Man, Did I Really Buy That?

Yes that is the question u ask urself when u buy a LP that u thought was dope but its turn out to be doo-doo. During the golden era, u had to go out and buy the LP's. No such thing as internet or downloading or etc. You only had The Source, Rap Pages, Rap City & Yo! MTV Raps. Those was ur source of info for LP's coming out, then after that the decision was yours.
One of my favorite blogs to check out: Unkut, recently had a topic about this same discussion. And it was greatly well written. But the responses people posted was insane. People is puttin down LP's that to me are classics and they are sayin that its wack!! Like Jay Z's In My Lifetime Vol 1?!!? Are u kiddin me? Nas' Nastradamus & It Was Written? You jokin right??!!! Plus many others. If people out there think that these LP's are wack, i dont know what the hell is goin on!
Now its time to post your opinion, what LP's u bought during the golden era u thought was gonna be dope but end up being wack? Let it be known in the comments box!

Here's five for me that I can remember:

1. Canibus- Can-i-bus: Back in '98 this man had mad hype surrounding him. His rhymes was crazy and fierce, plus he was holdin his own against LL (until LL came back with The Ripper Strikes Back). Now i didnt like him when he was on Wyclef's "Gone til November", i hate that record. But he got me open on LL's "4,3,2,1", then the "2nd Rd TKO" blew him fast! I even bought the single with a dope B-side track on there that i cant remember right now, i think its called "Wildest niggas" or somethin like that. Then he dropped his 2nd single which was "Honor U", i thought it was OK with great topics he was spittin. But i was waitin for that LP to drop, and when it did i was dumbfounded. But i fooled myself cause i failed to realize that he was runnin wit Wyclef. And he dont know nothin about handlin a MC like him and pickin out beats. That was just a sad ending to a upcoming beginning.

2. Mase- Double Up: Cmon people, we all know how Mase came and blew up the game. So when i heard in early '99 that his 2nd LP was gonna drop i couldnt wait! I was thinkin that if this LP sounded anything like his 1st one this would be too good to be true. But there was a little hint that happened before the LP dropped that bad things were coming. Mase presents.... Harlem World. Man this LP was striaght trash, i thought that by him teamin up with Jermaine Dupri on this project thing would be OK. Boy was i mistaken. So couple of months after that, Mase's 1st single for Double Up drops, "Get Ready" with Blackstreet. Now i thought that this track was pretty nice. U gotta love the intro to the track, "i doing like im doing it cause im doing for tv!" So now im thinkin OK this LP is gonna be nice....... Wrong again. This time though i was stunned cause i thought Mase cant go out like this. And he did cause he retired right after that. Not a good exit plan.

3. AZ- Pieces Of A Man: AZ was and still is my nigga, but this LP was very dissapointing. But i dont think it was his fault. Certain songs didnt cleared and some songs didnt make the cut. I was hooked on gettin this LP once i heard "Hey AZ" with SWV. At that time that song was my shit!! I loved how he took that Mariah Carey beat and flipped it! So i was open after that, then comes the 2nd single "Whats the Deal" and i was like ah man it cant get no better than this! Plus "Your World Dont Stop" was gettin mad play on mixtapes. So i was hyped for this LP to drop, and when it did that hype went down the drain. I could not believe Hey AZ was not on the LP!! Your World Dont Stop was altered with a different beat! The only 2 standouts was The Essence with Nas and Whats the Deal. Im still pissed Hey AZ wasnt on there man.

4. Missy Elliot- Da Real World: Surprised i went this route huh? Well I was a huge Missy fan back in '97 with her 1st LP. I think that LP is borderline classic with dope Timberland production. So in '99 people was askin can Missy do it again? She was on top at this time in the Music game doing great things. Now i kinda liked her 1st single "She A Bitch", she went left wit it but it was ok. All In My Grill & Hot Boyz was kool but i was wondering yo, is this LP anything like her 1st one? Will she continue to provide great hip-hop tracks plus dope R&B tracks? the answer was definite NO. I couldnt believe she fell off on this LP especially at the time it was released cause Timberland was in the zone makin beats at that time. Very surprising let down.

5. Raekwon- Immobilarity: Now this is a LP i didnt even bother to buy. And i never heard nothin from it or anything. This came out during when i was in US Navy boot camp in late '99. When i got out I went to the NEX to pick up some LP's and i had no idea what was out that time . I remember buying Mos Def's Black On Both Sides just based what he done with BlackStar ( great choice) and i think bought Nas Nastradamus too as well ( another great choice). But then i saw Raekwon's LP and i was stunned cause i didnt know he was droppin a new LP before I went to boot camp. So i gettin ready to scoop that up until it hit me, will this LP be better than Cuban Linx? will it even come close to Cuban Linx? And i knew that it wasnt. So i passed on it. And boy am i glad i did. From all accounts that i heard, i heard that LP is straight trash. Im glad i saved dough on that 1. A Lesson folks, u cant always go on a artists past work, but sometimes u have to.

There u have it people, now let me heard yours! Let it be known then!!!!

Recognize The Real presents The Best Of Large Professor

This cat right here is a producer's producer. He is all about the music and none of that other music business crap. That might of hurt him during his career but he stayed true to himself and let the music speak for him. He was a prodigy at early age taught by the late Paul C, he producin tracks for Eric B & Rakim & Kool G Rap at like 14-16 years old (dont know the actual age but in that range). Blessed the world the classic Main Source 1st LP. Gave us Nas & Akinyele! Did lots of great work wit Tribe & Pete Rock. And was around when niggas was goin record huntin to find those specific breaks along wit Pete Rock, Q-Tip, Beatnuts, Diamond D, Beatminerz & etc. My fascination wit Extra P started around '96 when I first heard "Mad Scientist" on Rap City! That blew my mind still til this day! Now i remember back in like '94-'95 hearing Tribe's Midnight Marauders, and i was jammin to that track "Keep It Rollin" and i was thinkin to my self who's that cat rhymin at the end? Ha Ha, but at the time i didnt know who he was and i didnt even hear Main Source yet. I 1st heard "Looking Out The Front Door" around '97. Please people dont laugh at me, i already told yall before that my hip-hop knowledge wasnt there yet at that time. But that is a record that covers many music genres, its a hip-hop record, its a dance record & its a house record! Back in '91 u could throw that record on and rock any type of crowd! This man is hip-hop to me and he just stays to himself and do him. So my tribute to him is a little Best Of i created in honor of him. Hope yall like it and jam it in ur rides!
"Queens represent, buy the album when i drop it!"


Large Pro

LP Thoughts: Camron- Sports, Drugs & Entertainment (2000)

This is a tough one. Not because of the album but of the person who made it. I was once a huge fan of this cat right out the gate when he came out back in '97. I was feelin his whole rap style and the partnership he had wit Mase. I once considered him one of rap's elite. But as I look at him now, im just disappointed at some of the moves he made and friends he double crossed. So i as write this piece im a talk wit a peace of mind to remember this dude how he once was not present date.

For a brief period there Cam went into hiding. After droppin his 1st LP back in late '97- early '98, he took a leave of absense no where to be found. But in '99 he popped up with a dope single "Let me Know" which was a track that got u crunk and hyped instantly. I bought that single the day it dropped and video was nice as well. Then i didnt hear him again until early 2000 on a DJ Clue freestyle. Then i read a article about him in XXL in early 2000, it was about what he was up to and what happened to him. That article also stated that he was goin thru some medical problems and label problems. It was also during this time when he turned to Dame to be his manager. So i was kinda happy to see my nig back in the game ready to drop some new stuff and it made things better when i started to see promo posters on him saying his new album comin out in mid 2000.

I think i was watchin Rap City and they was showin some videos that was bubblin at that time, then out of the blue a new vid came on. The beat was crazy with some dope guitar stabs and kinda uptempo to get ur head bobbin. Then was i was lookin hard to see who is this, and i was surprised, it was Camron!!?? "What Means The World 2 U" was a monster hit!  It took me a while to digest it, then i realized that this man got a heat rock on his hands wit this one. I was living in Philly at the time and this track was blaring everywhere. I saw footage recently of Funk Flex debuting this song in the Tunnel back in '00 wit Cam sittin right there behind him and the response was crazy for it. Back in '98 Cam had them crazy wit "Horse & Carriage" now 2 years later had them with this one. It was some great times i tell ya, me and my nigs was all jammin this joint. It was no doubt in our minds that when this LP drops we are all coppin this joint!

So in September of 2000 i was right there at the local music spot coppin this LP with no hesitation. I just hoping that this LP was ok and can at least equal his 1st one. Boy was I right about this one, it was more than OK and it did top his 1st LP in my opinion. I mean this LP was hittin right out the gate with track #2 "Thats Me"! I can go on record and say that this track is probably one of Cam's best songs he ever done that gets overlooked. The beat on this song is bananas, the carefully orchestrated "killa, killa, you are, you are" in the beginning of the song get my hyped every time i hear it! I love this track, simply love it! Then we go to another heat rock wit #11 "Losin Weight" wit Prodigy! This track is hard as well with the dope piano loop and the lyrics on this track is crazy, this was still Prodigy when he was Prodigy if u know what i mean. Dope, dope track. On to track #12 with "Sports, Drugs & Entertainment"! Who knew Ron G did this joint?! And u gotta give him props for finding the perfect hook for this record by Biggie, "In the hood its a short stop, u either slang crack rocks or u got a wicked jumpshot". Real dope and creative. Now another blazin heat rock is #17 "Where Im From"! Ah man, this another one of my personal favs with a sinister piono loop and straight gutter hard lyrics. Dutch & Spade (from Major Figgas fame) wrecked this joint and Cam finished it off very nicely. Then they bring it back to '99 wit #18 "Let Me Know". This one of them tracks that get u bouncing right away and the sample of Monday Night Football was crazy! Last but not least #19 "My Hood" was a nice track that Dame Grease produced. The vid for this track was kinda out there and kinda funny but i love the hook he had for this one. All and all this LP was very nicely done. It bring back memories every time I think about this one.

I can go on all day on how i feel about Cam nowadays but for now im not gonna take away his great effort he put into this LP. It is one of my personal gems wit heat rocks sprinkled all over this one. To me ill give this album a 4.6 out of 5. I just love this album and thats how i see it. Now u tell me, whats ur LP Thoughts on this LP?