Five years after the live entertainment industry was shut down for safety reasons by the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry still has yet to recover. In many ways, it’s getting worse; For proof, look no further than the April announcement of Little Brother‘s 12-stop Curtain Call Tour, which the North Carolina rap mainstays are calling their final tour.
Incidentally, this isn’t the group’s first “final” tour: They previously disbanded in 2010 due to internal tensions within the trio, traveling the country “one last time” before splitting up the original lineup consisting of 9th Wonder, Phonte Coleman, and Rapper Big Pooh. Ironically, it was my experience seeing the crew on that tour, at their stop at the now-defunct Key Club on Hollywood Blvd., that informs much of my motivation for telling you: Go see them while you can.
It doesn’t matter if the nearest stop is a six-hour drive across county or state lines. You simply must see Little Brother live, if there’s even an inkling that this will truly be their last run of live shows.
Back in 2010, there was no indication that they’d reunite in 2018, nor that there’d be another slate of performances to promote their comeback album, 2019’s May The Lord Watch before seemingly the whole planet shut down.
I went to that tour’s LA stop, too, and I’ll be completely honest: I didn’t feel cheated in the least. If anything, I was elated to have another chance to take in what is, in my studied opinion, one of the most uplifting, ecstatic, edifying live experiences in hip-hop. Keep in mind, I’ve been to underplays from J. Cole and Doechii, arena tours and stadium shows, high-concept one-offs, and even before-they-were-famous, hole-in-the-wall coffee shop shows.
Little Brother is still, hands-down, the best live rap show I have ever seen (twice).
That first show, when the group was still (nominally) a trio, saw the most incredible two-man game on display since Kobe and Shaq dragged the Los Angeles Lakers to three consecutive championships from 2001 to 2003. However, unlike that fated duo, Phonte and Pooh actually like each other, a respect and kinship that oozes from every second of their give-and-go performances, which oscillate between the lighthearted, well-rehearsed routines of classic hip-hop mainstays like Kid ‘N Play and the rousing, foot-stomping compulsion of an evangelical sermon.
It’s a wonder that both rappers weren’t athletes in another life. As they’ll jokingly tell you themselves (and have, both times they toured Los Angeles), it’s rare to see two such heavyset gents move around quite as much as they do. Truthfully, they put most other rappers to shame, almost purely due to the sheer amount of cardio they must put in between shows to maintain the energy level they do night after night. I’ve seen way skinnier guys run out of breath while rapping over vocals; Phonte and Pooh do it all live, every time, with choreographed routines, crowd interaction, and an ebullient affection for both the craft and each other.
Unfortunately for them and for us, the return of live entertainment post-COVID brought with it logistical and financial challenges that have made it difficult for all but the biggest acts to flourish on tour. Many acts have openly revealed that under present conditions, arranging national tours has actually drained their coffers. Where once, touring was the foundation on which a music career survived, today, more artists lose money putting on tours than they make.
So many elements factor into this. Live Nation’s buying up all the independent venues to keep them afloat during the pandemic has turned the promotion giant into a monopoly with near-total control over who gets booked and how much they get paid. That pay is cut into by venues taking cuts from merch tables, imposing fees on tickets that depress sales, and negotiating a glut of talent that makes it more difficult to serve every act or fan base without disappointing someone.
These are the reasons that Phonte and Pooh have decided to hang their jerseys in the rafters, after a tour in 2023 took more than it gave. But as I learned in 2010 (and on both swings since), they’re too professional and have too much love for the game to ever phone it in. The polish and panache that they flashed throughout that first “final” tour was every bit as evident in the 2019 run and the 2023 follow-up.
If Curtain Call is indeed the duo’s last ride, it’s worth any drive, any train trip, and hell, most flights (let’s say, within your region of our massive continent). It’ll be worth it. And hey, if conditions change, and in five or six or ten years, they put on another reunion tour, you won’t feel cheated: You’ll be more elated about getting one more chance to experience it again.
Tickets for Little Brother’s Curtain Call: The Final Tour are on sale now. You can find more info here.
