Representative Albums: "Breaking Atoms," "F*ck What You Think"
Representative Songs: "Looking at the Front Door," "Just a Friendly Game of Baseb," "Live at the Barbeque"
Biography
Extremely significant for 1991's Breaking Atoms alone, Main Source's effect on hip-hop is nearly impossible to gauge, especially when considering Large Professor and K-Cut's contributions outside of the group. Consisting of MC/producer Large Professor (born Paul Mitchell) and twin DJs/producers K-Cut (born Kevin McKenzie) and Sir Scratch, the New York group came together in 1989 and debuted on Wild Pitch with Breaking Atoms -- an undeniably classic album, regardless of its field -- two years later. The group's production work, combined with Large Professor's masterful wordplay (from the brilliant baseball analogies drawn throughout the police brutality-themed "Just a Friendly Game of Baseball," to the disheartening romantic strife depicted in "Looking at the Front Door"), set a standard. While Gang Starr's DJ Premier is commonly heralded as a groundbreaking sampler and beatmaker, it was Large Professor and K-Cut who schooled him on how to master the SP1200. Not only that, but Breaking Atoms' "Live at the Barbeque" helped establish the careers of both Akinyele and Nas.
Large Professor left the group due to financial issues and began to concentrate on production work. K-Cut and Sir Scratch continued the group and installed MC Mikey D. for 1994's F*ck What You Think. Though it hardly holds a candle to Breaking Atoms (to be fair, it would've been tough to build on that record, even with Large Professor's presence), the album was hardly an artistic failure, but it came and went without much notice. Without their greatest weapon, the group's second go-round wasn't given much of a chance. It didn't help that it took three years to reach fruition. Meanwhile, Large Professor was racking up production credits for Eric B. & Rakim, Akinyele, Mobb Deep, Nas, and Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth. He didn't make his proper solo debut until 2002, with the disappointing 1st Class. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
Main Source was an innovative, acclaimed Toronto and New York-based hip hop group comprising Toronto natives Sir Scratch, K-Cut, and Queens native Large Professor. Later, Mikey D (also a Queens native) replaced Large Professor.
Their first album, Breaking Atoms, featured conscious MC tracks such as "Looking at the Front Door" and "A Friendly Game of Baseball" and "Watch Roger Do His Thing" as well as the first on-record appearance of Nas on "Live at the Barbeque", which also featured Joe Fatal and Akinyele. Because of business differences, the group broke up before their second album, tentatively entitled The Science could be released. However, Sir Scratch and K-Cut released a second album under the Main Source name, entitled Fuck What You Think, with new recruit Mikey D on vocals; however, the album was shelved due to inner conflicts between the record label and group management. Singer Madonna sampled the bassline from "What You Need", on Fuck What You Think, in the song "Human Nature" for her 1994 album, Bedtime Stories.
Large Professor has gone on to be an instrumental producer for hip hop stars such as Eric B. & Rakim, Pete Rock and CL Smooth, Nas, and Diamond D. He has released a Solo LP entitled First Class, and his shelvedThe LP has been widely bootlegged.
Large Professor makes a reference to his falling out with Sir Scratch and K-Cut on A Tribe Called Quest's third album Midnight Marauders. On the track "Keep It Rollin'" he says, "I'm Uptown chillin, takin in this grand master Vic blend from the projects, the PJ's, fuck them two DJ's".
Mikey D currently works with Hush Hip Hop Tours as a celebrity tour guide for its Queens tour.
