Far be it for me to advocate the illegal downloading of entire albums, but when a record has been out of print for years and/or fetches ridiculously exorbitant sums on eBay, it’s fair game as far as I’m concerned. Granted, an .mp3 folder isn’t quite the same thing as a sealed original vinyl pressing, but in this day and age one takes what one can get. So when Angry Citizen recently sent me a link for the long-lost The LP (1996) from Queens’ Large Professor, I hardly had a crisis of conscience as I downloaded it immediately. I’ve been searching for a copy of this record for years, a key piece of the puzzle in my insatiable acquisition for All Things Mid-’90s NYC Hip Hop. Anyone who visits this site semi-regularly knows how crazy go over shit like this.

The story behind The LP is a sad but all-too-familiar one in the machinery of the major label record industry. After leaving Main Source in 1993, Large Professor aka Extra P began working on tracks for his upcoming solo debut, scheduled to be released sometime in ‘96 on Geffen. He even produced two promotional videos for the album, the laid-back party jam “Ijustwannachill” and the Premier-ish “The Mad Scientist.” Unfortunately, after an endless sucession of delays and arguments over the record’s musical relevancy (remember, the Jiggy era was on the cusp of radio domination then), Geffen decided to abandon the album, where it hibernated in their archives until Large Professor acquired the rights to the tapes in 2002. When Matador Records released his “official” debut First Class (2002) later that year, limited pressings of The LP were given away with online orders. To this day, it’s often regarded as nothing more than a bootleg or promotional giveaway, which tends to degrade its status as a key missing component of mid-’90s hip hop. And given the shameful state of neglect of Main Source’s back catalogue, it hardly comes as a surprise that mainstream hip hop listeners only recognize Large Professor as “that one dude on ‘Keep It Moving’ from Midnight Marauders (1993).”

All of this should not imply that The LP is a certifiable classic of Holy Grail-like proportions; it has its share of lulls and missteps, but it certainly deserves much wider recognition in today’s hip hop climate, and could justifyably be mentioned in the same breath as Gangstarr’s Hard to Earn (1994) or O.C.’s Word… Life (1994). Opener “Listen (Blast Off)” finds Large Pro spitting over a thumping boom-bap production with a casual intensity that few could match, and “For My People” supplements his occasional lack of verbal proficiency with a gorgeous late-night backing track complete with gentle horn stabs during the chorus. Lyrically, Extra P sticks to what he knows best for the duration of the album: phony and wack emcees, building up his rep, keeping it real, etc. The real treasure lies in his studio skills, which, while not revolutionary, are a flawless continuation of what the legendary Paul C taught him with the intricacies of the SP-1200. Each track is a mini-masterpiece of that classic raw hip hop sound that Large Pro influenced many of his contemporaries with, featuring snippets of jazz guitar, fluid keyboard licks, and loose, dirty drum loops. In fact, many of J Dilla’s roots can be traced back to what Large Professor was doing with the D.I.T.C., his work with Nas and Pete Rock & CL Smooth, and his contributions to the Ummah production team of A Tribe Called Quest.

“Hungry” is just that, a dexterous display of pure skills from the emcee over an irresistably head-nodding production. Large Professor’s one extended verse is solely in the vein of a top-of-the-dome freestyle, plentiful with quotable lines, and the opening volley “Bustin’ out the woodworks on all rap jerks” could only come from his pen. The beat is refreshing in its simpliciy, a repeated electric keyboard vamp with faint traces of an upright bass, both set to a mid-tempo drum loop.

“Hungry” – Large Professor 2:45 (The LP, unreleased 1996)

The real jewel of The LP, and the track that completists go wild for, is the Nas guest spot on “One Plus One.” Since “discovering the finest Queensbridge emcee the world has ever known” would be a valid bullet point on Large Pro’s résumé, it’s only natural that the young emcee take a break between Illmatic (1994) recording sessions to bless a track from his mentor with a verse that’s absolutely breathtaking. Following a brief intermission, Extra P lays down a respectable discourse, and then – the track fades abruptly. The truncated length of most of the selections here is easily the record’s weak point, but it’s doubly frustrating on a gem like this.

“One Plus One” – Large Professor feat. Nas 2:50 (The LP, unreleased 1996)

A link to the download can be found in the comments section of this post. Those disappointed by the languid First Class (and rightfully so) would do well to add The LP to their hard drives.