Large Professor with J-Live, Tableek (of Maspyke), and DJ Rec1ne

116 Pleasant Street,Easthampton MA 01027

29 April, 2023

Description

“Out in Queens, Flushing to be exact”: As one of Harlem’s most style-defining hip hop producers and lyricists, Large Professor has shaped an era of NYC rap like few others. Starting out under the wings of the late, great Ultramagnetic producer Paul C, young Extra P went from crafting pause tapes in his bedroom to professional studio production in no time. Main Source, the band he rose through the ranks with, scored a label deal with Wild Pitch Records and released a classic debut album, Breaking Atoms. In ’92, the same year that saw Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson shoot hoops to Main Source’s “Fakin’ the Funk,” Large Pro hipped his long-time digging partner Pete Rock to the Tom Scott sax sample that became the all-time classic “T.R.O.Y..” Besides his solo works and guest productions for the likes of Slick Rick, Rakim, Akinyele and many more, Large Pro played a crucial role in the career of one Nasir Jones. After formulating a first, awe-inspiring claim to fame as a teenager on Main Source’s “Live At The BBQ,” Nas and Large Professor continued to work on Illmatic, and maintained a collaborative friendship throughout their respective careers. After completion of his English degree from SUNY Albany, J-Live became a middle school Language Arts teacher in Brownsville and Bushwick, Brooklyn. He later left teaching for the full time pursuit of his hip-hop career. J-Live first appeared on the underground hip-hop scene in 1995, when he was a freshman English major at the University at Albany, The State University of New York. His first single "Longevity" appeared on Mark Farina's Mushroom Jazz CD, and follow-up singles "Braggin' Writes" and "Hush the Crowd" garnered widespread attention, getting him printed in the "Unsigned Hype" section of The Source. This led to a record contract with Raw Shack Records. His first album, “The Best Part”, recorded from 1995 to 1999, featured production by Prince Paul, DJ Premier, and Pete Rock. Due to problems with his record label, J-Live left the label and the album was shelved. He moved to Payday Records, but when Payday's parent company London Records was bought from Universal Music Group by WEA, the album was again shelved. In 2001, copies surfaced as bootlegs and several were of such high quality it was rumored that J-Live himself was behind them. By the fall of 2001, “The Best Part” was finally officially released after five years of label problems. It was released on Triple Threat Productions, J-Live's own record label. In 2002 his second album, “All of the Above” was released on the label, Coup D'état. It featured production by DJ Spinna, Usef Dinero, P Smoova and J-Live himself. In 2003 J-Live simultaneously released two EPs: “Always Has Been” was a collection of J-Live's six early singles which did not appear on any of his albums and “Always Will Be” consisted of 8 new songs. Both EPs were released on the label, Triple Threat Productions. His third LP, “The Hear After” was released in 2005 on the label, Penalty (Ryko), and was followed in 2007 with another EP, “Reveal the Secret”, and an LP entitled “Then What Happened?” in 2008, both from BBE Records, and “Undivided Attention” [EP] 2010 and “S.P.T.A. (Said Person of That Ability)” in 2011. In 2014, J-Live's 10th release and 6th full length album, "Around The Sun" marks yet another growth spurt for the indie hip hop veteran. "Around The Sun features a smooth yet gritty OG boom bap New York sound. It's a cohesive work of art, but still an eclectic listen with a wide range of production by Oddisee, Korede, DJ Spinna, DJ Numark of Jurassic 5, The Audible Doctor, Illastrate and J-Live. "Around the Sun also features Homeboy Sandman, Tanya Morgan, Boog Brown, Ekundayo and Rome Supreme.