” from Little Brother’s Getback

The Foreign Exchange, 9/18/10

Finally, The Foreign Exchange Came to Texas!

I honestly never thought I would see the day that The Foreign Exchange would come to Texas.  I figured it was a privilege to have Little Brother come as often as they did.  When I got the chance to see LB in ’07, I was content because I could squash the idea of having to one day make a road trip just to see Phonte and Pooh on stage.  The eventual dissolution of Little Brother gave way to Phonte’s evolution as part of The Foreign Exchange, and as their second album, Leave It All Behind, became my favorite of 2008, the thought of driving to North Carolina to see a show began to tempt me again.  Now, I needed to see The Foreign Exchange live.  I emailed, posted on Facebook, posted on the FE website message board, trying to do my part in hyping up the Lone Star State as being worthy of a visit by this great band.  Other fans did the same, but chances looked bleak as the two year mark since the album’s release approached and the closest city that the group had played was Atlanta.  Finally, toward the end of summer the announcement came – FE would play a weekend in Texas, one night in Dallas and one in Houston.  The timing was perfect, one week after my birthday, and the tickets were cheap at $20 a piece.  No matter what else happened for, on or around my birthday this year, I knew that I would be happy if I could just make it to that show.   

That long narrative intro hopefully illustrated the true excitement I felt in anticipation of this concert.  I’ve never been more amped to see a show than I was the night of September 18.  All of the fans were ready, and so was the band because FE tore it down at The Door in Deep Ellum.  I have to especially shout out my fellow music lovers who were in the audience that night – this was one of the best crowds that I’ve been amongst.  People were friendly, interactive, serious music fans, and genuinely eager to see FE.  The show was classy but unembellished – in fact, the vibe was not the posh “grown and sexy” stereotype that some may have expected.  Dress code was in effect and the age range was mostly 25-35, but the attitude was chill.  Truthfully, The Door as a venue is not all that.  This was my first time being there, and it reminded me of those scenes in 8 Mile of B. Rabbit battling at The Shelter – it’s just a wide-open space with a bar at the back, couches and tables flanking, and a stage at the front.  There is no intentional aura, no thematic decorating, visuals or color schemes, no state-of-the-art technology – it’s just a concrete building.  But the simple design limited distractions and pretensions, maintaining focus where it needed to be and uniting the audience through the music.  J-Clip warmed us up spinning classic hip-hop joints mixed with contemporary neo-soul jams.  Then, a stirring, bluesy opening performance by local crooner Soul Blackman whetted the appetite for the FE entrée.  When the band hit the stage, they wasted no time taking us higher, opening up the set with “House of Cards.”  Vocals from Phonte, Darien Brockington and Sy Smith (no YahZarah this trip) were on point, Nicolay and Zo! worked magic on the sampler and synths, while the drummer and bass player held down the beat and the bottom with effortlessness.  Their set was fluid but completely unpredictable – according to Phonte, with each show they ad-lib and go where the feeling of the music takes them, and they certainly seemed to do just that more than once during this show.  They did a reggae remix of “I Wanna Know,” a cover of the classic “Written All Over Your Face” by Gerald Levert and the Rude Boys, as well as freestyle R&B interpolations of “Turn My Swag On” and “I Invented Sex.”  (Yes, you read correctly – Solja Boy and Trey Songz.  You know Phonte had to be silly and bring back his Percy Miracles persona.)  After almost two hours of music, FE exited the stage.  The audience proceeded to raise the roof in praise, so an encore that included three more songs pushed the show until a quarter past 1am.

I left The Door feeling simultaneously exhausted and rejuvenated.  I believe it was an unforgettable experience for both the audience and FE, as Phonte told us that Houston had their work cut out for them if they were going to top the energy and the love that Dallas put forth.  Every time I start feeling that D/FW’s music scene is disappointing me, a show such as this one comes along and reminds me that good music permeates all areas – it can’t be stopped.  Phonte has said before that sometimes we have to work a little harder to find it, but the truth is if you are not listening to good music, it is your own fault.  So, if you’re reading this and feeling a musical void in your life, consider this blog an official suggestion to check out The Foreign Exchange if you haven’t.