Let’s be realistic. How often do old school dogs stay true to their signature sounds?
By Wisdom Body
Large Professor manages to continue to push the rawest elements of hip hop forward. You will be put in a trance of an organic 90’s Queens, New York influenced vibe, all in honor of hip hop. Large Pro uses a very smooth and straightforward approach to take us through a journey of his hip hop wisdom.
Large Professor is best known for being the forerunner of the 90s hip hop act Main Source. He is also responsible for Nas’ first public appearance with the big time track ‘Live at the Barbeque’. He has produced tracks for a collection of notable emcees like Eric B & Rakim, Busta Rhymes, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane, Mobb Deep, A Tribe Called Quest, Pete Rock, I can go on and on. Large Professor’s work is one of a kind and has always been a production trendsetter.
As a hip hop scientist, he uses his butter smooth fiery rhymes to takes us to Queensbridge and shows his appreciation for fellow emcee Nas, on the track’ In The Scrolls’. Along with a solid feature by G-Wiz you are taken back to 1994 when Illmatic dropped and reminded about how the gem flipped the world of hip hop. With a husky flow the professor humbly drops lyrical jewels about his involvement in the making of Illmatic. His booming production skills are on full display with sleek scratches, intricate layered grooves, and the soul samples of Bobby Womack’s Jealous Love. G-Qiz follows up with a sharp flow about his experience growing up in Queensbridge with Nas, being down with his crew and how important the Illmatic album is. At the end of the song there is a part where a girl calls into a radio station and requests them to play Immatic. She names a couple of tracks she wants to hear..and boy it sounds like the chick is reading them straight off paper. Despite the amateur Nas fan, Xtra P’s sense of detail for this Nas tribute is successful.
With the suitable use of samples from Michal Urbaniak’s Fusion and Biggie’s Juicy, the professor gets personal in ‘Dreams Don’t Die’. Well-tuned and rawly rhythmic, Large P starts off with bars reminiscing about how his journey started. He spits with force about his family coming together on Friday nights to vibe to the classic jams of Marvin Gaye and Afrika Bambaata mixes. He also gets deep into his breakup with Main Source and how he got down with Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest. The hook of the track is influenced by Biggie’s Juicy with the catchy infamous line, ‘It was all a dream.’ Large P nobly expresses how his vision came to life. The last verse was a dedication to Biggie Smalls. He uses his smooth sound and fiery energy to certify the goals and legacy of B.I.G.
Now this song ‘Off Yo Azz On Yo Feet’, shows what else the legend is capable of. Not only does he display colorful delivery and candid vocals. The mixing done by the professor is surely complex with an upbeat flow and a tad of wittiness. He drops bars about how the typical young boy in NYC is living, and advises him to get off his jock to get his life together. In high spirits Large Pro spits:
“You gotta get off yo ass
You gotta get on your job
You gotta get off yo ass
You gotta get on your feet”
This stimulating beat compliments his mellow tune. It honestly sounds like he may have been dancing while recording this track. It is certainly one to shake your ass too.
Overall all The Large Professor maintained the use of his poetic angle for this album. He should be acclaimed as one of the greatest gifts hip hop has ever seen. This is an artist who takes hip hop seriously and is not afraid to show the world how. He also managed to gather fellow hip hop elites Inspectah Deck, Cormega, Roc Marciano, Sadat X and Lord Jamar for Industry Remix 2. These set of conscious rappers dropped serious jewels about the downs of the music industry. He wanted this album to support the ears of true hip hop heads, especially in this new millennium age of hip hop. I’d say Large Professor topped his goal.
