Phonte
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Phonte Coleman | |
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | Percy Miracles |
| Born | Phonte Lyshod Coleman Script error: No such module "person date". |
| Died | Script error: No such module "person date". |
| Genres | Page Template:Hlist/styles.css has no content. |
| OccupationTemplate:Pluralize from text | Page Template:Hlist/styles.css has no content.
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| Years active | 1998–present |
| LabelTemplate:Pluralize from text | Foreign Exchange Music |
| Member of | Page Template:Hlist/styles.css has no content. |
| Formerly of | Justus League |
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Phonte Lyshod Coleman,[1] known mononymously as Phonte (born December 28, 1978), is an American rapper, singer, producer, actor, and voice over artist. He is a member of the North Carolina hip-hop trio/duo Little Brother and one-half of the duo The Foreign Exchange. His music spans multiple genres including R&B, hip-hop, house and electronic music.
Early life
Phonte Coleman was born in Lumberton, North Carolina, and was raised in Red Springs, North Carolina. His family moved to Greensboro, North Carolina in 1987–1988. He grew up singing in a church choir, and played trumpet starting in middle school and participating in the North Carolina All-State Band. He also played football in high school, then as a fullback for two years at North Carolina Central University, where he was an English major.
Career
Little Brother
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". Little Brother is an underground hip-hop group composed of Phonte, rapper Big Pooh and producer 9th Wonder. The group met in 1998, while attending North Carolina Central University.[2] The three shared common musical interests and decided to form a group. "Speed", the group's first song recorded together, led to them signing a deal with the independent ABB Records in 2002, and recording their debut album, The Listening.[3] The forums of the website Okayplayer were ignited by interest from a growing fanbase.[4] The album's success led to the group signing a non-exclusive deal with Atlantic Records in 2004.
The group's 2005 album, The Minstrel Show, was a concept album based on a fictional television network called "UBN" (U Black Niggas Network). The album has been described as satirizing the connection between minstrel shows and stereotypical industry and self-constructions of Blackness in entertainment and advertisements.[5] The album received positive reviews, without commercial success. During the recording of their third album, the group announced the departure of 9th Wonder, as well as a parting of ways with their label. They returned to ABB Records and released Getback in late 2007. Getback was Little Brother's first album as a duo.[6] In 2010, they released their fourth studio album, Leftback.
In 2023, Little Brother released the documentary film, May the Lord Watch: The Little Brother Story about the group's history,[7] which was directed by Holland Randolph Gallagher.
The Foreign Exchange
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". Phonte met Dutch producer Nicolay virtually on an Okayplayer message board.[8] The duo released their debut album, Connected in 2004, having never met face to face.[9]
Their second album, Leave It All Behind was released in 2008. The group received a Nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance for the track "Daykeeper" (featuring Muhsinah) from Leave It All Behind.[10] Their third album, Authenticity, released on October 12, 2010, peaked at number 145 on the Billboard 200 chart in the US and Number 23 on the U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[11] Love in Flying Colors, their fourth studio album, was released in 2013. The album's track "Better" was featured on Barack Obama’s 2022 playlist.[12] The album Tales from the Land of Milk and Honey was released in 2015.[13] Their album Hide&Seek was released in 2017.
Solo work
Phonte has released two solo albums, and has appeared on numerous records by other artists as a vocalist. His lyrics tend to include perspectives on working-class life.[2]
He released his solo-debut titled Charity Starts at Home on September 27, 2011 on the label FE Music.[14] His second album, No News Is Good News (FE), was released on March 2, 2018. No News Is Good News was included in Bandcamp Daily's best-100-albums-of-2018 year-end list (placed at number 42).[15]
TV and other media
Phonte has composed music for soundtracks and TV, and is a voice over artist and actor. He did voice acting and composed music for the animated TV series, The Boondocks, as well as the series, Black Dynamite.[16] He composed songs with DJ Premier for the TV series, The Breaks (VH1), 2016–2017. He was featured on several episodes in the role of "Imam Ali" in a script on the 1990s American music industry.[17] He did voice acting for a commercial honoring Russell Westbrook's NBA Most Valuable Player win in 2017.[18][19]
Phonte has composed multiple raps for Sesame Street characters, including a song for SZA’s Sesame Street appearance with a duet with Elmo entitled "Gratitude," in addition to other songs including "Apple vs. Banana" ft. Tavi Fields and "BBQ vs. Hike." He was a member of "Team Supreme", co-hosting Questlove's podcast, Questlove Supreme from 2016 to 2025.[20] Questlove Supreme won six Webby Awards and the 2023 Music Podcast of the Year for the iHeartRadio Podcast Awards.[21]
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US [22] |
US R&B [23] | ||
| Charity Starts at Home |
|
61 | 9 |
| No News Is Good News |
|
— | — |
Collaborative albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [22] |
US R&B [23] | ||||||||||||
| Love the 80's (with Zo! as Zo! & Tigallo) |
|
— | — | ||||||||||
| Tigallerro (with Eric Roberson) |
|
— | 19 | ||||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
Extended plays
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Pacific Time |
|
With Little Brother
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- The Listening (2003)
- The Minstrel Show (2005)
- Getback (2007)
- Leftback (2010)
- May the Lord Watch (2019)
With The Foreign Exchange
- Connected (2004)
- Leave It All Behind (2008)
- Authenticity (2010)
- Love in Flying Colors (2013)
- Tales from the Land of Milk and Honey (2015)
Guest appearances
| Title | Year | Other performer(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "The Animal" | 2004 | Murs | Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition |
| "Every Block" | 2005 | Rapper Big Pooh | Sleepers |
| "Make It Hot" | The Away Team, Joe Scudda | National Anthem | |
| "Birdz (Fly the Coup)" | Buckshot, 9th Wonder, Keisha Shontelle | Chemistry | |
| "Backstage Girl" | 2006 | DJ Shadow | The Outsider |
| "4Everyday" | Liquid Spirits | Liquid Spirits | |
| "Let It Be Known" | 2007 | Sean Price | Jesus Price Supastar |
| "Been in Love" | Eric Roberson | ...Left | |
| "Letyourselfgo" | Evidence, The Alchemist | The Weatherman LP | |
| "Alright With Me" | Dminor, Keelay & Zaire | Ridin' High | |
| "Think Good Thoughts" | Drake, Elzhi | Comeback Season | |
| "Yellow Lines" | CunninLynguists, Witchdoctor | Dirty Acres | |
| "The Time Is Now" | 2008 | Jean Grae | Jeanius |
| "Callin' Me" | S1 | Music Box | |
| "Close Call" | 88-Keys | The Death of Adam | |
| "For Whom the Bell Tolls" | Evidence, Blu, will.i.am | The Layover EP | |
| "The Perch" | Oddisee, Tor | 101 | |
| "All Because She's Gone" | Oddisee | ||
| "True Love" | 2009 | Apathy | Wanna Snuggle? |
| "Something 2 Ride 2" | Royce da 5'9" | Street Hop | |
| "Best of Times" | 2010 | Strong Arm Steady | In Search of Stoney Jackson |
| "Cry Over You" | Yahzarah | The Ballad of Purple St. James | |
| "How High" | Rhymefest | El Che | |
| "Now or Never" | The Roots, Dice Raw | How I Got Over | |
| "The Day" | The Roots, Blu, Patty Crash | ||
| "Greater Than the Sun" | Zo! | SunStorm | |
| "Say How You Feel" | Zo!, Carlitta Durand | ||
| "Flight of the Blackbyrd" | Zo! | ||
| "I'll Be There" | 2011 | Mac Miller | Best Day Ever |
| "Black Hand Side" | Pharoahe Monch, Styles P | W.A.R. (We Are Renegades) | |
| "One Time" | Rapsody, Tab-One, Charlie Smarts | Thank H.E.R. Now | |
| "Babble" | The Physics | Love Is a Business | |
| "Take a Chance" | Median | The Sender | |
| "Turn Ya On" | Median, Big Remo | ||
| "Special" | Median, Yahzarah, Bahamadia | ||
| "Band Practice Pt. 2" | 9th Wonder, Median | The Wonder Years | |
| "One Night" | 9th Wonder, Terrace Martin, Bird & The Midnight Falcons | ||
| "See U Later" | The Away Team | Scars & Stripes | |
| "Picture Perfect" | Eric Roberson | Mister Nice Guy | |
| "One Time" | The Roots, Dice Raw | Undun | |
| "I'll Be Around" | 2012 | Brother Ali, Stokley Williams | The Bite Marked Heart |
| "Goodbye" | JR & PH7, Median | The Goodlife | |
| "Afro Blue (9th Wonder's Blue Light Basement Remix)" | Robert Glasper Experiment, Erykah Badu | Black Radio Recovered: The Remix EP | |
| "Making Time" | 2013 | Zo!, Choklate | ManMade |
| "ManMade" | Zo! | ||
| "Out in the World" | Zo!, Choklate | ||
| "Jedi Code" | Rapsody, Jay Electronica | She Got Game | |
| "Temperamental" | RJD2 | More Is Than Isn't | |
| "No Competition" | 2014 | Talib Kweli, Elzhi | 9th Wonder Presents Jamla Is the Squad |
| "A Matter of the Heart" | Jesse Boykins III | Love Apparatus | |
| "Requiem" | 2015 | Oddisee | Persona |
| "Impayshunt" | dEnAuN | sTuFf in My BaCkPaCk | |
| "Finer Things" | MED, Blu, Madlib, Likewise | Bad Neighbor | |
| "Highs and Lows" | PRhyme, MF Doom | PRhyme (Deluxe Version) | |
| "Clap Shit Up" | 2016 | Torae | Entitled |
| "Violets" | Miles Davis, Robert Glasper | Everything's Beautiful | |
| "One Too Many" | Kaytranada | 99.9% | |
| "Treat You Right" | Mickey Factz, Nottz | The Achievement: circa '82 | |
| "Invitation" | 2017 | JR & PH7, St. Joe Louis, Tamisha Waden | Coral Cadavers |
| "Donuts" | 2018 | Andy Mineo | The Sword |
| "Woke as Me" | 2019 | Open Mike Eagle | |
| "Blackberry" | 2020 | Carlitta Durand | Kismet Green |
| "Uzbekistan" | Your Old Droog, Mach-Hommy | Dump YOD: Krutoy Edition | |
| "Who" | 2021 | Topaz Jones, Maxo | Don't Go Tellin' Your Momma |
| "Be Mine" | Emmavie, Saint Ezekiel | What's a Diamond to a Baby | |
| "Choices" | 2023 | Oddisee, BeMyFiasco, Kay Young | To What End |
| "Otherside" | Rory, BeMyFiasco | I Thought It'd Be Different | |
| "No Wish" | Black Milk, Raphael Saadiq | Everybody Good?[25] | |
| "You Don't Know" | 2024 | Lalah Hathaway | VANTABLACK |
Awards and nominations
- Nomination, Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance for the track "Daykeeper," with The Foreign Exchange, featuring Muhsinah, from Leave It All Behind
- Nomination, Grammy Award for Best R&B Album, Vocalist, on "Vantablack" by Lalah Hathaway, 2024
See also
References
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- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."5th & Fashion (skit)". Warnerchappell.com. Warner/Chappell Music. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."MVRemix Urban Interviews Phonte of Little Brother – Online Rap Magazine". Mvremix.com. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Hale, Andreas (March 7, 2018). "Phonte Talks New Album 'No News Is Good News,' Growth as a Lyricist & If Little Brother Will Ever Reunite". Billboard. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Jennings, Kyesha (September 13, 2023). "Little Brother Has Come a Long Way From the Okayplayer Boards". Okayplayer. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Macia, Peter (September 14, 2005). "The Minstrel Show – Little Brother". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Love, Joshua (November 21, 2007). "Getback – Little Brother". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Smith, Jamel (December 4, 2023). "'May the Lord Watch: The Little Brother Story' chronicles rise, fall, and reunion of beloved North Carolina hip-hop trio". Clture. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The 100 best indie hip-hop records of all time: 86. The Foreign Exchange – Connected". Fact. February 25, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Warren, Jamin (September 14, 2004). "The Foreign Exchange: Connected". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The Foreign Exchange – 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards". Grammy Awards. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The Foreign Exchange – Billboard 200". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 7, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Johnson, Kristen (July 29, 2022). "Obama released his annual summer playlist, and this NC duo made the rotation". The Herald Sun. Retrieved July 4, 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Aku, Timmhotep (August 12, 2015). "Review: The Foreign Exchange, 'Tales From The Land Of Milk And Honey'". NPR. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
- ^ Script error: No such module "cite tweet".
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The Best Albums of 2018: numbers 100 – 81". Bandcamp Daily. December 10, 2018. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Roots: The White Album". IMDB. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Caramanica, Jon (February 19, 2017). "Review: 'The Breaks' Captures Hip-Hop in the '90s, Music and All". The New York Times. Retrieved July 12, 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Barrow, Jerry (July 4, 2017). "The Shadow League". The Shadow League. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Russell Westbrook Jordan Brand MVP Animated Commercial". youtube.com.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Setaro, Shawn (April 16, 2019). "The Story of 'Questlove Supreme': Low-Key Flexes and the Magic Circle". Complex.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Grein, Paul (March 15, 2023). "Questlove Wins Music Podcast of the Year at 2023 iHeartPodcast Awards". Billboard. Retrieved July 13, 2023.
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Script error: No such module "WLink"./chart-history/Script error: No such module "WLink". "Phonte – Chart history: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
{{cite magazine}}: Check|url=value (help) - ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Script error: No such module "WLink"./chart-history/Script error: No such module "WLink". "Phonte – Chart history: R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
{{cite magazine}}: Check|url=value (help) - ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Stream Phonte's Surprise New EP 'Pacific Time'". OkayPlayer.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Gee, Andre (July 21, 2023). "Phonte Gets Poignantly Vulnerable On Black Milk's "No Wish"". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
External links
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- Phonte RBMA video lecture session
- Interview with Phonte and Nicolay at Leisure Lab
- Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Phonte on North Carolina, Little Brother and a new wave of Rap". Red Bull Music Academy. Red Bull Music. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
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