Little Brother, 9th Wonder, Murs, and Crackin's 'Makings of a Dream'

My 17 year journey from a powerful rap song to the original sample source.

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In mid-2003 I was winding down my freshman year at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. My friend Matt had recently introduced me to Little Brother’s The Listening and I was a big fan of the album. When Clark booked them as one of the acts for their spring Spree Day celebration, I was fired up.

While walking around campus with a group of friends during the late morning/early afternoon on Spree Day, we happened to see Phonte, Big Pooh, and 9th Wonder from a distance. I remember drunkenly yelling something about how much I loved their music and it sparked a long conversation with them. They were the nicest guys ever—they stood there and talked to us for a solid 10-15 minutes and did the same thing after they performed too.

During their show I convinced a bunch of my friends to come down to the front of the stage and make noise during their set. Phonte and Pooh shouted me out on the mic. Before I knew it, they called me and a bunch of other people up on stage with them. Producer Mr. Green and rapper/producer Voli Contra were up there too, they were a grade ahead of me at Clark. 9th Wonder gave me a hug as I was running up on stage. It was crazy—I’ll never forget that moment.

My love of Little Brother and Little Brother-related projects continued throughout college and beyond. The following year some people put the Murs and 9th Wonder release Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition on my radar. With 10 songs and a running time just a tad over 35 minutes, I was instantly drawn to the music on this short, powerful release.

Tracks like “Walk Like a Man” and “The Animal” featuring Phonte originally hit me the hardest, but as I listened to the album over the years I found myself coming back to “And This Is For…” again and again. Featuring mournful, stirring production from 9th, Murs’ lyrics address the issue of white privilege in rap fans and rappers, his own internal struggle with having mostly white fans at that stage of his career, and white people using the n-word.

It’s a very thoughtful and nuanced examination of all of these topics. It has also helped evolve my own thinking over the years regarding my privilege as a white rap and sample-based music fan/writer who often covers those genres.

In many ways, the following lyrics feel just as relevant today if not more so.

“Now you could be down, but let's act growed up
Cause we ain't the same color when police show up
My culture's not a trend, being Black is not in
But for you it's just a phase you're gonna have to transcend
While even if I tried, I could never blend in
To society's mainstream, American dream
Yeah, it's all one love, but remember one thing
This music is my life, not a cultural fling
It's an expression of the soul when we dance and sing
And you are blessed to have a chance to even glance the scene”- Murs

The lyrics of “And This Is For…” certainly justify their own extensive long-form breakdown, but today I’m going to focus on 9th Wonder’s production. I’ve written about 9th’s music and production process several times over the past four years and I’ve included “And This Is For…” in multiple playlists. Before starting Micro-Chop, I honestly hadn’t listened to it in a while. Once I revisited the track, I found myself intensely moved by the instrumental and decided I wanted to learn more about the sample source and the group that created it.

My search for the beat’s origins brought me to a song called “You’re Winning” by Crackin’. Listen to “You’re Winning” and the rest of their 1977 effort Makings Of A Dream and you’ll hear a truly unique blend of disco, funk, and (somewhat soft) rock, with certain tracks playing out like multiple songs blended together into one incredibly ambitious creation. It’s a powerful work of art from a talented group and producer/Phil Spector protege Russ Titelman.

I don’t know how deep his connection to Makings Of A Dream was, but I love the mental image of a young 9th Wonder listening to the album and considering the opening of “You’re Winning” as possible sample fodder for the first time.

Some of my personal favorites from this largely forgotten gem of an LP include “Take Me to the Bridge,” which an enchanting, almost orchestral quality in several key moments that highlights the versatility of Makings Of A Dream producer Russ Titelman. "I Want to Sing It to You” is another standout track, with Titelman giving the vocals of group member Lester Abrams appropriate room to breathe by stripping down the production a bit.

In the end, however, it’s 9th Wonder’s sample choice “You’re Winning” that truly steals the show, from the gorgeous, somber opening to the song’s completely unexpected uptick in energy and rather inspirational, feel-good hook.

Now, after tracing “And This Is For…” back to the origins, I’ve spent the last 6-8 months obsessively listening to “You’re Winning” and the rest of Makings Of A Dream.

As I get older and write more music-related stories, I find myself revisiting so many bits and pieces of my musical past. By traveling back in time through various songs and albums, I often find that I still have a deep emotional connection to the music I loved when I was much younger—even if I haven’t sat with it for some time.

But these journeys aren’t just a form of glorified nostalgia. Going back to my origins with a writing lens often inspires me to trace the various connections, sample sources, and influences that helped give birth to records like Little Brother’s The Listening and Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition. In the process, producers like 9th Wonder become valuable teachers, providing me with endless portals of further musical discovery.

16 years after producing Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition, it appears 9th’s desire to help educate people about great music from a wide variety of genres is stronger than ever. As of late, he’s using IG Live as well as his production to connect with listeners and shine a light on forgotten sounds of the past.

9th Wonder @9thwonder

DJing on IG Live has been amazing. People ask me... “How you know that much music?” I say to them... “We all do. We all know a vast amount of music, song for song, word for word....... It’s just up to the DJ to remind you that you know....and remind you of who you are..”

Thank you 9th, for helping a teenaged me figure out who I was before I even knew, and for pushing to explore music on an even deeper level almost two decades later.

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Thanks for reading, see you on Monday!