Little Brother, The Minstrel Show (Atlantic/ABB Records)

Release date: September 13, 2005

One of the best rap albums of the 2000s, North Carolina trio Little Brother’s first, and only, major label record, The Minstrel Show, uses humor and biting satire to skewer racial stereotypes. At its center is the fictional TV network UBN (U Black N*ggas Network), a superficial and unprogressive channel that airs commercials like “5th and Fashion,” telling viewers where to shop if they want three pairs of “Furberry shoelaces” for a mere $25.

And in that, you have the next Hollywood Shuffle, a worthy successor to director/actor Robert Townsend’s 1987 cult comedy classic. For The Minstrel Show, there’d be a young, wide-eyed black actor (dream casting: Donald Glover) who, like Townsend’s Bobby Taylor, endures the worst kinds of racial ignorance as he rises from sitcom bit player to the lead on Tyler Perry’s House of Payne.