DX: While I’m asking about Nas, I gotta ask about your revelation during his recent Behind The Music episode that Nas and Rakim actually spoke back in ‘89/’90 when you snuck Nas in on Ra’s studio time, and that Ra actually gave Nas the thumbs up on what he was doing. I never knew that happened; I never knew they had even spoken. But I just wanted to know, truthfully, wasn’t Ra actually a little aggy about that whole situation, that these younger cats were taking his time to do their thing?
Large Professor: Nah,
Rakim wasn’t aggravated at all. Rakim was on his own thought process, like his own thought track.
I mean, because we were divvying up a lot of time between [Rakim and
Kool G Rap]. G Rap was working on his joint, [
Wanted: Dead or Alive].
Eric B just had the studio booked. The studio was just booked. And, at that time, he was executive producing G. Rap’s album, he was executive producing his own album [with Rakim,
Let The Rhythm Hit ‘Em]. And, sometimes G. Rap took like a big break in between [his recordings] and so [Eric] was like, “Yo Paul, do some beats or do whatever you want, but I need something to come out of every session.” And so I was like, “Yo, I got my man down the block in Queensbridge, he rhymes.” “Alright, Paul, get him in the studio, man. Let’s just make sure every session counts.”
And so when Rakim came in it was like, “Yo Ra, check this out.” And he really listened to it and was like, “Yeah, alright, no doubt baby pa.” You know, that kind of thing. And, the only thing with me is that I really wish brothers would have had they real mogul hat on, where it’s like, “Alright, yo, let me hear something else.” Or like, “Yo, who is that?” He kinda was just like, Yeah, yeah, yeah, that’s alright, now let me get to work.
I just wish he would have been a little bit more [trails off].
DX: Of a mentor kind of thing?
Large Professor: Yeah. Something like that, definitely.
DX: I always thought it wasn’t so much personal or anything but that the media kind of did that in when they started anointing Nas “the second coming.”
Large Professor: Right.
DX: I always just speculated that Ra took a little offense to that and that’s why he never really worked with Nas.
Large Professor: Right, right, right.
DX: You don’t have any extra insight into that, if that’s true or not?
Large Professor: Well, with Rakim and Nas, it wasn’t nurtured.
The dudes [in the Paid In Full Posse] who were co-signing Nas couldn’t really get to Rakim like that, like Supreme [Magnetic], [DJ] Hot Day, Ant Live – Ant Live was Eric B’s brother. Like, a lot of times when I’d be doing the sessions I’d be in there getting busy and I’d be doing Nas shyt and Supreme would come in and be like, “Yo, that shyt is hot!” Or Hot Day would be in there and be like, “Yo Paul, that shyt is hot right there, y’all doing good” kind of thing.
But Rakim was kinda in his own zone, where it was like, “Yo, be quiet.” Like, “When Ra is here, just let that man think.” We gonna chill and let him get his work done kind of shyt. So, you know, for it to be like that to begin with, you wouldn’t come and overlap and be like, Yo Ra, by the way, Nas man – It was just good that he came in on it and that he did have knowledge of [Nas]. I wasn’t even trying to push the issue. I wasn’t like, Yo, you should sign him! It was just like, nah, now Ra gotta get [in the studio] and do what Ra gotta do. ‘Cause that’s the God right there, so it’s like, “Alright, we gotta turn this shyt off, wrap this shyt up real quick and let Rakim do what he gotta do.”
I just wish Rakim was more – Rakim took precedence over everything in there. When Rakim rolled up it was like, “Yo, alright, get in your place, do what you do now. Like, straighten up and shyt.” That was the kind of [vibe]. I just wish Ra would have been like, “Yo, young blood, you should have did like this,” – you know, that kind of thing. But, he had to write an album, so I guess that’s where that [lack of attention towards Nas] came from. But I know if we would have had his blessings, it would have been just some stellar shyt. Like, these dudes have just got the hierarchy.
