Large Professor appreciation

To think…there was a time when just head nodding to rap music was enough. I mean sure you’d eventually get your boogie on but the vocals were the focal point. As hip hop grew from its disco influences and discovered James Brown through swiped portions of his music. The hard hitting drum count, the “boom bap” sound was born. We’d listen to this not thinking anything of it at the time. It was still primarily secular (yes, the west was emerging into it’s own but the east still reigned) but from what we heard we’d emulate it on tables or stolen drum machines. You had cats like the Bomb Squad who did their thing with Public Enemy. Prince Paul (De Le Soul and Stetsasonic) Marley Marl (Juice Crew: Big Daddy Kane, Shante, Kool G Rap, Biz Markie, Craig Gee and Master Ace) Ced Gee (Ultramagnetic M.C.s, BDP’s first LP) Diamond D (D.I.T.C: Show & AG, O.C., Big L, Lord Finesse and Fat Joe), Chuck Chillout (Cool Chip, Centipede)and the like. But for me, the one silent constant who held it down was Large Professor. He (Along with DJ Premier) was doing what those others were doing but it has proven to me to still sound fresh today.

Under the guidance Paul C (Eric B & Rakim, Kool G Rap) Large (also known as Extra P) cooked up his own brew of crisp snared-rugged beats. It permeates with what New York City was for kids at the time through the late 80’s to mid 90’s (listen to early Mobb Deep, Organize Konfusion, Common Sense and Mad Skillz, that's Large on alot of that work). Again, real rugged but fits well with what the emcee was saying. To here a beatmaker who also rhymed at the time was still far and few between. Large Pro also came with it on the mic, “Looking out the front door” with his than group Main Source blew up across the nation. Breaking Atoms, their full length LP is required listening if you say you love hiphop. While others state their purpose as being about beats and rhymes, this lp was about beats and rhymes…no pretense. It was a tour de force of low-fi excellence with its abrupt samples and arrangement (pre-dates Wu-Tang’s 36 Chambers). Also had a posse cut called "Live at the BBQ" with a than unknown mic wielder by the name of Nas (Nasty Nas; 2 yrs later Nas would drop the Large Pro produced "It aint hard to tell). Large has a husky baritone that complements his narratives which made me comfortable with my own voice. If you can find Breaking Atoms on e-bay…it better illustrates what I’m trying to wrap up here,ha…

He's a major influence over the likes of Pete Rock, Tribe Called Quest of which he's also worked with and Kanye West (admit it,man)...who've all gone on to create and add to the legacy of this music we love so much. I'm still skimming the surface of this guy, cause theres acts like Akineyle, Neek the Exotic and more who Extra P has laced...one day i'd like to be one of them.

Thanks,Large.

Uncle