New York producer and oft-collaborator with Nas, talked about Illmatic’s production, influence and lyrical content.
I’m trying to avoid any Pete Rock/Lupe Fiasco-related posts because it’s depressing and overblown. I hope Large Professor’s pleasant reminiscing with HipHopWired.com brightens your day.

The reasons why Large Professor thinks Illmatic has never been outdone are three-fold; 20 years of pent-up creativity spilling from Nas, the all-star production and the heavy New York influence.

“The energy about making Illmatic was crazy. It was really New York at its peak, and then you had this ferocious rapper in Nas and these ferocious producers – Pete Rock, Premier, Large Professor, Q-Tip – and it was what I called the burner age,” he went on. “Like, a burner was not just basic graffiti. It was a real thought-out, intricate masterpiece.”

They sampled everything from trains to parties, the long-time producer said.

“Joints like ‘Halftime’ man was just like a musical painting of the streets, just the roughness of the New York streets. And the trains going by and people hanging out and beers and smoke, all of that. We just trying to encapsulate that into the music. That’s why I feel it’s revered, because I feel we captured it, definitely.”

Add a 20-year-old prodigy to mix and I Large Professor leaves you with this,

“I feel Illmatic hasn’t been outdone in the style of album that that is, because you think Nas from day zero from I guess he was 20 years old, that’s 20 years of experience just waiting to get out there.” He added, “And then the beats, I feel Illmatic was more a lyrical album. I feel the album as built more on lyrics than tracks. But that album is just poetical plus street man, it’s amazing.”

Watch the full interview here.