March 23, 2012

A Reader's Gut Reaction: Phonte - Charity Starts At Home (September 27, 2011)

(Today's Reader Review comes from Miguel, who took it upon himself to continue that Little Brother series that I seem to have given up on, as he reviews Phonte's solo effort Charity Starts At Home. Leave your thoughts for Miguel below.)


Phonte has had a pretty rough time in the music industry. The stars seemed to align for his trio, North Carolina-based Little Brother (which also featured rapper Big Pooh and producer 9th Wonder, who is now an industry go-to), upon their signing to Atlantic Records, but then The Source had a dispute over how to rank their sophomore album, The Minstrel Show, and BET refused to promote the video for the lead single “Lovin’ It,” due to it’s being deemed “too intelligent” for the average BET viewer. Although anything above an actual minstrel show would be too intelligent for the average BET viewer, this move was still pretty fucked up, and it hurt the growing buzz the group had earned on blogs across the Internet.

Little Brother's original lineup soon went defunct, as strains began to form within the crew and 9th Wonder broke away in order to capitalize on his newly-found clout in the music industry. Phonte reacted by taking his destiny into his own hands, booking cameo appearances, recording two more Little Brother albums without 9th (the brilliant Getback and the merely average Leftback), and forming the The Foreign Exchange with producer Nicolay, with whom he released the critically-acclaimed Connected and two additional R&B albums (Leave It All Behind and Authenticity).

But now Phonte, whose middle-class tales inspired Kanye West and whose ability to mix R&B and hip hop inspired Drake (who, instead of giving him a damn feature already, constantly name-drops the man as an influence in an attempt to gain some underground credibility even though his chance has long since passed), has finally decided to release his debut solo album, Charity Starts at Home, with the help of a familiar face: rekindling his friendship with 9th Wonder resulted in the two collaborating on four tracks. Weirdly, Nicolay is nowhere to be found, and anyone who expected a Big Pooh guest feature should stop getting their hopes up, as they will only be dashed time and again: as Phonte repeatedly confirms, there will never be a Little Brother reunion.

Who cares about all of this long-winded exposition, though, if the project isn’t any good? Let’s finally get started.

1. DANCE IN THE REIGN (FEAT. SY SMITH)
Swiff D provides a celebratory instrumental for Phonte to talk his shit over. He opens by claiming that he “does this all for hip-hop” before saying “I’m lying like shit, I do this shit to pay my goddamn mortgage, my bills, who the fuck am I fooling?”, which perfectly sums up Phonte’s attitude for any newer listeners out there. When he begins to spit, he sounds energized, almost as though he had spent his past few years (mostly) as an R&B singer saving up rhymes to use upon his eventual return. Nice.

2. THE GOOD FIGHT
9th Wonder’s first production contribution features a contract between a smooth melody and some heavy drums (by 9th’s standards, anyway). Phonte spits about the hard-working middle class he has always (rightfully) viewed as his target demographic. His last bar, “How the fuck do you sell out if ain’t nobody selling?”, resonates in today’s economic situation: take notes on how you relate to your audience, Jay and 'Ye.

3. EVERYTHING IS FALLING DOWN (FEAT. JEANNE JOLLY)
Justus League member Khrysis, who is known for his production work for, unsurprisingly, Little Brother, provides a narcoleptic instrumental complete with an interchangeable R&B hook by Jeanne Jolly. Phonte sounds complacently up to par, spitting bars on autopilot such as, “Tay rock the spot like I am half leopard”. The honeymoon period had to end eventually, I suppose.

4. NOT HERE ANYMORE (FEAT. ELZHI)
The last time these two collaborated was on The Minstrel Show’s “Hiding Place”, and just like on that earlier track, both artists do well enough at braggadocio without outshining each other (although Elzhi’s first bar sounded awkward as fuck, he quickly adjusts and delivers). The instrumental, courtesy of 9th Wonder, doesn’t add much, nor does it take much away, but I have to mention that these tracks are all beginning to sound far too similar to each other.

5. ETERNALLY (FEAT. MEDIAN)
Seamlessly transitioning from “Not Here Anymore”, this 9th Wonder beat has a bit more hair on its chest. Justus League member Median goes back and forth with Phonte and is able to just hold his own. The hook is shit, but in this genre you are already programmed to assume that.

6. SENDIN’ MY LOVE
Consistency is usually unheard of on a hip hop release, but in the case of Charity Starts At Home, that same trait is actually hindering the project, as Stro Elliot’s instrumental, while a bit more flamenco-influenced, continues the trend of relaxed, R&B friendly music (complete with an uncredited female singing the hook) that puts me right to sleep. The outro, which I assume is comedian Affion Crockett’s contribution (he's in the liner notes, anyway) is pretty hilarious, though.

7. BALL AND CHAIN
Of course the heaviest instrumental thus far opens up a song where Phonte embraces his R&B side. What the fuck? Swiff D, who also produced “Dance In The Reign”, puts together a brilliant piece for Tigallo to first sing and then, eventually, spit over.

8. TO BE YOURS
Only clocking in at one minute and thirty-two seconds, “To Be Yours” functions well as an interlude, with Phonte singing a pleasant tune that would not sound out of place in your local lounge. That’s all I have to say about that.

9. GONNA BE A BEAUTIFUL NIGHT (FEAT. CARLITTA DURAND)
Whoever set the sequence for Charity Starts At Home should be shot. Wouldn't it make much more sense to mix the hip hop and R&B songs together on the tracklisting, so as not to bore the listener? Is that just me? Nothing on this track is objectionable, but that may be because I cannot remember anything about it.

10. WE GO OFF (FEAT. PHAROAHE MONCH)
Phonte and the Pharoahe collaborate on their second track of the year (after “Black Hand Side”, off of Monch’s W.A.R. (We Are Renegades)) and decide to abandon any notions of a concept in exchange for straight spitting. A great track.

11. THE LIFE OF KINGS (FEAT. EVIDENCE & BIG K.R.I.T.)
9th Wonder provides his final instrumental of the project, which, like most of the others, is merely average (although I enjoyed the D.M.C. vocal sample a great deal). Evidence sounds a bit out of place, but Big K.R.I.T. and Tay do their thing, contributing to this track being an overall success.

12. WHO LOVES YOU MORE (FEAT. ERIC ROBERSON)
Matching the celebratory tone from the first track, the beat (courtesy of E. Jones) is just good enough to overcome a dull hook (courtesy of guest star Eric Roberson.) Phonte returns to spitting about society's ills, and his last verse in particular impresses, as the beat strips down so as to emphasize his words. The little spoken word outro was a nice touch, too (although I would not be surprised if Max felt “meh” about it.) And with that, we are done.

THE LAST WORD: Phonte's Charity Starts At Home had no real shot commercially, due to its being released on the same day as both J. Cole’s (mediocre) debut and 9th Wonder’s latest album. That's a shame, as it is pretty good. The consistency, oddly, hinders it from becoming anything more than that, though, as Phonte knows his lane and chooses to stay in it, taking zero creative risks. It's hard to say where this project falls in the man’s canon, but when the biggest criticism you can give to an album is that it is too consistent, then there is no reason to really complain. I would recommend picking this up, especially since Phonte claims to need the sales to help pay his mortgage. Charity Starts At Home is almost unobjectionable enough to play around your grandparents and children, and Phonte definitely put quite a bit of work in here. I recommend you not try to listen to it all in one sitting, though, as the album works best in pieces rather than as a cohesive whole (unless your aim is to fall asleep, in which case, have at it).

- Miguel

(Questions, comments, and the like go below.)

18 comments:

  1. This review fucking sucks. What are you constantly comparing Phonte too? Did you expect him to come out like Ghostface Killah? The beats on here complement Phonte perfectly it's an excellent album.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am only comparing Phonte to himself, so I am not sure where the Ghostface Killah criticism comes from. Phonte has the curse of working at such a consistently high level that even when something that is very good, such as this project, comes out, it pales compared to his earlier work. It is both a mark against and a praise for him simultaneously.

      - Mike

      Delete
    2. Well Phonte rips every track, has he ever had a bad verse? I don't think you gave him nearly enough credit for this album though. Can't compare everything to The Minstrel Show. What are some better albums from 2011?

      Delete
    3. AnonymousMay 08, 2012

      I know it's a bit late for me to reply to this, but I would say Oneirology, In Case I Don't Make It, Undun, and Black Up. And I agree he rips pretty much everything he is on, which is why even something that I could critique like this project still stands head and shoulders above most else I have heard recently.

      - Mike

      Delete
  2. chipmunk cornball bullshit

    ReplyDelete
  3. I agree with most of this. The album is good and I don't really see anything wrong with it but for some reason it just never stuck with me.

    ReplyDelete
  4. takeashotformeMarch 23, 2012

    Fantastic album from Phonte- one of the finest of last year. He expresses genuine emotion without sounding preachy or dull. On the other hand, his bragodicious rhymes remain sharp, thanks in part to his complex rhyme scheme. He's a rappers rapper, coming off much more intelligent and seasoned than J Cole who dropped his album the same day. The singing tracks are also enjoyable. They resemeble tradintinal R&B, and although the reviewer seems to be bored with them (maybe hes just a narrow minded hip hop head, nothing wrong with that) I found them entertaing; certainly a nice alternitive to other moody R&b acts like Drake or The Weeknd. The production is also top notch. Yeah

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My complaint towards the R&B songs were more in terms of the placement than in terms of the songs themselves, but if I did not make that clear it is my fault. I love P's work with Foreign Exchange as well.

      - Mike

      Delete
  5. this album is bullshit. fuck this soft shit. influencing Kanye and Drake? then this guy should be burned at the stake for what he did to the genre

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nice review nigga

    ReplyDelete
  7. this album is pretty good but it's no Minstrel Show/Connected, that's for sure. And yeah you're right, listening to it straight through is impossible since most of the tracks sound exactly the fucking same. Good job.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Mr MidnightMarch 24, 2012

    Lol at all the stannery. A good emceeing performance doesn't equal a a good album. Yes, Phonte is quite engaging and has bars but the production isn't as engaging as he is and this attempt at Neo-Hop is NyQuil on wax. And what the hell is "the production complements him"? Look. I think this dude Phonte needs to let his beats "hair"down and diversify his sound on the next solo. Not necessarily rhyme over Snap!, Dirty Vegas or Massive Attack but step away from the Hip Hop R&B thing. Phonte is too commanding of a personality to be settling for The Listening 3.5 style beats.

    ReplyDelete
  9. please review KA "Grief Pedigree", i wanna hear HHID's opinion on this masterpiece

    ReplyDelete
  10. I may be in the minority here, but I've always felt that Big Pooh was the stronger of the two Little Brother MCs. With that said, this is still a pretty solid album, but, unlike "The Listening" or "The Minstrel Show," it isn't something that is going to get consistent rotation on my iPod.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousJuly 03, 2012

      I like Big Pooh more too...that is the first I have ever heard anyone else say that. I don't know if I really had a preference while they were doing albums together, but I've enjoyed Pooh's solo work more.
      But I agree, album is just burn worthy. Wasn't too impressed.
      -RAC

      Delete
  11. Yay another review!!!.............oh wait it's just another shitty reader review

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm incredibly late but let me say this. One, this is a classic album for Phonte. It is one of my personal favorites. The lyricism and concepts were wonderful. The production fit the mood of the songs pretty nicely regardless if it wasn't anthemic. Number two, this is the HARSHEST and most unbelievable critic site I've ever seen. Just about every album on this site is reviewed with disappointment like there's no such thing as a classic or good album. These reviews need to be heavily revised.

    ReplyDelete