9th Wonder is Out of Little Brother?

Again, I might need a late pass on this. I'm workin' my ass off here.

So the rumors are somewhat true. Little Brother isn't "breaking up," per se, but their most influential member might be out of the group. From ProHipHop:

[Phonte] Coleman says the beats they've received from longtime Little Brother member and Justus League co-founder 9th Wonder haven't worked on that level. So far, he has landed only one beat on the album's first eight tracks.

"I don't know if he has them or not, but it just didn't grab us. We never had that feeling from the beats he gave us, and, for this album, we're not going to settle, whether you're 9th Wonder or Just Blaze. We have to be able to fit it into what we're doing," says Coleman.

9th Wonder offers a differing although still murky statement to the News & Observer saying that "I've always said the same thing, I'm 9th Wonder of Little Brother and Phonte is the leader of Little brother. This is the direction the MC's have decided to take. I've only got one beat on the album for now and if I get more, I do and if I don't, I don't."

9th Wonder is a good producer, but he's not a great producer. 9th Wonder was holding Little Brother back because all of his beats pretty much sound the same. (I have said this on numerous occasions by the way.) LB's next album is pretty much make or break for them, so they need to throw in as many resources as they can to make sure that they at least come out on top (relatively speaking). Much props to Phonte and Pooh for making the decision. 9th Wonder has his own thing going on, so I'm sure he'll eat.