May the Lord Watch

May the Lord Watch is the fifth studio album by American hip-hop duo Little Brother. It was released on August 20, 2019 by Imagine Nation Music, For Members Only Records and Empire Distribution.^[1]

May the Lord Watch
Studio album by Little Brother
Released	August 20, 2019 (2019-08-20)
Recorded	October 2018 – August 2019
Studio	The Autumn Attic The Burlap Place Raleigh, North Carolina
Length	37:15
Label	Imagine Nation For Members Only Empire
Producer	Khrysis Nottz Focus... Black Milk King Michael Coy Blaaq Gold Phonte Abjo Zo! Devin Morrison
Little Brother chronology
Leftback LP (2010) May the Lord Watch (2019)

The album is the duo's first album since 2010's Leftback release.^[2]

Background

The album's development secretly began during the previous year of 2018, after Rapper Big Pooh, Phonte and 9th Wonder reunited during September's Art of Cool festival. However, this wasn't made public until shortly after Big Pooh and Phonte announced the group's reunion as a duo in May 2019.^[3] Like the previous album Leftback, there was no production input from 9th, who departed the group to embark on a solo career as a producer and label CEO. Instead, the album was primarily produced by longtime collaborators and Soul Council members Nottz and Khrysis. Other producers such as Black Milk, Focus..., Devin Morrison, Blaaq Gold, and even Phonte himself also contributed to the album's production.^[4][5][6] Sharing continuity with The Minstrel Show, the album's theme continues the running concept of a fictional television network called UBN, which is a satire of stereotypical programs, advertisements, and pop-culture for African-Americans.^[7] A notable moment on the album was a skit from Peter Rosenberg announcing the death of Phonte's alter-ego Percy Miracles ( previously appeared on The Minstrel Show album track "Cheatin'"), which served as a tribute to Phife Dawg, and how his death was a significant moment that brought Phonte and Pooh back together.^[8]

In multiple interviews and podcasts - including the Premium Pete Show - it was revealed that 9th Wonder was originally supposed to be a part of the reunion album, under its original title Homecoming. The title was changed due to Beyonce releasing Homecoming: The Live Album to coincide with her concert film Homecoming. Phonte and Pooh decided to continue the project without 9th after a series of creative differences, mostly regarding production for the album.^[9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	86/100[10]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[11]
Exclaim!	8/10[12]
HipHopDX	[13]
Tom Hull – on the Web	B+ ()[14]

May the Lord Watch was met with universal acclaim reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 86, based on 5 reviews.^[10]

Track listing

Credits adapted from istandard producers^[15]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"The Feel"	Phonte Coleman Thomas Jones III Christopher Tyson Alan Hawkshaw	Khrysis	2:43
2.	"A Word from the President"	Devin Morrison	Morrison	0:58
3.	"Everything"	Coleman Jones III Tyson John McLaughlin Narada Michael Walden	Khrysis	3:41
4.	"Right on Time"	Coleman Jones III Dominick Lamb	Nottz	3:16
5.	"Black Magic (Make It Better)"	Coleman Jones III Bernard Edwards, Jr. Jairus Mozee Brandon Anderson Kadhja Bonet Dexter Mills	Focus...	2:34
6.	"Life After Blackface"	Coleman Jones III Lorenzo Ferguson	Zo!	0:40
7.	"Goodmorning Sunshine"	Coleman Jones III Edwards, Jr. Roger Powell Kasim Sulton	Focus...	4:00
8.	"Dyana Change My Life"	Coleman Ferguson	Zo! Phonte	0:37
9.	"What I Came For"	Coleman Jones III Tyson	Khrysis Phonte	3:00
10.	"Inside the Producer's Studio"	Coleman	Zo!	1:03
11.	"Sittin' Alone"	Coleman Jones III Lamb Bobby Caldwell Bruce Malament Norman Harris	Nottz Phonte	3:14
12.	"Picture This"	Coleman Jones III Curtis Cross William Miller Eric Mercer, Jr.	Black Milk	3:55
13.	"Niggas Hollering"	Coleman Jones III Aaron Christopher Nash	Abjo	0:49
14.	"All in a Day"	Coleman Jones III Michael Redict	King Michael Coy	3:50
15.	"Work Through Me"	Coleman Jones III Trevor Payne Edwards, Jr.	Blaaq Gold Focus...	2:57
Total length:				37:15

Samples

• "The Feel" contains a sample of "A Man Alone", as performed by Alan Hawkshaw
• "Everything" contains a sample of "In My Life", as performed by Mahavishnu Orchestra
• "Black Magic (Make It Better)" contains a sample of "The Chase", as performed by Anderson .Paak
• "Goodmorning Sunshine" contains a sample of "Eternal Love", as performed by Utopia
• "Sittin' Alone" contains a sample of "Open Your Eyes", as performed by Bobby Caldwell

Personnel

Phonte - writer, performer, recording engineer, mixing, additional background vocals, executive producer Rapper Big Pooh - writer, performer, executive producer Peter Rosenberg - voice Questlove - voice Jemele Hill - voice Laiya St. Clair - voice Joe Scudda - voice Evan Pollock - voice Dyana Williams - voice Jermaine White - voice Devon Moore - voice Ryan Davis - voice Austin Hall - voice Cesar Comanche - voice BlakkSoul - writer, background vocals Darien Brockington - background vocals

Carlitta Durand - background vocals Shana Tucker - background vocals Madison McFerrin - background vocals Kristi Ae - background vocals Tamisha Waden - background vocals Be My Fiasco - background vocals Carmen Rodgers - background vocals Lorenzo "Zo!" Ferguson - keys, additional keys, additional synths Sheldon Williams - keys and synths Nottz - drums, bass Nicolay - keys Howard "Soul" Joyner - keys Chris Boerner - recording, mixing, mastering Antoine Lyers - photography Tobias Rose - graphic layout, design Deborah Mannis-Gardner (DMG Clearances, Inc) - sample clearance

Charts

Chart	Peak position
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[16]	11