large professor – keeping music real
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Producer, Main Source
In today’s music world, artists and producers churn out product as if on an assembly line. However, for legendary hip-hop producer Large Professor, taking his time to create new music is the only way to do it. It took the Queens-based producer about two years to produce his newest solo project, Main Source.
“The recording process is just a natural thing – it’s just a feel. I can’t rush it,” he explains. Hip-hop lovers will be glad he took his time, thanks to collaborations with emcees such as Jeru the Damaja, Big Noyd, Styles P and AZ. It was important to Large that he capture the gritty feel of the genre’s early roots. “Hip-hop is about hearing something ill on the streets and saying, ‘That’s hot right there.’ That’s hip-hop’s proper home – the streets, the corners, the blocks and all that,” he says.
Despite his mission to bring hip-hop’s original flavor back, Large has no problem giving props to today’s crop of artists. “Lil Wayne does his thing in his own way, even Bow Wow. There are definitely certain aspects today’s artists have down pat,” he says. “I don’t have anything wrong with all these different takes on hip-hop, but I’m just trying to bring the original feel back.”
With over 20 years under his belt, Large has watched hip-hop grow into the influential giant it is today, something he never could have predicted. “I remember there was a time when they would shoo us off the streets,” he recalls. “But now, it’s just like they’re full-fledged embracing it. That’s definitely a good thing.” –ivory m. jones
