Large Professor: Revolve Around Science

By Jerry L. Barrow

“I would come out of Lefrak with duffle bags full of records…” - Large Professor

He studied at the feet of a master and became one of the most influential beatsmiths in hip-hop. William Paul Mitchell, aka, Large Professor is the quintessential hip-hop producer; low-key, humble and continually making magic behind the scenes. His discography reads like a who’s who of hip-hop. As a member of the group Main Source he crafted classics like “Lookin’ At The Front Door,” “Live at The BBQ” and “Fakin The Funk.” As a producer he made legendary MCs like Rakim, Kool G Rap and Nas achieve their greatness and as a solo artist he’s given us two collectible solo albums, The LP and 1st Class.

After releasing two volumes of instrumentals the Queens,NY native is releasing a new CD of original beats and rhymes appropriately titled, Main Source on September 30th. Taking things back to the break-beat foundation the CD features guest appearances from Styles P, AZ, Jeru The Damaja and Big Noyd with a lush collection of chopped soul and pulsating ear candy. I caught up with Extra P to talk about the Late Paul C, teaching Q-Tip how how to make beats why Nas doesn’t like “wearing the same sneakers.”

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Apple Juice Kid Working With Camp Lo

Beat Battle Champion The Apple Juice Kid has taken his road show into the studio. The North Carolina based producer/drummer has formed a group with Camp-Lo’s Geechie Suede and has several co-productions in the works with Ski Beats. During a recent stop in NYC I caught up with the funky percussionist, who I profiled in the print version of Hydrosonics many years ago, and he shared his lessons on working with managers like Tony Perez being an up-and-coming producer in the industry.

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Keep checking back to Nodfactor for a feature length interview with the Apple Juice Kid.

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Busta Rhymes and Q-Tip at Knitting Factory

If you got into the free show at the Knitting factory you were treated to a nice surprise. Shout out to Ms. Info., Mike Fresh and Nahright for the vid…

The Knitting Factory
74 Leonard St. (b/t Church and Broadway)
NEW YORK, NY 10013

Related Stories:
Do The Knowledge: Q-Tip and Black Ivory

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Illmind and Dub MD Present “Blaps, Rhymes & Life”

“Blaps, Rhymes & Life” is the exclusive new mixtape project from Dub MD and one of the most accomplished producers in Hip Hop, Illmind. A producer that balances both the mainstream and underground successfully, working with a full spectrum of artists from Heltah Skeltah to 50 Cent, Little Brother to Black Eyed Peas, the list goes on. This new project features some of the artists Illmind has been working closely with over the past year or so including the likes of 50 Cent, LL Cool J, Heltah Skeltah, Skyzoo and many more.

Download it HERE.

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Video Interview: Soul Diggaz, Pt. 1

If she’s fine and she sings, chances are the Soul Diggaz have laced her with a beat. Newark, NJ’s production trio of K-Mack, Bless and singer/song writer Corte Ellis have amassed a highly respectable discography that includes Beyonce (“What’s It Gonna Be”) Britney Spears (“Naked”) Fantasia (“Bump What Ya Friends Say”) Brooke Valentine (“Cover Girl”) Tweet (“Sports, Sex and Food”) as well as a Gap commercial featuring Madonna and Corte’s cousin, Missy Elliot.

Nodfactor.com went out to their studio in The Bricks to talk about their beginnings in production and to get some beat tips. In this first clip they offer advice to up-and-coming producers and why they think P. Diddy is a genius.

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Black Milk Releasing Third Solo, Tronic

25-year old Black Milk, the accomplished producer, MC, and vanguard of Detroit’s rising hip-hop scene will be releasing his third solo album TRONIC on October 28, 2008 through Fat Beats Records.

Produced entirely by Black Milk and featuring only three guest verses on the entire album (from Pharoahe Monch, Royce Da 5’9″, and Sean Price), TRONIC shows Black Milk flexing his solo production and emcee skills through tracks that are more expressive and daring than his previous works. The album is a departure from the soul-sample driven sounds of 2007′s Popular Demand, as Black employs more live instrumentation, embraces the use of both vintage and modern synthesizers, and explores more orchestral song structure. Without abandoning his trademark Detroit hip-hop sound, he shows growth as an artist while clearly attempting to raise the bar as a pioneer of future hip-hop music. The album also features a short list of diverse players and vocalists including Dwele, rising YouTube star and new Universal Motown signee Colin Munroe, and the legendary DJ Premier who each add their signature creative nuances and textures to Black Milk’s sound.

In only a few short years, Black Milk quickly has become one of underground hip-hop’s foremost ambassadors. Realizing his vast reservoir of talent, both independent and mainstream artists looked to Black to give their albums a raw underground sound. Black has since produced and appeared on tracks for an impressive roster of hip hop artists including Genius/GZA, Busta Rhymes, Pharoahe Monch, Kidz in the Hall, Kardinal Offishall, Guilty Simpson, and Strange Fruit Project, among others. Most recently, Black released two albums, The Set Up with Fat Ray, Black Milk Presents Caltroit with Bishop Lamont. Black also handed nearly all the production on elZhi’s The Preface, an album that is making many critics’ Top 10 lists for 2008 and bringing serious attention to Detroit’s music scene. Black also produces and rhymes as a member of the ground Random Axe with Sean Price and Guilty Simpson and will release a full-length album in early 2009. TRONIC will be released on CD, vinyl, and digitally on October 28, 2008.

TRONIC track listing and credits:

1. Long Story Short ft. Dwele

2. Bounce

3. Give The Drummer Su

4. Without U ft. Colin Munroe

5. Hold It Down

6. Losing Out ft. Royce da 5’9

7. Hell Yeah ft. Fat Ray

8. Overdose

9. Reppin For U ft. AB

10. The Matrix ft. Pharoahe Monch, Sean Price, & DJ Premier

11. Try

12. Tronic Summe

13. Bond 4 Life ft. Melanie Rutherford

14. Elec (OUTRO)

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Diamond D Coming with Huge Hefner Chronicles on Babygrande

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Legendary Producer/MC/DJ Diamond D, constituent of the seminal
collective D.I.T.C. (also included Fat Joe, Big L. & more), has signed
a multi-album deal with renowned indie Babygrande Records. His
inaugural release with the label will be October 14th’s The Huge
Hefner Chronicles, Diamond’s third official release and first
offering in 3+ years.

A classic and respected talent, Diamond D got his start as a member
of D.I.T.C., but soon parlayed this success into a thriving solo
career, which included the release of the widely regarded classic
Stunts Blunts & Hip-Hop in 1992. His second solo offering, 1997′s
Hatred, Passions & Infidelity,”featured appearances from such A-list
luminaries as Busta Rhymes, Phife Dawg, Pete Rock & more.

Over the years, aside from independently releasing his subsequent two
LP’s, Diamond has remained an active participant behind the boards,
having contributed his trademark style to some of the most iconic
records in hip-hop history including The Fugees’ The Score, A
Tribe Called Quest’s The Low End Theory, as well as releases by Mos
Def, Pharoahe Monch & many more.

With The Huge Hefner Chronicles,”Diamond returns to form, with a
record that recalls the nostalgic stylings of the “golden age,” while
maintaining a contemporary sensibility accessible to the modern day
hip-hop head.

This duality of form is on full display on the first single from the
forthcoming LP, entitled “D-I-A-M-O-N-D.” A vicious head-nodder, the
track instantly explodes into a “golden-age” inflected beat,
produced by none other than the infamous beat maestro Nottz
(Notorious B.I.G., Busta Rhymes, Method Man, Scarface, J Dilla,
Snoop Dogg & more). Diamond answers with the lyrical fluidity that
only a vet of his stature can offer. “D-I-A-M-O-N-D” is the
feel-good back-to-school jam that hits the sweet spot for both
purists and modern day heads alike. Listen right here!

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Hydrosonics: Guilty J

Name: Guilty J

Age:17

Repping:The United Kingdom

Contact: Myspace.com/GuiltyJ

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Nodfactor: Your mixtape resume looks pretty nice. Which songs did you produce for Papoose, LOTUG, etc.?
Guilty J: I did some work on one of my boys DJ Flipcyide’s mixtapes which featured tracks from Papoose, LOTUG, Fat Joe etc. I don’t actually remember the name of the tape it was quite a long time ago, it was one of the first mixtapes i was involved with.
Nodfactor ok. I read that you got started in production with the help of a local DJ. Who was that and what equipment did he let you use?
Guilty J: Yeah that was actually my sister’s boyfriend who got me started with music, he does a lot of DJing in my hometown and also in cities like London and Cambridge. He got into making beats and gave me a copy of Reason to play around with and I got hooked. This was about 5 years ago.
Nodfactor: Interesting. so you were like 12?
Guilty J: Yeah 12 or 13, def got an early start. I was running studio sessions and sending out contracts by the time i was 15.
Nodfactor: What did you like about the Reason program that made you so good with it?
Guilty J: Well at the time i started i didn’t really know anything else existed, i didn’t know anything about music. So i just learned to work with Reason and became really comfortable with it. My set up has expanded and matured a lot over the years but i still use Reason a lot, it’s a beast. Although it has its limitations such as no audio recording and no VST support, it’s a great all-in-one machine and you can do a lot with it if you know what you’re doing.
Nodfactor: For real. What have you added to your set-up since then?
Guilty J: I’m a bit of a gear slut so i’ve been through a lot of equipment over the years(laughs). In my studio right now though i got a Roland MV-8000, an Akai S950, a Numark turntable, an Edirol midi controller, Adobe Audition 3.0 and then obviously Reason 4.0. I do a lot of recording as well so i got a Rode NT1A mic which i love, i run that through a Yamaha console which has great pre-amps for the price. And then i mix on a pair of Fostex monitors which i’ve had for a long time, i’m looking to upgrade soon. I think that covers everything.
Nodfactor: That is a nice set up. How did you get people to trust your production and mixing abilities at such a relatively young age?
Guilty J: That’s a good question. I’m just myself ya know, i’m serious about what i do and i guess people see and respect that. I also have a lot of confidence in what i do and the way i work so when people see me in the studio and they see i know what i’m doing, the age thing is irrelevant. And of course having a good end result always helps.
Nodfactor: Do you have you had any formal training with mixing and mastering?
Guilty J: I actually picked up most of what i know myself through reading books and websites and trial and error. I went to college to do Music Technology when i was 16 but i dropped out before i finished the course, the facilities were great but the things they were teaching i either already knew or didn’t apply to me, so i felt like i was wasting time being there when i could be out there grinding and getting my career started.
Nodfactor: Have you participated in any beat battles in the UK?
Guily J: I’ve actually never entered or even been to a beat battle. It’s something i would definetly wanna do in the future though. I’ve seen videos of these battles they have and it looks crazy, just a bunch of dudes havin fun with their music, that’s what it’s all about!
Nodfactor: Definitely. what are you working on these days? are you in the studio with anyone we know?
Guilty J: Right now my main focus is finishing up Arkatak’s album, he’s a pretty well known artist down in El Paso, TX. I’ve produced the whole thing, we got about 13 finished tracks ready to go, we’re just working on a couple more cuts to finish it off. The album is called “Easier Done Than Said” and we’ll have a release date soon. The tracks we’ve leaked so far have been well received so we’re really happy about that. I’m also working on shit for Big Lou’s new mixtape, my boy City Haze, an artist from Boston called DC, Sha Stimuli, Kool G Rap and a few others. Shit’s kinda hectic right now tryina keep on top of everything.
Nodfactor: Oh wow, Kool G Rap? How did you link up with him?
Guilty J: I hooked up with G through Domingo. Domingo’s cool peoples, not to mention a dope producer. Nothing is confirmed yet, i haven’t heard any of the songs back, but a placement with Kool G Rap would def be a huge milestone for me, i mean that guy is a legend.
Nodfactor: Domingo is definitely a friend of the site. How did you meet him?
Guilty J: Yeah i actually got in contact with Domingo by tryina holla at Rass Kass. I sent him some beats forgetting he was incarcerated and Domingo was holding down his business while he’s inside. We chopped it up for a minute and he told me to send some beats through for for G’s album.
Nodfactor: the stuff you did for the mixtapes, did you make beats for acapellas or did they record to your beats?
Guilty J:I’ve done both. I defintely prefer working with an artist and creating something together. But remixing can be fun too so if i have an opportunity to do that then i’m all over it, especially if i can improve on the original song.
Nodfactor: What is your favorite beat so far and how did u make it?
Guilty J: Wow that’s a tough question, I’ve never really thought about it. I think my favourite song i’ve produced is a track I’m working on right now with Big Lou. It’s pretty simple, I looped up a creepy sounding piano sample i found and added some hard drums and a bassline which make up the verses, then I brought in some synths and strings and brass for the hook and chopped up an old Jadakiss vocal. It’s not my most impressive beat by any means but it has something about it I like. Plus with Big Lou on it? It’s a wrap.

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Video Interview: Pharoahe Monch

In this Nodfactor.com exclusive Pharoahe Monch speaks about his own production techniques and the influence of other producers like Large Professor, Denaun Porter and the late Paul C. And did he really pass on the “Time’s Up” beat? Click to find out!

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DJ Revolution, King of The Decks In Stores Tomorrow

Yup, I’m grinding today. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have time to spread some good news. DJ Revolution’s King of The Decks hits stores tomorrow so make sure you got out and support! Check this clip of him at his home studio courtesy of Hard Knock TV.

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