Large Professor
also known as Large Pro
and Xtra P
(born William Paul Mitchell
on March 21, 1972, in the Harlem section of New York, New York. USA [1]), is a New York City-based hip hop record producer and emcee. He is also best known as a founding member of the influential underground hip hop group Main Source, and as a frequent collaborator with Nas. [2] About.com ranked Large Professor #5 on its Top 50 Hip-Hop Producers list. [3]
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LARGE PROFESSOR TICKETS
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Biography
Early life and career
Mitchell moved in his early childhood to
Flushing, Queens, were he was raised.
His production career started early in his adolescence. As a young teenager, he would make pause tapes, in which he would pause a beat and blend it in with other sequences. Eventually, he mananged to own a
Casio SK-1 sampling keyboard that allowed him to make his beats in the comfort of his own home. He became a protégé of the late
Paul C, a record producer and musician with whom he credits for teaching him virtually everything he knows about record production as well as the associated technology used for making hip-hop music. Paul C was doing production work with Eric B. & Rakim and Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud, and then, at age 17, Large was given the opportunity to program beats for
Eric B. & Rakim's album
Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em
(1990) while still attending high school. While working with them, he discovered
Nas, who got a management deal with Serchlite Publishing (headed by
MC Serch from former group
3rd Bass) and produced three tracks on Nas's debut album,
Illmatic
(1994), after he was signed by
Columbia/
SME Records. His work with Eric B. & Rakim eventually led him to work on
Kool G Rap &
DJ Polo's
Wanted: Dead or Alive
(1990), producing (officially credited as a co-producer) the album's lead single and iconic hip-hop classic, “Streets of New York.”
Career with Main Source
In 1989, he joined the group
Main Source, which also included K-Cut and Sir Scratch from
Toronto. Main Source recorded one album with Large called
Breaking Atoms
, which was released in 1991. It included hits such as "Just Hangin' Out", "Looking at the Front Door," and Nas makes his first public appearance on a track called "Live at the Barbeque", along with
Akinyele and Joe Fatal.
In 1992, its success allowed it to record"Fakin' the Funk", a track on the
White Men Can't Jump
motion-picture soundtrack. Because of business differences, Large and Main Source quietly parted ways and Large went on to sign with Geffen/MCA Records. During and after his tenure with Main Source, he worked with
Pete Rock & CL Smooth, and he produced a number of tracks for
Nas,
Busta Rhymes,
Masta Ace,
The X-Ecutioners,
Tragedy Khadafi,
Big Daddy Kane,
Mobb Deep, and others during the 1990s.
Solo career
In 1996, he released two singles for
Geffen/
MCA Records, "Ijuswannachill" and "The Mad Scientist", for which videos were produced for both tracks. He was to have his highly anticipated solo album
The LP
released around the same time, but it was never released because of label politics.
Geffen and Large Professor eventually parted ways, and he signed with
Matador Records, which generally specialized in marketing and promoting contemporary rock and alternative tracks as well as electronic music. Although his album for Matador,
1st Class
did not receive mainstream acceptance, it gained favorable reviews by fans and critics. The album included guest appearances by
Nas,
Busta Rhymes, and
Q-Tip. The album also included the moderate street hit "Radioactive."
Large's
publishing company is named Paul Sea Productions as an homage to his late mentor.
For many years, people thought that Large Professor directly taught
DJ Premier how to use the Emu SP-1200 sampling drum machine, which Large used to help program many of his beats during the 1990s. However, according to Large Professor, he just showed DJ Premier to enhance what he already had. This is an excerpt from the November/December issue of
Scratch Magazine:
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| Since people see Professor, they say, 'He taught Preemo'. Nah, what happened was that we traded off. Preem showed me an ill beat and at the time I was filtering records like taking the bassline out of a record and filtering. I showed him how to do that on the Akai S-950. Premier doesn't even use the 1200; he's never used the 1200. Just people throughout the years to take shit and run with it. We just traded off. He shown me the "Brethren" (break) beat and I showed him how to muffle out the bassline. That's all it was
| ”
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Large Professor DJs at clubs, parties, and events worldwide and still engages in music production. He released an instrumental LP in 2006 called
Beatz Vol. 1
. Its sequel,
Beats Vol. 2
, was released in 2007.
His latest album,
Main Source
, was released in 2008 and features production by him and others including
Marco Polo and verses from
Big Noyd,
Styles P,
Jeru the Damaja,
AZ and
Lil Dap.
Discography
Albums
- 2002: 1st Class
- 2006: Beatz Volume 1
(instrumentals)
- 2007: Beatz Volume 2
(instrumentals)
- 2008: Main Source
- 2009: The LP
Production
- 1990: "Wanted: Dead or Alive" (Various songs on album by Kool G Rap & DJ Polo)
- 1991: "Breaking Atoms" (Main Source)
- 1992: "Peer Pressure" with DJ Premier for Mobb Deep
- 1993: Vagina Diner
(Album by Akinyele)
- 1993: "Hey Girl" (from the Apache album Apache Ain't Shit
)
- 1993: "Keep It Rollin" (from the A Tribe Called Quest album Midnight Marauders
)
- 1993: "Niggaz Never Learn" (from the Big Daddy Kane album Looks Like a Job For…
)
- 1994: "Stress (Remix)" (from the Organized Konfusion 12" Stress
)
- 1994: "One Time 4 Your Mind", "Halftime", "It Ain't Hard To Tell" (from the Nas album Illmatic
)
- 1995: "Resurrection '95" Extra P Remix (from the Common 12" Resurrection
)
- 1995: "Resurrection '95" Large Professor Remix (from the Common 12" Resurrection
)
- 1996: "Extra Abstract Skillz" (from the Mad Skillz album From Where -
)
- 1999: "I Sparkle" (Slick Rick from the Wild Wild West Soundtrack)
- 2000: "The Heist" (from the Busta Rhymes album Anarchy
)
- 2001: "You're Da Man", "Rewind" (from the Nas album Stillmatic
)
- 2002: "The Come Up" (from the Cormega album The True Meaning)
- 2002: "We Are the Future," "It's Us," and "Drug Music" (from the Non Phixion album The Future Is Now
)
- 2004: "What They Want" (from The UN album UN Or U Out
)
- 2006: "World Wide" (from the Boot Camp Clik album The Last Stand
)
- 2006: "Right 2 Know" (From the Prince Po album Prettyblack
)
- 2006: "I Be Thuggin'" b/w "Mack of the Year" (Grand Daddy IU Single)
- 2007: "I'm Up Now" (from the Mic Geronimo album Alive
)
- 2008: "L.E.O (Love Equals Omnipotence) - Spiritual Intelligence / All tracks produced by Large Professor.
- 2008: "Conquer Mentally" Large Professor Remix (Presto album State of the Art
)
- 2008: "The Hardest" (AZ album Undeniable
)
- 2008: "Stages" (Reks album Grey Hairs
)
- 2009: "New Classic" (U-God album Dopium
)
- 2009: "Same Old Drama" (Grand Puba album Retroactive
)
Vocal appearances
- 1990: "Money In The Bank" (Kool G Rap & DJ Polo album Wanted Dead or Alive
)
- 1993: "Keep It Rollin'" (A Tribe Called Quest album Midnight Marauders
)
- 1994: "Stress (Remix)" (Organized Konfusion "Stress" 12")
- 1995: "Extra Abtract Skillz" (Mad Skillz album From Where -
)
- 2000: "The Last Shall Be First" (Cella Dwellas album The True Meaning
)
- 2002: "XL" (The X-Ecutioners album Built from Scratch
)
- 2002: "Hip Hop On Wax" (Rob Swift album Sound Event
)
- 2002: "The Come Up" (Cormega album The True Meaning
)
- 2004: "Sugar Ray and Hearns" (Cormega album Legal Hustle
)
- 2004: "Out Da Box" (Tony Touch album The Piece Maker 2
)
- 2006: "United" (MF Grimm album American Hunger
)
- 2007: "The Radar" (Marco Polo album Port Authority
)
- 2007: "The Purist" (Polyrhythm Addicts album Break Glass
)
- 2008: "Conquer Mentally" (Presto album State of the Art
)
References
- allmusic Large Professor Biography
- Matador Records | Large Professor Biography
- Top 50 Hip-Hop Producers