Started in a college dorm room by a group of North Carolina Central students in 2001, the Justus League collective and o...

Started in a college dorm room by a group of North Carolina Central students in 2001, the Justus League collective and offshoot trio Little Brother defined the sound of Durham hip-hop for years to come, constructing a style altogether distinct from everything to the North and South. Their innovation turned the heads of hip-hop’s biggest names, and the members of Little Brother (9th Wonder, Big Pooh and Phonte) have gone on to work with superstars like Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Jay-Z, Dr. Dre and Questlove. As Black History Month winds down, we thought it would be a good time to revisit the first of two Little Brother documentaries commissioned by the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources in 2019 to tell the story behind The Listening, Little Brother’s debut LP. Link in bio. Image: still from The Listening documentary, featuring, from L-to-R: 9th Wonder, Big Pooh, Phonte Alt text: The rap group Little Brother stand in front of a graffitied wall