Posted on 09/04/2008
“Queens represent, buy the album when I drop it.” It’s a sad but truly ironic fact that one of the most memorable and notable quotes from boom bap pioneer Large Professor references an album that never, in fact, officially saw the light of the day. Still, it would be an extreme error to dismiss Extra P’s career as a legacy stunted by label politics. A self-described ‘music dude’ in an industry full of hustlers, Large Pro is still doing his thing – even if the results come across as pretty damn anachronistic in 2008.

With Main Source, his latest album and also the name of the crew that the producer/rapper made his debut with in 1991 with Breaking Atoms, Extra P brings just the type of record fans might expect from him. It should go without saying that for hip hop purists who still bump East Coast-classics such as Midnight Marauders and Illmatic like they just came out, the beats on this album are pure heat. Sure, an entire record’s worth of sample-heavy production that sounds like it was culled from a 1993 beat-tape can lose its luster after a while, but for most heads the music here represents hip hop at its apex.

It’s on the rhyming tip that Large Pro falters on Main Source. While there are no true blunders throughout the course of the album, there aren’t any particularly engaging verses or stand-out moments either. Most hip-hop listeners are all for keeping with the spirit and ideologies of hip-hop’s early ‘90’s renaissance period – but when you sound like your style is just plain stuck in an era over a decade behind us, it’s a little more difficult to swallow. Extra P’s delivery rarely changes up from track to track, resulting in a very stagnant vibe throughout Main Source. And with a particular weakness for writing fluid hooks, a lot of these songs just feel incomplete.

It’s always a good thing to see foundational artists and producers continue to do their thing and not succumb to the trends and tendencies of our current ringtone era. But at the same time, it’d be nice to see what Large Pro would bring to the table with ingredients and influences from the past 15 years. Until that day happens, fans of that classic boom bap sound should be content (though not necessarily excited) by the music on Main Source.

- Sean Kantrowitz