Paul Sea (2019)
Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.
Large Professor's debut release was not something I was able to listen to during the golden era of hip hop. Even if I had wanted to, it was shelved by Geffen before its expected release in 1995 or 1996. That said, even if it had been released in 1995, there's a better than average chance I would never had heard it as I was well removed from what was going on in hip hop by then. Luckily for the world, this lost classic was finally released back in 2009 and luckily for me, it was rereleased again in 2019 on silver vinyl for its 10 year anniversary.
If I had heard this record in 1992 or 1993, there's no question in my mind that I would have been a huge fan. The beats are classic golden era style with rumbling bass and upbeat tempos. The lyrics are dynamic with innovative rhyme structures. If anything, I can almost understand why the record might have been shelved as by 1995 this style of hip hop, the one that I always connected with the most, was quickly becoming a thing of the past. The commercial direction or rap music didn't really have many records that sounded like this anymore.
I really dig it. Of course it's recommended for Main Source fans as that's the group Large Professor was in and is likely best known for. But if you haven't been paying as much attention to hip hop since the glory days, it's probable this reissue may have passed under your radar as it did mine in 2009. It's the perfect kind of throwback. Something new to listen to that sounds like the older records that I love so much.
The Large Professor - The LP (YouTube music playlist):
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kPX4n5J48sV-WsiTbkhN4THwbACyQTW6w
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