Main Source Vinyl, CD & Tape

Warm funk samples and obligatory DJ scratches

The Canadian-American crew Main Source was one of those rare phenomena in 90s hip hop: an example of those groups that, with a single album, changed the course of the genre and resonated in the influences of their musical offspring for decades. It was primarily the multifaceted beats that stood out through their use of soul and jazz samples, as they clashed with a hip hop world that tended to favor more musically restrained approaches. To achieve a rap classic as a debut work is quite an accomplishment – when the crew came together on the East Coast in 1989, the two producers Sir Scratch and K-Cut, along with the rapping producer Large Professor, each brought immense talent to the table, making a masterpiece seem only logical in this combination. Large Professor, who later gained recognition as a producer for A Tribe Called Quest and Nas, filled the bars of Main Source with thoughtful lyrics and a razor-sharp flow – the focal point of their first singles in 1989 and 1990, however, lied on the concept-driven beats that combined propulsive funk drums with warm samples and the obligatory DJ scratches. The group’s groovy tracks were all built on the legendary SP-1200 sampler, which later became a sonic trademark of Large Professor.

An album classic that left traces

In 1991, Main Source‘s groundbreaking debut LP Breaking Atoms was released, starting off with Snake Eyes, a battle-oriented opener that reflected its attitude through tracks like the self-titled Large Professor and the jazzy Vamos a Rapiar. The crew’s voice also showcased societal criticism, for example, on Just A Friendly Game of Baseball — a track that radically compares normalized police violence against Black people in the neighborhood to a baseball game: “Cause to the cops, shootin‘ brothers is like playin‘ baseball / I guess when they shoot up a crew, it’s a grand slam.” Additionally, the hypnotizing album single Looking At The Front Door became an underground hit and spent a solid three weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart, while Peace Is Not The Word To Play aims to raise awareness of the hypocritical use of the word ‘peace’: “Cause I’ve seen people on the streets / Shoot the next man and turn around and say peace.” Moreover, Live At The Barbeque marks the debut appearance of a certain Nas – only three years later, he recorded his legendary album Illmatic, with the assistance of beat specialist Large Professor. Through direct and clever lyrics, as well as meticulously crafted instrumentals, Breaking Atoms ultimately became a classic that left its artistic traces over the years in the works of numerous colleagues and admirers.

The new centerpiece of the crew

Before a successor could see the light of day, Large Professor left the group to focus on his work as a producer. He was replaced by Mikey D, also hailing from New York, and in 1994, the album Fuck What You Think was released, featuring his raw bars. The offensive rap style of the new crew member initially puzzled the fans because the original centerpiece was no longer present, and that was also noticeable in the production. This resulted in a comparatively aggressive album – albeit with some success, as in the same year, none other than Madonna sampled their track What You Need for her song Human Nature. In the following years, Main Source fell silent, and over twenty years later, the crew actually went on tour again with Large Professor and Mikey D to perform both albums live – after all these years, Main Source remains an untouched underground phenomenon.