The Minstrel Show
Studio album by Little Brother
Released	September 13, 2005
Recorded	2005
Genre	Hip hop,jazz rap
Length	53:31
Label	Atlantic(compact disc) ABB Records(vinyl)
Producer	9th Wonder,Nicolay,Khrysis, Piano Reeves
Little Brother chronology
The Listening (2003) The Minstrel Show (2005) The Commercial Free EP (2006)
Singles from The Minstrel Show
"Lovin' It" Released: August 16, 2005 "Slow It Down" Released: 2006

The Minstrel Show is the second studio album byhip hop trioLittle Brother, released on September 13, 2005.^[1] It followed the critical success of their 2003 debut,The Listening. The album was highly anticipated and touted as a probable breakthrough for the group, even before its release. The title is a reference to theminstrel shows that were popular in theUnited States during the 19th century.

The album has a running concept based on a fictional television network called "UBN" (U Black Niggas Network), which is a satire of stereotypical programs and advertisements for African Americans. For example, on "Cheatin", Phonte (performing under his alter-ego "Percy Miracles"), spoofs the over-dramaticR&B sagas performed by singers such asR. Kelly andRonald Isley. Many of the skits contain tongue-in-cheek references to black pop-culture in theUnited States.

The controversy surroundingThe Minstrel Show release drew more attention than the music itself. On August 16, 2005, Editor-in-Chief ofThe Source magazine, Joshua "Fahiym" Ratcliffe, announced his resignation due to conflicting opinions on the ratingThe Minstrel Show was supposed to receive in the next issue of the publication. According to Ratcliffe, after the review was finalized and the album's score was set to 4.5 out of 5, the magazine's Chief Brand ExecutiveRaymond "Benzino" Scott and CEO Dave Mays announced their plans to reduce the score to 4.^[2] Benzino believed the album should not receive a higher score thanYoung Jeezy'sLet's Get It: Thug Motivation 101, which received a rating of 4.^[3] For his part, Benzino admitted at the time of questioning, that he had yet to listen to the album for himself and had no problem with Ratcliffe's original rating.^[4] Little Brother'sPhonte later remarked that the controversy brought more attention to the album than it could have received from the rating alone.^[3]

Another controversy was regarding the entertainment networkBET (Black Entertainment Television), which refused to play the group's video for the single "Lovin' It", allegedly because they deemed it "too intelligent".^[5][6] Michael Lewellen, a publicist and program director for BET, responded, "It's not true, not in that context. BET reserves the right to show or not to show music videos of any type based on the network's own standards and decision-making processes."^[4] In an interview withGQ magazine, Phonte explained that BET never told them about the ban and he only found out about it on the Internet.^[7] In a portion of the video, the group lightly pokes fun at the different stylistic aspects ofhip hop subgenres such as "gangsta", "backpack", "earthy" and "icy". The rest of it sees them performing to a zealous crowd.^[5]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[8]
HipHopDX	4.5/5[9]
Pitchfork	6.0/10[10]
PopMatters	5/10[11]
RapReviews	10/10[12]
Rolling Stone	[13]
Scratch	10/10[14]
The Source	[15]
USA Today	[16]
Vibe	[17]

The Minstrel Show received praise from contemporary hip hop publications, such asXXL magazine, who gave the album an "XL" rating, andScratch magazine, who gave it a perfect 10 out of 10 rating.^[1]The Minstrel Show debuted at number 56 on theBillboard 200 chart,^[18] selling 18,000 copies in its first week. As of 2010, the album sold slightly more than 100,000 copies.^[19] A second official single and any further promotion of the album was abandoned byAtlantic Records, and although the group soon began recording their follow-up album,Getback, their relationship with the label drew to a close before its release.

Unless otherwise indicated, Information is based on the album’s Liner Notes^[20]

Notes

(*) indicates the Performer contributed Additional Background Vocals to the track.

Information is based on the album’s Liner Notes^[20]
Welcome to the Minstrel Show andMinstrel Show Closing Theme

• "No Stronger Love" as performed byThe Floaters; written by Arnold Ingram,James Mitchell andMarvin Willis

Beautiful Morning

• "What's Happening, Baby?" as performed byThe Stylistics; written byGeorge David Weiss,Hugo Peretti andLuigi Creatore

The Becoming

• "Circles" as performed byRufus &Chaka Khan; written by Tim Dulaine (aka Tony Dulaine)

Not Enough

• "Easy, Easy, Got To Take It Easy" as performed byTeddy Pendergrass; written byGene McFadden,John Whitehead and Victor Carstarphen

Hiding Place

• "Jealous Love" as performed byBobby Womack; written by Bobby Womack andCecil Womack

Slow It Down

• "Slow Dance" as performed byDavid Ruffin; written by C. Curtis Gadson, Rosslyn Sanders and Rollin Sanders

Say It Again

• "Do Something Special (For Your Lady)" as performed by Five Special; written by Jerry Q. Jones and Ron Banks

Lovin' It

• "One Night Affair" as performed by The Stylistics; written byTeddy Randazzo, Roger Joyce and Victoria Pike

All for You

• "I Really Hope It's You" as written and performed byMichael Franks

Watch Me

• "With a Child's Heart" as performed byMichael Jackson; written byHenry Cosby,Sylvia Moy and Victoria Basemore

Sincerely Yours

• "Whatever Goes Around" as performed byJerry Butler; written byTerry Callier and Larry Wade

Hold On (Tellin' Me) (B-Side of "Lovin' It" single)

• "Sitting On The Edge Of My Mind" as performed byJermaine Jackson; written by Garfield, Fletcher, O'Hara and O'Hara

• The Minstrel Show atDiscogs (list of releases)

• 2005 albums
• Little Brother (group) albums
• Albums produced by 9th Wonder
• Albums produced by Khrysis
• Albums produced by Nicolay (musician)
• Atlantic Records albums
• 2000s concept albums

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• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles with hAudio microformats
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