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
), 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.
About.com
ranked Large Professor #5 on its Top 50 Hip-Hop Producers
list.
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 managed 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 featured Nas' first public appearance on a track
called "Live at the Barbeque", along with
Akinyele and Joe Fatal. In 1992, their
success allowed them 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:
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
Production
Vocal appearances
References
External links
Wikis
Quiz
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