On this date in Hip Hop history, Main Source, which included DJs Sir Scratch, K-Cut, and rhyming extraordinaire and production master Large Professor, dropped their debut album Breaking Atoms in 1991 on Wild Pitch Records. It was also the final album of the original trio with the two Toronto DJs and the Corona. Queens emcee.
Breaking Atoms was also the first project where then Queensbridge Projects lyrical prodigy Nasir Jones akaNas, who appeared on the ever-classic “Live At The BBQ”. Other classic cuts from that album include the break-up story “Looking At The Front Door”, the never-ending issue of police brutality on “Just A Friendly Game Of Baseball” and the visually-driven “Just Hangin’ Out”. Originally given a four and a half mic rating, Breaking Atoms received the coveted Five Mics in The Source Magazine‘s commemorative 150th issue.
Salute to Extra P, Pete Rock, K-Cut and Sir Scratch for making this album an undisputed Hip Hop classic!
On this date three decades ago, Main Source, which included DJs Sir Scratch, K-Cut, and rhyming extraordinaire and production master Large Professor, dropped their debut album Breaking Atoms in 1991 on Wild Pitch Records. It was also the final album of the original trio with the two Toronto DJs and the Corona, Queens emcee.
Breaking Atoms was also the first project where then Queensbridge Projects lyrical prodigy Nasir Jones akaNas, who appeared on the ever-classic “Live At The BBQ”. Other classic cuts from that album include the break-up story “Looking At The Front Door”, the never-ending issue of police brutality on “Just A Friendly Game Of Baseball” and the visually-driven “Just Hangin’ Out”. Originally given a four and a half mic rating, Breaking Atoms received the coveted Five Mics in The Source Magazine‘s commemorative 150th issue.
Salute to Extra P, Pete Rock, K-Cut, and Sir Scratch for making this album an undisputed Hip Hop classic!
Queens, New York MC Truth has been rapping for more than half of his life and is influenced by the likes of Mobb Deep, Run-D.M.C., Nas, Kool G. Rap, A Tribe Called Quest, Organized Konfusion and other local legends that have played a significant role in shaping his style. While Truth’s art feeds off the Big Apple’s historic boom-bap sound, his aura stands for something that separates him from contemporary peers. Truth recently released his sophomore EP titled The Fight For Survival. The independent album consists of compelling lyrics and features from Ill Bill (of La Coka Nostra/Non-Phixion), Royal Flush, and Tragedy Khadafi (fka The Intelligent Hoodlum). He also has production from Da Beatminerz, Large Professor, and longtime personal DJ (and album executive producer) Blahzay Blahzay’s PF Cuttin. Large Professor Speaks About His Lost Tapes With Nas (Video) His new single “TNT (Truth & Tragedy)” features 30-plus-year Queens O.G. Tragedy Khadafi. DJ Doom originally produced the song, but the good people from Animal Military Records decided to drop a visual for the Extra P remix. Large Pro’s take also includes cuts from Rocksteady Crew’s own DJ JS-1. “TNT” takes listeners back to the essence, while JS-1’s creates a hook by mixing quotes from D.M.C., Q-Tip, LL Cool J, and Havoc. P’s Jazz sample and wide range of instrumentation sets the stage while Truth lyrically stands on his two feet while ending his verse with, “I’m an MC, peace to Shan / Started from park jams / It’s Queens tradition, y’all listen, but wouldn’t understand.” Tragedy Khadafi Says Marley Marl Did Him Dirty. His New Song Tells All (Audio Premiere) With direction by Tha Embassy Elite, the borough of Queens becomes the backdrop of “TNT.” The viewer may begin to reminisce about the good days of Video Music Box, Yo! MTV Raps, and Rap City when music videos were about the artists, the art, the DJ, the b-boy and not the glitz and glamor. The love of the culture, the five elements, and creating music is what drives Truth as an MC. He stands for something that makes the listeners pay attention to the reason why Hip-Hop was created in the first place. With the release of The Fight For Survival, Truth is hopeful that everything will come full circle again. D.I.T.C.’s O.C. Recreates The Year In Hip-Hop That Was 1988 In His New Video Along with being available on all streaming services, you can also purchase a vinyl copy of The Fight for Survival at Fat Beats. This month, Tragedy released Camouflage Regime with Jedi Mind Tricks’ front-man, Vinnie Paz. Press photograph provided by Truth.
Last year, Rap fans witnessed one of the most personal and ruthless lyrical exchanges in the mainstream. Pusha-T revived his beef with Drake on a large scale with “Infrared.” Within hours of the DAYTONA album-closer, Drake responded with “Duppy Freestyle.” That track mentioned Pusha’s then-fiancee (now his wife), Virginia Williams. That inclusion prompted Push’ to release “The Story Of Adidon,” a song that outed Drake as a “deadbeat dad,” prematurely revealed his multi-million Adidas deal, and verbally attacked his parents. As Drake would later tell Lebron James, the song crossed many lines. One of them was making light of producer Noah “40” Shebib’s life-threatening multiple sclerosis. Push’s lyrics suggested that the OVO leader may be perishing soon.
“We thrive off of competitive nature. Rap purists and people who just love confrontation love to say, ‘Man, there’s no rules in this sh*t.’ But there are f*cking rules in this sh*t,” Drake exclaimed last year as a guest on The Shop. “I study Rap [competition] for a living. Now when you mention defenseless people who are sick in the hospital that passed away, that really sent me to a place that I just believed then—and believe now that there’s just a price that you have to pay for that. It’s over. Someone’s gonna f*ckin’ punch you in the f*ckin’ face. The sh*t’s done; the event’s over. I wanted to do other things; I didn’t want to further your reputation or your career by rapping back at you and having this exchange.”
Large Professor is an artist who has avoided controversy throughout most of his 30-year-career. Apart from a few jabs at his former Main Source band-mates on A Tribe Called Quest’s “Keep It Rollin’,” the Queens, New Yorker has kept things low-profile and peaceful. However, in speaking with Vlad TV, he details the original, unreleased version of Nas’ 2001 song “Ether.” The Extra P reveals that for the final version, Nas pulled back on some bars that may have crossed some very personal and tender lines.
“I was there when Swizz [Beatz] did the original ‘Ether.’ Swizz did the original [version]. That’s the one [Nas] originally rhymed over,” Large Professor says at 1:00. “It was faster, and it was just a lot more noisier.” However, the sonic energy to the song was reportedly not a fit with Nas’ album theme. “I know Nas was trying to get a point [across]. He had a real stillness. That what’s ill is that that Stillmatic–there be deeper meanings to this sh*t. ‘Cause he was very still. You could hear, like ‘One Mic’ his rhyme is still. Then he breaks [into the crescendo]. People, they’re just thinking it’s a name [that pays homage to Illmatic]. Nas is like that, where he’ll take a word and build on that sh*t, and act on it.” Large Professor produced “You’re da Man” and “Rewind” on the platinum-certified album released at the end of 2001.
Vlad asks if the Swizz Beatz version of “Ether” featured the same lyrics Nas used on the album version. “[There were] little variations. I’m sure you heard of the ‘Dame Dash/Plane crash’ and all that sh*t with the rhymes and sh*t? [He basically said], I’m sorry Aaliyah; I’m sorry it was you in the plane crash, it should’ve been Jay and Dame Dash.” Vlad admits that he was unaware of this history. Large Professor shrugs that he’s hesitant to discuss any further, given that Nas and JAY-Z made peace in 2005. “Nah, it was a bunch of ’em—I don’t even wanna, ’cause they went through that. It was good.” DJ Vlad asks again about the carryover from the first version of the song. “He took the crux of that first one he did with Swizz and did a lil’ re-edit with the Ron Browz [produced] joint.”
“Ether” released in early December, approximately two weeks before Stillmatic. Aaliyah had died in a plane crash in the Bahamas less than four months earlier. At the time of her death, the 22-year-old singer was dating Damon “Dame” Dash, Jay’s manager who also co-founded Roc-A-Fella Records with the rapper as well as Kareem “Biggs” Burke. Nas had worked with Aaliyah on 1999’s “You Won’t See Me Tonight.”
As the discussion continues, Large Professor offers some commentary to the 2001 back-and-forth. “I didn’t like that sh*t at all, the ‘Super Ugly,’” he says of Jay’s response to “Ether.” Comparing “Ether” to Jay’s Blueprint inclusion, Extra P says that “The Takeover” is superior. Notably, he points to Hip-Hop pillar in breakin’, suggesting that Kanye West’s production is better at moving bodies than Ron Browz’ slow and dramatic beat.
The mother of one of Nas’ children, Carmen Bryan, was also involved. Jay boasted having a romantic affair with her in the disses, and leaving condoms in the baby-seat. Large Professor, who first introduced Nas and Carmen, calls that situation “messy” after Vlad plays a clip from his 2017 interview with her.
Vlad then mentions the 2005 armistice between the two rappers who had worked together alongside Shaquille O’Neal in 1996 on the mixtape version of “No Love Lost.” “I loved it, because I know the origin,” says the MC/producer/DJ. “Like, we were all on that tour [as JAY-Z rapped about on ‘Takeover’]. We were all humble at that time. Jay was on his mischievous street sh*t. That was the thing that was good: when Jay came out and he was talking that criminal mischief sh*t, I had actually seen inklings of that sh*t while we were on tour. Like him and Irv [Gotti] and them would dip off and sh*t, and then they’d come back and they’d have bags [and other luxury items]. So all that ‘What you doin’ on Pico with Frederico‘ sh*t was actually happening.” He says that it reminded him of Nas, who he had mentored since the demo record days. “To see them come through, their f*ckin’ backgrounds are so similar. It’s almost the same f*ckin’ story. Dogs, somebody gonna have to figure this sh*t out, ’cause y’all working together is better than y’all workin’ apart.”
Last year, Rap fans witnessed one of the most personal and ruthless lyrical exchanges in the mainstream. Pusha-T revived his beef with Drake on a large scale with “Infrared.” Within hours of the DAYTONA album-closer, Drake responded with “Duppy Freestyle.” That track mentioned Pusha’s then-fiancee (now his wife), Virginia Williams. That inclusion prompted Push’ to release “The Story Of Adidon,” a song that outed Drake as a “deadbeat dad,” prematurely revealed his multi-million Adidas deal, and verbally attacked his parents. As Drake would later tell Lebron James, the song crossed many lines. One of them was making light of producer Noah “40” Shebib’s life-threatening multiple sclerosis. Push’s lyrics suggested that the OVO leader may be perishing soon.
“We thrive off of competitive nature. Rap purists and people who just love confrontation love to say, ‘Man, there’s no rules in this sh*t.’ But there are f*cking rules in this sh*t,” Drake exclaimed last year as a guest on The Shop. “I study Rap [competition] for a living. Now when you mention defenseless people who are sick in the hospital that passed away, that really sent me to a place that I just believed then—and believe now that there’s just a price that you have to pay for that. It’s over. Someone’s gonna f*ckin’ punch you in the f*ckin’ face. The sh*t’s done; the event’s over. I wanted to do other things; I didn’t want to further your reputation or your career by rapping back at you and having this exchange.”
Large Professor is an artist who has avoided controversy throughout most of his 30-year-career. Apart from a few jabs at his former Main Source band-mates on A Tribe Called Quest’s “Keep It Rollin’,” the Queens, New Yorker has kept things low-profile and peaceful. However, in speaking with Vlad TV, he details the original, unreleased version of Nas’ 2001 song “Ether.” The Extra P reveals that for the final version, Nas pulled back on some bars that may have crossed some very personal and tender lines.
“I was there when Swizz [Beatz] did the original ‘Ether.’ Swizz did the original [version]. That’s the one [Nas] originally rhymed over,” Large Professor says at 1:00. “It was faster, and it was just a lot more noisier.” However, the sonic energy to the song was reportedly not a fit with Nas’ album theme. “I know Nas was trying to get a point [across]. He had a real stillness. That what’s ill is that that Stillmatic–there be deeper meanings to this sh*t. ‘Cause he was very still. You could hear, like ‘One Mic’ his rhyme is still. Then he breaks [into the crescendo]. People, they’re just thinking it’s a name [that pays homage to Illmatic]. Nas is like that, where he’ll take a word and build on that sh*t, and act on it.” Large Professor produced “You’re da Man” and “Rewind” on the platinum-certified album released at the end of 2001.
Vlad asks if the Swizz Beatz version of “Ether” featured the same lyrics Nas used on the album version. “[There were] little variations. I’m sure you heard of the ‘Dame Dash/Plane crash’ and all that sh*t with the rhymes and sh*t? [He basically said], I’m sorry Aaliyah; I’m sorry it was you in the plane crash, it should’ve been Jay and Dame Dash.” Vlad admits that he was unaware of this history. Large Professor shrugs that he’s hesitant to discuss any further, given that Nas and JAY-Z made peace in 2005. “Nah, it was a bunch of ’em—I don’t even wanna, ’cause they went through that. It was good.” DJ Vlad asks again about the carryover from the first version of the song. “He took the crux of that first one he did with Swizz and did a lil’ re-edit with the Ron Browz [produced] joint.”
“Ether” released in early December, approximately two weeks before Stillmatic. Aaliyah had died in a plane crash in the Bahamas less than four months earlier. At the time of her death, the 22-year-old singer was dating Damon “Dame” Dash, Jay’s manager who also co-founded Roc-A-Fella Records with the rapper as well as Kareem “Biggs” Burke. Nas had worked with Aaliyah on 1999’s “You Won’t See Me Tonight.”
As the discussion continues, Large Professor offers some commentary to the 2001 back-and-forth. “I didn’t like that sh*t at all, the ‘Super Ugly,’” he says of Jay’s response to “Ether.” Comparing “Ether” to Jay’s Blueprint inclusion, Extra P says that “The Takeover” is superior. Notably, he points to Hip-Hop pillar in breakin’, suggesting that Kanye West’s production is better at moving bodies than Ron Browz’ slow and dramatic beat.
The mother of one of Nas’ children, Carmen Bryan, was also involved. Jay boasted having a romantic affair with her in the disses, and leaving condoms in the baby-seat. Large Professor, who first introduced Nas and Carmen, calls that situation “messy” after Vlad plays a clip from his 2017 interview with her.
Vlad then mentions the 2005 armistice between the two rappers who had worked together alongside Shaquille O’Neal in 1996 on the mixtape version of “No Love Lost.” “I loved it, because I know the origin,” says the MC/producer/DJ. “Like, we were all on that tour [as JAY-Z rapped about on ‘Takeover’]. We were all humble at that time. Jay was on his mischievous street sh*t. That was the thing that was good: when Jay came out and he was talking that criminal mischief sh*t, I had actually seen inklings of that sh*t while we were on tour. Like him and Irv [Gotti] and them would dip off and sh*t, and then they’d come back and they’d have bags [and other luxury items]. So all that ‘What you doin’ on Pico with Frederico‘ sh*t was actually happening.” He says that it reminded him of Nas, who he had mentored since the demo record days. “To see them come through, their f*ckin’ backgrounds are so similar. It’s almost the same f*ckin’ story. Dogs, somebody gonna have to figure this sh*t out, ’cause y’all working together is better than y’all workin’ apart.”
Nas typically keeps it strictly business when it comes to his social media usage so when he does take a moment to pause and get personal, it is notably with intention. On Thursday (March 21), the prolific MCtook to Instagram to wish Large Professor and DJ Premier a happy birthday, thanking both Illmaticproducers for playing integral mentorship roles early on in his career, respectively. The Queens, New York native then reflected on meeting Large Professor when he was only 17 years old, going on to big up the veteran producer for showing him how to “properly lay vocals” and help him structure songs, to name a few cherished lessons.
During a newly-released interview with VladTV, Large Professor returns the nostalgic sentiment, discussing how he first crossed paths with a then-aspiring MC through Joe Fatal. Their meeting was clearly destined, with all three collaborating on Main Source’s iconic track, “Live At The Barbeque.” The song, which also introduced Akinyele, appeared on the album Breaking Atoms, doubled as Nas’ first-ever appearance on wax.
“Joe Fatal was like the street, the connect, you know what I’m saying. He’s Uptown, Downtown, all around, you know kind of thing,” Large reflected at the 2:00 mark. “Me and Joe Fatal are like childhood friends, like five years old type-sh*t in Flushing, so he moved away and then when he came back, he was this Long Island City, Queensbridge dude now. Like yo, man, I be out in Queensbridge, I got [Tragedy Khadafi], I’ma bring Trag’ through. It was like ‘Word you make beats? Aight, aight.’ He click-clacked everything with me and Nas.”
After touching on how Joe Fatal (who also raps on “Live At The Barbeque”) initially introduced him to Nas, the conversation shifted to the nature of their early collaborations and the material they worked on at the beginning of their now-decades long friendship.
“Fatal was like, we’re going to record a demo, so we went to Coney Island and they came and picked me up from school,” he shared. “I was bringing the drum machine to school type-sh*t. So it was like we’re going to meet up after and go… We had tons of demos.”
Vlad asks what happened to these tapes. “They are somewhere out there,” Extra P says, revealing an exciting gem about their very existence. “That’s the crazy thing about it. I think Nas has the tapes. I think once the bread was good, he was like, ‘Yo, I secured them tapes.’ I remember him telling me that one time. They are somewhere out in the world.” However, P also suggests that some of those early ’90s rhymes were recycled other places. “The thing with good artists, you’ve probably heard some of them rhymes, ’cause dudes be doin’ the mix-or-clicks on rhymes.” On subsequent editions of Illmatic, Nas—who co-owns Mass Appeal Records—has released songs such as “I’m A Villain,” along with alternate mixes of his 1994 cuts.
Next, the veteran producer/MC/DJ waxes poetic on how he realized from the jump that Nas was fated to do some incredible things for the culture at large, even years prior to dropping his seminal classic, 1994’s Illmatic.
“I always knew. I went through so many stages of Hip-Hop and life to be confident enough to know what it was. This is it,” he explained. “Ain’t no question about that. You go through enough to know, that’s that sh*t. Whenever I heard Nas, I’d be like, nah he’s ill. He’s going to be big.”
From referring to Nas’ lyrical prowess as “the beginning of shock rap,” in how it made a person react strongly and revisit what he spit in order to process the meaning, to explaining how he connected with the MC due to his humble nature, Large Professor is among those from Queens who experienced firsthand how “the Borough was peaking with pride” when the legendary rapper began solidifying his path in Hip-Hop.
“Nas was humble. He’d always say some out of the ordinary sh*t, you know what I’m saying. I’ll always say that. He’d always say something out of the ordinary but then he’d say something cool and humble,” he noted. “‘I sip the Dom P, watchin’ Gandhi.’ There’s no knucklehead-ass kid out there in the street, you know, watching Gandhi. You know there’s a peaceful part of him; he’s got the patience to watch Gandhi but he’s getting twisted on some hood sh*t. It was things like that.”
Given their past work together, as well as their ability to still inspire one another all these years later, it goes without saying that these two are not only proud of what they’ve accomplished together, but extremely grateful for the opportunity to share such historic experiences together.
#BonusBeat: Part 1 of Vlad’s conversation with the Extra P:
Nas typically keeps it strictly business when it comes to his social media usage so when he does take a moment to pause and get personal, it is notably with intention. On Thursday (March 21), the prolific MCtook to Instagram to wish Large Professor and DJ Premier a happy birthday, thanking both Illmaticproducers for playing integral mentorship roles early on in his career, respectively. The Queens, New York native then reflected on meeting Large Professor when he was only 17 years old, going on to big up the veteran producer for showing him how to “properly lay vocals” and help him structure songs, to name a few cherished lessons.
During a newly-released interview with VladTV, Large Professor returns the nostalgic sentiment, discussing how he first crossed paths with a then-aspiring MC through Joe Fatal. Their meeting was clearly destined, with all three collaborating on Main Source’s iconic track, “Live At The Barbeque.” The song, which also introduced Akinyele, appeared on the album Breaking Atoms, doubled as Nas’ first-ever appearance on wax.
“Joe Fatal was like the street, the connect, you know what I’m saying. He’s Uptown, Downtown, all around, you know kind of thing,” Large reflected at the 2:00 mark. “Me and Joe Fatal are like childhood friends, like five years old type-sh*t in Flushing, so he moved away and then when he came back, he was this Long Island City, Queensbridge dude now. Like yo, man, I be out in Queensbridge, I got [Tragedy Khadafi], I’ma bring Trag’ through. It was like ‘Word you make beats? Aight, aight.’ He click-clacked everything with me and Nas.”
After touching on how Joe Fatal (who also raps on “Live At The Barbeque”) initially introduced him to Nas, the conversation shifted to the nature of their early collaborations and the material they worked on at the beginning of their now-decades long friendship.
“Fatal was like, we’re going to record a demo, so we went to Coney Island and they came and picked me up from school,” he shared. “I was bringing the drum machine to school type-sh*t. So it was like we’re going to meet up after and go… We had tons of demos.”
Vlad asks what happened to these tapes. “They are somewhere out there,” Extra P says, revealing an exciting gem about their very existence. “That’s the crazy thing about it. I think Nas has the tapes. I think once the bread was good, he was like, ‘Yo, I secured them tapes.’ I remember him telling me that one time. They are somewhere out in the world.” However, P also suggests that some of those early ’90s rhymes were recycled other places. “The thing with good artists, you’ve probably heard some of them rhymes, ’cause dudes be doin’ the mix-or-clicks on rhymes.” On subsequent editions of Illmatic, Nas—who co-owns Mass Appeal Records—has released songs such as “I’m A Villain,” along with alternate mixes of his 1994 cuts.
Next, the veteran producer/MC/DJ waxes poetic on how he realized from the jump that Nas was fated to do some incredible things for the culture at large, even years prior to dropping his seminal classic, 1994’s Illmatic.
“I always knew. I went through so many stages of Hip-Hop and life to be confident enough to know what it was. This is it,” he explained. “Ain’t no question about that. You go through enough to know, that’s that sh*t. Whenever I heard Nas, I’d be like, nah he’s ill. He’s going to be big.”
From referring to Nas’ lyrical prowess as “the beginning of shock rap,” in how it made a person react strongly and revisit what he spit in order to process the meaning, to explaining how he connected with the MC due to his humble nature, Large Professor is among those from Queens who experienced firsthand how “the Borough was peaking with pride” when the legendary rapper began solidifying his path in Hip-Hop.
“Nas was humble. He’d always say some out of the ordinary sh*t, you know what I’m saying. I’ll always say that. He’d always say something out of the ordinary but then he’d say something cool and humble,” he noted. “‘I sip the Dom P, watchin’ Gandhi.’ There’s no knucklehead-ass kid out there in the street, you know, watching Gandhi. You know there’s a peaceful part of him; he’s got the patience to watch Gandhi but he’s getting twisted on some hood sh*t. It was things like that.”
Given their past work together, as well as their ability to still inspire one another all these years later, it goes without saying that these two are not only proud of what they’ve accomplished together, but extremely grateful for the opportunity to share such historic experiences together.
New York rapper Nas views DJ Premier and Large Professor as much more than legendary producers. God’s Son hit up social media to salute the two rap pioneers.
Nasir Jones hopped on Instagram Thursday to acknowledge Premier and Professor on their born days.
The Good People are two Hip-Hop purists. Together, DJ/MC Emskee and producer/MC The Saint make music with throwback sensibilities that refuses to pander. The music feels good, is accessible and it sounds really good. That is especially true of Good For Nuthin’, the just-released LP that features Large Professor, M.O.P.’s Lil Fame, Brand Nubian’s Sadat X, the Cella Dwellas, and Kool DJ Red Alert.
Their fourth album follows a trajectory of limited edition vinyl releases, label partnerships, and past collaborations with Prince Po, JR & PH7, and others.
Well, it took more than a half decade to record their proper follow-up to 2012’s Gone For Good, but on January 15 this twosome shared their fourth album, Good For Nuthin’, and was it was worth the wait. They clearly took their time putting this LP together. From the head-nodding beats that are so much more than just simple loops (listen to the vibraphone solo on “Get Up” for reference), to the lyrical fitness, to the uplifting messages, it’s obvious this was a labor of love for these two grown-up B-Boys. The guest line-up here also illustrates that they respect good Hip-Hop from any era.
On “Self Destruct” The Good People straight up channel B.D.P., while on “This Far” they tackle the ridiculous state of the music industry with the Cella Dwellas help, and “Mahalia” is full of social commentary that should be mandatory listening in schools. Regardless of how dope those joints are, the pinnacle of this offering are the two celebrations of Hip-Hop music and culture, “Headphones” (with captivating production) and “Off The Block.” The former, a video single (embedded below), captures the listening experience that has connected so many of us to great music amid challenging times.
The Good People are two Hip-Hop purists. Together, DJ/MC Emskee and producer/MC The Saint make music with throwback sensibilities that refuses to pander. The music feels good, is accessible and it sounds really good. That is especially true of Good For Nuthin’, the just-released LP that features Large Professor, M.O.P.’s Lil Fame, Brand Nubian’s Sadat X, the Cella Dwellas, and Kool DJ Red Alert.
Their fourth album follows a trajectory of limited edition vinyl releases, label partnerships, and past collaborations with Prince Po, JR & PH7, and others.
Well, it took more than a half decade to record their proper follow-up to 2012’s Gone For Good, but on January 15 this twosome shared their fourth album, Good For Nuthin’, and was it was worth the wait. They clearly took their time putting this LP together. From the head-nodding beats that are so much more than just simple loops (listen to the vibraphone solo on “Get Up” for reference), to the lyrical fitness, to the uplifting messages, it’s obvious this was a labor of love for these two grown-up B-Boys. The guest line-up here also illustrates that they respect good Hip-Hop from any era.
On “Self Destruct” The Good People straight up channel B.D.P., while on “This Far” they tackle the ridiculous state of the music industry with the Cella Dwellas help, and “Mahalia” is full of social commentary that should be mandatory listening in schools. Regardless of how dope those joints are, the pinnacle of this offering are the two celebrations of Hip-Hop music and culture, “Headphones” (with captivating production) and “Off The Block.” The former, a video single (embedded below), captures the listening experience that has connected so many of us to great music amid challenging times.
