Welcome to the Mecca of Hip Hop! This ish right here is so Hip Hop that ‘DJ Kool Herc’ even Bowed down to kiss the ring. Large Professor is a legend and any real head knows the part he played with Nas blowing up from Feat. ‘Nas’ on ‘Live at the Barbecue’ and his involvement with ‘Illmatic’ plus his beats are impeccable. he Has been one of my favourite producers for a long time now plus dudes voice and flow is effortless. Neek is also a legend! He grew up Round Large Pro and lived in the same building as Nas and has been rapping since he was 12 years old. Main Source got Neek to appear on a track that was the soundtrack of ‘White Men Can’t Jump’ and everyone knows this film plus that track is now a certified classic and the track is called ‘Fakin’ The Funk’ so on that assumption everyone has heard both these legends, maybe without knowing it.
This project would be their 3rd collaboration album with ‘Exotic Spices’ in 2010 and the following year ‘Still on the Hustle’, these being the previous 2. With the boom bap heavy production but has new sounds rather than old drum kits, it’s crisp but dusty, add some wicked samples, melodies thrown in and sprinkle it with some of the best Hip Hop bars spat out the mouth like venom of two King cobras of Rap it’s an album not to be slept on! Straight from the jump this album kicks off and it is hip hop in its purest form and that’s exactly what you would expect from two heavyweights ‘Whoooooo!!!!’ Really does get you going “whoooooo” from the whooooo sample the the old dusty keys it sets a good pace for the album and when I first bussed ‘Xtraexotic’ I banged this track several times before moving on. In fact many tracks got the rewind button even after multiple listens.
‘Aint a Lot Changed’ is an early 90s throwback track with a vibe that’s missing from hip-hop today from both the industry and the underground and I appreciate that cats still put out these kinda bangers and it makes you reminisce of those golden era days but at the same time makes you thankful for such a great hip-hop track in todays world. ‘Put The Game in a Chokehold’ gets ‘Alchemist’ on the boards and it’s his signature sound, slow and moody with that dark vibe and Neek and Pro really get busy with the slow flow and its a good change of vibe and tempo. ‘Outta Town’ probably has the best drums I’ve heard in a minute. They are mixed tight but still have that dust on em and the sound of the the kick with this crunchy snare is probably the best kick snare combo in a long time and with the easy going guitar to balance it out.
The next two tracks feature two hip hop legends! ‘Pharoahe Monch’ and ‘Q-Tip’ and both tracks are fire and are so boom bap even KRS is screaming “Return of the Boom Bap”. ‘Team Players’ has such a similar vibe to T.R.O.Y. and which hip hop head would not F with that?! ‘Double Trouble is Back’ carries on the funk and bars from Extra P “ LP cooking up hot tracks galore, pretty girls love it the bob back and forth, chilling, outlined in the feeling, held back but now its time to reveal it, still in, effect like the 90s, peeps ask all the time how you find these, beautiful sounds, I be grouping up thousands of records, hear a quick sound and dissect it, detective LP on the J.O. dont puff bud don’t snort Yayo, make sure work for the night get K.O’d, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, yeah we good now everything where it supposed to be, coast to coast indeed, Xtraexotic on the mic rare breed”.
Bangers: Whoooooo!!!!, Ain’t a lot changed, Put the Game in A Chokehold, Outta Town, World Wide Street Legends, Borough of Queens, Team Players, Double Trouble is Back
Score: 10/10 with an album that resonates the golden era but without trying to sound like its from the 90s is a gem and with two heavyweights like Neek and Large Pro on top of some great production, it’s Hip Hop in its purest form and without doing what’s trending is perfect.
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