I had the honor of interviewing one of my hip-hop heroes recently for Complex, the one and only Large Professor. We chopped it up for over three hours a few weeks ago at a studio in the back of Fat Beats Headquarters in Brooklyn, talking about the stories behind all his classic records. Today, Part One of the feature hit the web, highlighting his work between 1990-1995 with Main Source, Nas, A Tribe Called Quest, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap, Beastie Boys, Mobb Deep, Gang Starr, and many more. Check the intro, and then click the link to the feature to read….

Large Professor’s discography ain’t no joke. The innovative and intelligent Flushing, Queens–bred producer/MC, who started his career as Main Source’s front man and a ghost producer for Eric B. & Rakim, has amassed a catalog of timeless, sample-based classics, collaborating with a lengthy list of legendary artists from his borough and beyond. As we celebrate Nas week, it seemed only right to get with Large Pro, the producer who introduced Nasty Nas to the game.

Let’s take a sec to think back. There are his Main Source hits (“Looking at the Front Door,” “Fakin’ The Funk,”), his work with Nas on Illmatic (“Halftime,” “One Time 4 Your Mind,” “It Ain’t Hard To Tell,”) and Stillmatic (“You Da Man,” “Rewind”), not to mention his unforgettable appearance with A Tribe Called Quest on Midnight Marauders’ “Keep It Rollin’.”

Add on solo joints like “The Mad Scientist,” poisonous production for Kool G Rap and Big L, and hard-hitting remixes for Beastie Boys, Common, Mobb Deep, and Gang Starr, plus guest spots with Lord Finesse and The Beatnuts, and you’ve got a hip-hop resume jam-packed with rawness.

With his fourth solo album, Professor @ Large, dropping June 26th, we met up with Large Pro at Fat Beats Headquarters in Brooklyn to break down the stories behind his classic records. In Part One, Extra P gives us the extra details about Big Daddy Kane’s deadpan reaction to him showing up late for a session, hanging out with Q-Tip during the making of The Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders (he also shares which of the two albums is his favorite), and creating “Live at the Barbeque,” tracks for Illmatic, and the unreleased gem “Understanding” with Nas.

LP also speaks on MCA’s passing, shares his earliest Beastie Boys memory, and tells us how proud his father was when he heard Main Source songs playing during Boyz n the Hood and White Men Can’t Jump. Plus so much more—check the method.

Large Professor Tells All: The Stories Behind His Classic Records (Part 1)

I’m gonna use this feature as an excuse to post a classic Main Source video, one that we spoke about in the feature, “Just Hangin’ Out,” off Breaking Atoms. This was Hype Williams first video….

Special thanks to Large Pro and to my dude Gustavo for making this feature happen. Check the shot of me and Extra P below at Fat Beats Headquarters….

*BONUS*

As mentioned in my Large Pro intro, this feature is part of “Nas Week” at Complex, celebrating his new cover for the magazine. Check it out below, it’s dope. And also, click the link to read the cover story/interview with Nas…

Nas: Return of the Don (2012 Cover Story)

]]> http://westcheddar.com/2012/05/23/large-professor-tells-the-stories-behind-his-classic-records-part-1-1990-1995/feed/ 0 ip IMG_1355 IMG_0028 nascover2012620 http://westcheddar.com/2012/05/22/leaders-of-the-new-school-mixtape/ http://westcheddar.com/2012/05/22/leaders-of-the-new-school-mixtape/#comments Tue, 22 May 2012 04:30:00 +0000 ip http://westcheddar.com/?p=5690 ]]>

A couple months ago, I did a post here called Leaders of the New School, showcasing some of the new rappers on the scene that I was feeling. My boy DJ ROZ from White Plains, who I’ve performed and collaborated with since our days as undergrads at University of Maryland, hit me up saying he wanted to do a Leaders of the New School mixtape, and asked if I would help him curate it for a Westcheddar release. Of course, I was with it, because there are a lot of great new young rap artists that I’m into right now, so I thought it would make for a cool project. And ROZ was excited about it, so naturally I wanted to support my fam.

So ROZ and I started gathering songs for the tape, sending MP3s back and forth via email (I’m in the 914 and he’s in the 301), and fairly easily we were able to come up with a pool of artists and songs to construct the tape with. ROZ put me on to some DMV rappers he wanted to showcase too (I even put him on to one he wasn’t up on, Uno Hype), and I reached out to Denmark Vessey, a dope MC out of Chicago/Detroit who I had become friendly with online, and asked him to host and be featured on the tape, and thankfully, he was bout it.

So here it is. DJ ROZ Leaders of the New School featuring Denmark Vessey, a Champion Sounds x Westcheddar collaboration, with music by Denmark Vessey, Action Bronson, Joey Bada$$, A$AP Rocky, The Kid Daytona, Smoke DZA, Uno Hype, Wiki, Sir Michael Rocks, J. Cole, Jay Electronica, Kendrick Lamar, Earl Sweatshirt, and many more. And since this is a 914 release, we bent the rules a bit and even let the older god Jadakiss get a verse off from his collabo with Daytona. Props to DJ ROZ on the mix, and Denmark Vessey for holding it down with the ill tracks and interludes. Back cover (with song list) and download link below…

Download DJ ROZ Leaders of the New School featuring Denmark Vessey

I really like what I’ve been hearing from Oddisee lately. Dude is probably the most slept-on talent in hip-hop right now. His production is incredible, his raps are excellent, and with his latest project Odd Renditions, he’s proving that his level of creativity is well above his peers. Just listen to the first track off Odd Renditions “Paralyzed,” where he blends his double-time raps with a chopped sample of Aretha Franklin’s classic “Say A Little Prayer” and then adds vocals from Bon Iver’s “re: Stacks” on the chorus. Fucking beautiful.

Now, watch the video for his remix of Marvin Gaye’s “Ain’t That Peculiar,” which is equally impressive. And the visuals are great too…

Download Odd Renditions in its entirety, for free, HERE. And look out for his solo album People Hear What They See dropping next month. Good shit O!

Avi Buffalo is my dude, and not just because both our real last names are Isenberg. I got mad love for him, and his style of music. His first album is a personal favorite, and stays in constant rotation in my car. He’s a California kid, and being that I was born out there myself, and that both of my parents are from there, I feel very closely connected to his sound. When I listen to it, I honestly feel like I’m transported out west, which gives me this surreal sensation that I try to harness for as long as possible. Check his live, stripped down performance, without his band, of “How Come,” his latest release (it came out almost a year ago) live from the top of a building in Venice Beach. I miss you, California.

*BONUS*

It’s amazing how sometimes the next thing I discover that I want to put up on Westcheddar will fit perfectly with my last post. Best Coast is another indie California band, and I’ve heard about them, but never really listened to their music. But their new sophomore album The Only Place just dropped today, and D.A. Wallach of Chester French tweeted out a link to their song “How They Want Me To Be” this afternoon, and I love it. I’ve already listened to it ten times today, with the hope that its beachy mood will drift me away from this rainy Westcheddar madness…

]]> http://westcheddar.com/2012/05/12/venice-vibes/feed/ 0 ip http://westcheddar.com/2012/05/09/an-oral-history-of-the-beastie-boys/ http://westcheddar.com/2012/05/09/an-oral-history-of-the-beastie-boys/#comments Wed, 09 May 2012 22:20:05 +0000 ip http://westcheddar.com/?p=5667 ]]>

I’m still heartbroken about the passing of MCA. So sad. I idolized The Beastie Boys as a kid, that’s the best way to put it. They were the crazy Jewish rappers that gave me the license to get ill myself. I look forward to putting my kids on to their music as they get older. For now, I want to share with Westcheddar readers an oral history of The Beastie Boys that Spin Magazine posted a few days ago (originally published in 1998). I actually own the book that I believe contains this same text, which I guess is now out of print. It’s a cool interview with them, where they tell stories about their career up until ’98…

The Story of Yo: The Oral History of The Beastie Boys | Spin

RIP MCA

*pics courtesy of UpNorthTrips

I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing arguably the nicest young new rapper coming out of NYC last week, Joey Bada$$. I’ve been posting his stuff for a minute now on Westcheddar and on Complex, and finally, it was time to do a feature on him so people can see what he’s all about. Check my intro below, and a link to the interview:

As the line between hip-hop and pop music continues to blur with the coming of each new generation, purists with underground loyalty keep searching for the next rapper to surface with an allegiance to the realness. Enter Joey Bada$$, a talented, high-school age MC from Flatbush, Brooklyn with serious mic skills, a mature ear, and throwback sensibility.

Joey’s buzz began when the rough, rugged and raw video for “Survival Tactics,” his collaboration with fellow Pro.Era representative Capital STEEZ, shook the internet earlier this year. Directed by Creative Control (who made their mark in the industry with Kanye West’s “Through The Wire” video), the video sparked a wildfire of Joey Bada$$ excitement. His wordplay and flow were impressive, and more importantly, his presence suggested the potential for greatness.

Since “Survival Tactics” dropped, Joey Bada$$, who is managed by The Smoker’s Club general Jonny Shipes (who also manages Big K.R.I.T. and Smoke DZA), has been making major moves. He’s appeared on two different MTV programs, been covered by the New York Times, contributed a verse to Mac Miller’s Macadelic mixtape, and recently opened up for Mac at Roseland Ballroom in NYC.

With his highly anticipated mixtape 1999 due in the next few weeks, we invited Joey up to the Plex to chop it up about his BK upbringing, his sudden come-up, being critiqued by Odd Future on MTV, why he’s not feeling Weezy and Kanye’s new music, and how he feels about being compared to the greats. Get familiar.

A new Action Bronson single is out now, a collaboration with UK producer The Purist called “Northern And Roozy.” Bronsolino may be my favorite rap personality of all time. I don’t know, at first when people told me to check him out, I wasn’t really feeling his tracks that much. Then, I watched a few of his interviews and freestyle videos on YouTube, and listened to his first album Dr. Lecter in the car all the way through, and now he’s like my favorite person to ever hold a mic. Plus, he’s nice as shit with the lyrics and flows, and picks dope beats. I’m a big fan, but I guess you already know that if you’re an avid Westcheddar reader. Stream his song below, which is perfect for the nice spring and summer weather that is upon us, and peep my Tanning Interview with him HERE if you missed it…

Also, this video is unbelievable! Watch Action Bronson perform live at a Princeton private house party over the weekend. Dude walks through the crowd as he raps, posing for pictures, lighting his long doobie in between verses, and even goes into the house at one point to grab some food. So much fun. Respect this man, he’s a beast…

Yes!

Another hip-hop legend from my generation gone way too soon. I won’t get into how much I idolized Adam Yauch aka MCA and The Beastie Boys as a kid growing up in New York. I’ll let the clip below do the talking. MCA, White Plains salutes you with this throwback video tribute…

RIP MCA

“Goldie” is probably the hottest new rap song in New York right now. A$AP Rocky and Hit-Boy (who produced Hov and ‘Ye’s “Niggas In Paris”) caught a body with this one. It’s a hit. The video is really well done too. Pretty crazy to see some kids who were probably chillin’ Uptown this time last year dreaming of rap stardom now filming videos under the Eiffel Tower…

Stream more new shit I’m feeling below from a collection of Westcheddar’s favorite rap artists old and new, including videos and audio from Nas, Action Bronson, Ghostface Killah and Sheek Louch, Sir Michael Rocks of The Cool Kids, Joey Bada$$, Denmark Vessey, The Kid Daytona and Jadakiss, and Maryland’s own Uno Hype (my first time posting this kid’s stuff, he’s dope)…

VIDEOS

Nas “The Don” (Official Video)

Denmark Vessey “They Schweepy” (Official Video)

Joey Bada$$ “BK Freestyle” (Video)

Capital STEEZ “Vibe Ratings” (Official Video)

Uno Hype “Train Of Thought” (Video)

Action Bronson “A Simple Man” (Audio)

Joey Bada$$ “World Domination” (Audio)

Uno Hype f/ Joey Bada$$ and CJ Fly “Aromatherapy”

Sir Michael Rocks “We Get High” (Audio)

The Kid Daytona f/ Jadakiss “Low (Remix)” (Audio)

 Ghostface Killah & Sheek Louch f/ Styles P “Shrooms” (Audio)

A lot of these new dudes are featured on the upcoming Westcheddar x Champion Sounds DJ ROZ mixtape Leaders of the New School. Keep an eye out for that later this month. One.

*Bonus*

Download Capital STEEZ AmeriKKKan Korruption (Mixtape)

Download Uno Hype x DJ Black Diamond FXCK THE HYPE (Mixtape)

Showbiz and A.G. have a new album coming out this year, Mugshot Music, and if you read Westcheddar on the reg, you already know I’m a fan of THIS SHIT. Well, Showbiz has a new instrumental album out now too, and the beat above off it, “The Cloth,” is crack. I love all the vintage DITC footage he pieced together for for the video too. Check it out. And below, peep some classic footage of Showbiz and A.G. with Dres from Black Sheep performing “Bounce Ta This” on In Living Color…

 Mugshot Music coming soon. Hear some tracks off it HERE. Holler….

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