With the unfortunate departure of 9^th Wonder from the hip-hop group Little Brother, many fans, including myself, are curious to see how Phonte and Rapper Big Pooh will sound over different production. In an effort to create buzz before this spring’s release Get Back (their third album), Little Brother, now a “duo,” worked with Mick Boogie to release the And Justus For All mixtape. As a bonus, after the DJ Drama/Don Cannon episode, the artists have decided to offer the album as a free download.

Phonte and Big Pooh have always complimented each other. Regardless of the production, the two emcees give you the best of both expressive approaches; Phonte is the more lyrically versatile and creative with his rhymes, and Rapper Big Pooh is effective with his heartfelt and hard-hitting style. Again, on And Justus For All, the talents of both emcees shine. Phonte’s wit and creativity stand out on numerous tracks. On Last Day, he makes you laugh as he recalls racial generalizations and his last day of work when he was employed at a clothing retail store. Big Pooh sounds honest and sincere when expressing his frustration with achieving their place in hip-hop on Life of the Party Remix.

The numerous guest appearances do well at not diverting from Little Brother and only strengthen the album. Skillz’s cleverness and sharp delivery come through on Life of the Party Remix. Supastition, Rhymefest, Ray Cash, Bishop Lamont, Chaundon, Von Pea, AZ, and Joe Scudda are just some of the enjoyable contributing artists. Little Brother sounds refreshing over the new variety of production. Nottz, Focus, The Kickdrums, Oddissee, RJD2, and Babu are the standout producers that contribute impressive sounds for the duo.

My only qualm with the album is the typical tendencies that come on a mixtape. Annoying DJ sound bites and the rewinding of notable lyrics just serve as a distraction and spoil the flow of the music. Mick Boogie does well putting the project together, but hearing the high-pitch “the commissioner” sound bite numerous times throughout each track starts to get irritating.

There should no longer be a question whether Phonte and Big Pooh will suffer from the absence of 9^th’s production. All three of the original members are talented enough to create quality music without each other. This mixtape serves as an effective marketing tool for me; I am extremely excited about the release of Get Back, and looking forward to hear more of the smaller in numbers, but still superior, Little Brother.