EDITOR'S NOTE: I thought since my hiatus took so friggin long, I'd come back with something different. So here it is, boy/girl (pick one). The first review I ever wrote. Shoutouts once again to my friend Max over at Hip Hop Isn't Dead. You were right, Max. I couldn't continue with the runs long enough. From now on, I'm reviewing whatever comes to mind.
"Queens, represent. Buy the album when I drop it." - Large Professor, from A Tribe Called Quest's “Keep It Rollin'”
William Paul Mitchell, also known as Large Professor, Main Source mastermind & bass extraordinaire, hereinafter referred to as just "LP", has received much critical love for many things in the early 1990's, but most people seem to know him for throwing rappers like Nas and Akinyele some scraps of his spotlight. One of those two names didn't invest in that scrap properly, but I'm not here to point fingers (hint: it wasn't Nas).
Now, lame attempt at humor aside, I've been chomping through my jaw to hear more from this beatsmith who brought the world my favorite Illmatic songs, "It Ain't Hard to Tell" and "Halftime" (I did say my favorites, right?), so I sought him out. I checked the man's discography and something didn't look right. LP is a genius, so how come after producing Akinyele's debut Vagina Diner and his now-legendary plea above, he drops zilch for nearly a decade?
This caused me to ignore my love for the guy's music and immerse myself elsewhere in my hip hop journey, at least until I came across an interesting piece of info. LP was supposed to drop something in 1996, but the Geffen higher-ups deemed that his work sounded too "dated" and shelved his shit after "promoting" only two songs. That makes me want to strangle my dog, so imagine how LP must have felt. (I've actually never had and don't plan on getting a dog. I hate pets, you see.)
Fast forward six years, when LP released what ended up being his actual debut album, 1st Class. Queens didn't represent, and neither did I. Why should I? The man, while still fairly dope, sounded nothing like the Main Source powerhouse I heard before, which led me to believe he had fallen off. However, some of the copies of 1st Class came with an additional disc. Little did people know that this CD was actually Large Professor's lost first attempt at a debut, The LP. But I still didn't represent. I was one lazy bum at the time.
Then, one day I read on the Internet that The LP was produced in 1996. I looked further into it and it turns out LP finally did manage to release The LP...in 2009, a year after his second album, the aptly-titled Main Source. It didn't have the same tracklisting, and it included a few bonus goodies that weren't readily available in 1996, but still.
I deliberately wrote this long-ass intro to emphasize that "this man went through a lot of shit to release an album" is hip hop's understatement of the century. But is The LP a classic? You will find out. That's why you're still reading.
INTRO
Clearly recorded in a much earlier time, LP tells you in between scratches of “Yo, Professor what's up?” that this is, in fact, his solo debut, and "whoever disagree is taken out like trash". Not as weak as it seems.
William Paul Mitchell, also known as Large Professor, Main Source mastermind & bass extraordinaire, hereinafter referred to as just "LP", has received much critical love for many things in the early 1990's, but most people seem to know him for throwing rappers like Nas and Akinyele some scraps of his spotlight. One of those two names didn't invest in that scrap properly, but I'm not here to point fingers (hint: it wasn't Nas).
Now, lame attempt at humor aside, I've been chomping through my jaw to hear more from this beatsmith who brought the world my favorite Illmatic songs, "It Ain't Hard to Tell" and "Halftime" (I did say my favorites, right?), so I sought him out. I checked the man's discography and something didn't look right. LP is a genius, so how come after producing Akinyele's debut Vagina Diner and his now-legendary plea above, he drops zilch for nearly a decade?
This caused me to ignore my love for the guy's music and immerse myself elsewhere in my hip hop journey, at least until I came across an interesting piece of info. LP was supposed to drop something in 1996, but the Geffen higher-ups deemed that his work sounded too "dated" and shelved his shit after "promoting" only two songs. That makes me want to strangle my dog, so imagine how LP must have felt. (I've actually never had and don't plan on getting a dog. I hate pets, you see.)
Fast forward six years, when LP released what ended up being his actual debut album, 1st Class. Queens didn't represent, and neither did I. Why should I? The man, while still fairly dope, sounded nothing like the Main Source powerhouse I heard before, which led me to believe he had fallen off. However, some of the copies of 1st Class came with an additional disc. Little did people know that this CD was actually Large Professor's lost first attempt at a debut, The LP. But I still didn't represent. I was one lazy bum at the time.
Then, one day I read on the Internet that The LP was produced in 1996. I looked further into it and it turns out LP finally did manage to release The LP...in 2009, a year after his second album, the aptly-titled Main Source. It didn't have the same tracklisting, and it included a few bonus goodies that weren't readily available in 1996, but still.
I deliberately wrote this long-ass intro to emphasize that "this man went through a lot of shit to release an album" is hip hop's understatement of the century. But is The LP a classic? You will find out. That's why you're still reading.
INTRO
Clearly recorded in a much earlier time, LP tells you in between scratches of “Yo, Professor what's up?” that this is, in fact, his solo debut, and "whoever disagree is taken out like trash". Not as weak as it seems.
THAT BULLSHIT
Now that's more like it! LP launches into an impressive tirade against violence in the ghetto. Is it me, or is the man obsessed with shouting out his song titles (among other useless crap) as a chorus? Also, did LP really throw a shot towards his former Main Source bandmates? Anyway, the second verse is the highlight. The sample kind of got on my nerves, though, since it distracted me from the actual music. All in all, pretty dope!
HUNGRY
Extra P provides himself with a straight-up mean instrumental and proceeds to rip it to shreds. Yes! No chorus! Until the last minute, anyway, where he just, for lack of a better word, stops, then rolls out a long-ass (and annoying) outro for the song. Almost ruined the track for me. Ah who am I kidding? This was another dope cut!
I JUSWANNA CHILL
My favorite song on the album (and the album's second of two singles). The hook's catchy, too: this will be the only time on this album that happens. I don't give a fuck about the title's spelling issues: if anyone's gonna making a song about success in the music industry, this is how to do it. The end of the track leads into...
FUNKY 2 LISTEN 2
Yet another unorthodox beat by Extra P, but this time he doesn't fuck it up. Lyrically, LP is kind of underrated in my opinion, “underrated” as in “this song, by itself, owns the entire ymcmb catalog" (I'm using small letters because it's my review and I'm kind of a prick). This really was enjoyable. Also, no chorus!
MAD SCIENTIST
Starts with a freestyle over Busta Rhymes' Woo Hah beat, where Extra P spits a few kinda meh bars and shouts "Mad Scientist!". Before anyone can bitch, the beat switches up and we're greeted with The LP's awesome lead single, preserved in all of its glory. I love that laugh during the chorus. Even when censored, this song is almost perfect...until LP repeats his first verse as the third verse. And yet I still enjoyed this immensely. Seriously, though, he needs to stop with this lame-ass hook routine. It's getting annoying.
HARD
The song starts with a smooth, classic LP beat, and switches to an energetic instrumental. The bass is the highlight of the beat as LP really turns his flow into high gear. Nice! Pity that he never could write dope hooks. His gem game is as sharp as always, though. Four for four, so far.
ONE PLUS ONE (FEAT. NAS)
Extra P brings to the booth his former weed carrier-turned-rap messiah, who was smack dab in that sweet two-year spot where he could do no wrong in the eyes of everyone, not just his Stans, as he spits an immortal verse. Then before LP starts, Nas tries his damnedest to ruin the mood by spinning off into one of his tangents. Is he fucking yodeling here?! Which just makes him seem desperate for attention: surely he must have laced his weed by following one of the RZA's weird “honey dip” rituals. LP snaps out of Diddy mode and switches the overall feel mid-verse, leaving us with an equally decent gem of a verse himself. An excellent song.
THE LP (FOR MY PEOPLE)
This song is exactly why I hereby declare Extra P used to be a seriously underrated emcee, as we all know he's a wizard at beats. No, really: wrap your head around this: "Lots of knowledge cause this world is my college / where I teach and preach your whole contract, jack". Nice! Even with the meh hook. (I'm saying this a lot, aren't I? There still more to come, too.)
DANCIN' GIRL (FEAT. LEN X'S TEN)
The obligatory song for the ladies. Even with the subject matter, Large Professor comes off as quite respectful. Not to mention he provides a very addictive beat. The only flaw on here is the eye-gougingly irritating chorus, crooner and all. Probably why we never hear from Len X's Ten again.
LARGE PRO: VERBS
The original album intro (on the first version of The LP), now thrown in at the halfway point as a "midtro". This beat fucking knocks. Why didn't you just stick with the original sequencing?
HAVIN' FUN
A track about, well, you can guess. I don't care if the hook is a Treacherous Three tribute, it still sucks much more than his usual shitty hook standards: LP's rhymes are still decent, but this song is ruined for me. To top it off, it even ends with a section of the earlier For My People. WTF?
SPACEY (FEAT. CEE LOWE & VANDEMATOR)
The only song on the project not produced by Large Professor, but by Toney Rome. Even with the old-school, almost-decent beat & a good verse from LP, the guests and the (gasp!) hook turn this song into a dud on arrival (See what I did there?).
AMAMAN
Weird title aside, this song is the first of four 2009 additions to The LP. He channels Pete Rock into his beatmaking and comes off bombastically good. Lyrically, you can hear Extra P trying to match his former self's ability to rhyme, with acceptable results. The end of the song provides us with an earlier take on the same track, and although brief, you'll notice the upsurge in lyrical quality.
QUEENS LOUNGE
LP seems to have rediscovered his ability to write shitty choruses. Otherwise, this party song is just sublime.
BOWNE
If anyone is a sucker for nostalgia, this beat would eat you alive. And yes, I'm one of those. LP reflects on younger times, and does pretty damn good.
BIG WILLIE
The best of the four new additions. LP uses his final song briefly transforming into a one-man Gang Starr during this street tale. I approve of this shit.
OUTRO
Similar to the intro, but to me, LP is a much better emcee when he's introspective and not talking shit, so I liked this a bit more.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Enough with the sweet talk. The LP is not perfect. Large Professor has an unsettling tendency to write abhorrent hooks, and he sometimes has delivery problems when he's spitting. Still, I would consider The LP a classic album, right up there with Main Source's Breaking Atoms (which, might I add, shared those same flaws). If bad hooks put you off, steer clear from LP's entire body of work. Otherwise, you'll enjoy this album for what it is, a genius LP by LP. Clearly, I was wrong in presuming he fell off. (In recognizing so, I also had room to appreciate 1st Class so there's that.) I suggest listening to the album using its original tracklisting, though: it'll make much more sense.
WORTH IT? If you don't mind hooks, you should acquire this shit. Invest in your love for hip hop, dammit. Everyone else should listen to it at least once, just so you can appreciate the man's musical genius. Minus "Spacey", of course: that shit should be banished to the netherworld of pretentious artistry.
TRACKS TO TRACK DOWN:
RAP PROFESSIONAL
Produced by underground mixtape stalwart J-Love, apparently, as LP talks his shit over a beat that, while competent, sounds like it's trying too hard to be dramatic. Also, you see the title of the track. You already know LP's pulling the hook from It Ain't Hard To Tell. Oh well, I still liked the overall product.
COOL
The b-side to Rap Professional, once again produced by J-Love in a much better showing. LP lets loose over a smooth jazz loop primed and ready for introspection mixed with a little shittalking. And believe me, LP is much more adept at doing this than what's apparent from first glance.
Off the High School High OST, LP & PR concoct a rap duet that's absolutely timeless, while apparently producing it together utilizing another Nautilus loop. Pete does his best, but it's clear as crystal here that an in-the-zone LP is quite formidable, as he stakes his dominance over the track by batting cleanup. And we're done.
For more Extra P, come get some.
For more Extra P, come get some.
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