Main Source was an East Coast hip hop group based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, composed of Toronto-born DJs and producers,

K-Cut Kevin McKenzie (born July 25, 1971), professionally known as K-Cut, is a Canadian record producer and DJ, most notably as a member of East Coast hip hop group Main Source. Early life and family Born in Toronto to a Jamaican father and an Afro-Gu ...

and Sir Scratch, and

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

MC and producer

Large Professor William Paul Mitchell (born March 21, 1972), better known by the stage name of Large Professor (also Extra P. and Large Pro), is an American rapper and record producer. Based in New York City, he is known as a founding member of the underground ...

. Later, another Queens MC,

Mikey D Michael Anthony Deering (born November 25, 1967), known by his stage name Mikey D, is an American rapper. He is best known for being a lead member of the groups Mikey D & The L.A. Posse and Main Source. As a member of Main Source, he replaced ...

(Michael Deering), replaced Large Professor.

History

Main Source was founded in 1989. The group's first album, ''

Breaking Atoms ''Breaking Atoms'' is the debut album of American/Canadian hip hop group Main Source, released July 23, 1991, on Wild Pitch Records. Production was handled by the group, primarily by member Large Professor, and took place during 1989 to 1991 at ...

'', released in July 1991, featured tracks such as "

Looking at the Front Door "Looking at the Front Door" is a single by hip hop group Main Source, released on October 25, 1990, from their debut album '' Breaking Atoms''. The song, which contains a sample of "Think Twice" by Donald Byrd, depicts disheartening romantic str ...

", "Just a Friendly Game of Baseball", and "Watch Roger Do His Thing", as well as the first on-record appearance of

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

on "Live at the Barbeque," which also featured Joe Fatal and Akinyele. Because of business differences, the group broke up before its second album, tentatively titled ''The Science'' could be released. However, Sir Scratch and K-Cut released a second album under the Main Source name titled ''

Fuck What You Think ''Fuck What You Think'' is the second and final album by American/Canadian hip hop group Main Source. It was scheduled for release by Wild Pitch Records in 1994, although it is unclear whether the album actually made it to stores. However, the ...

'', with new recruit Michael Deering aka

on vocals & featured another first on-record appearance for The Dog Pack which would later become the Yonkers rap group

The LOX The Lox (stylized The LOX or The L.O.X.) is an American hip hop group from Yonkers, New York, formed in 1994. The group is composed of East Coast rappers Sheek Louch, Styles P and Jadakiss. They had originally signed to Puff Daddy's Bad Boy R ...

on "Set It Off"; however, the album was shelved due to inner conflicts between

Wild Pitch Records Wild Pitch Records was an American hip hop record label, started in 1987 by Stuart Fine, that was eventually distributed by EMI. Artists who released records on the label included Main Source, Lord Finesse, Ultramagnetic MCs, Chill Rob G, Gang S ...

and group management., The singer

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

sampled the bassline from "What You Need" on ''Fuck What You Think'' in her song "

Human Nature Human nature is a concept that denotes the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind, or ...

," which appeared on her 1994 album, '' Bedtime Stories''. Prior to Main Source,

was also one third of the

Laurelton, Queens Laurelton is a largely middle-class neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens and part of the former town of Jamaica. Merrick Boulevard, which bisects the community in a generally east–west direction, forms its commercial spine. It is b ...

-based hip hop group Mikey D & The L.A. Posse. The group also consisted of DJ Johnnie Quest and legendary engineer/producer

Paul C Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

(who was also the mentor of Large Professor). In 1988, Mikey D was also the winner of the

New Music Seminar The New Music Seminar (NMS) is a Music Conference and Festival held annually each June in New York City. The New Music Seminar originally ran from 1980 to 1995 and was relaunched in 2009. NMS features over 150 CEOs and other executives, presiden ...

battle for world supremacy. Large Professor went on to be an instrumental producer for hip hop stars such as Eric B. & Rakim,

Pete Rock & CL Smooth Pete Rock & CL Smooth were a hip hop duo from Mount Vernon, New York. They made their debut with their 1991 EP, ''All Souled Out'' and followed that with their 1992 LP ''Mecca and the Soul Brother''. Career 1991–1994: The Golden Age As a prod ...

, Nas, and

Diamond D Joseph Kirkland (born April 5, 1968), better known by his stage name Diamond D, is an American hip hop MC and record producer from The Bronx, New York City, and one of the founding members of the Diggin' in the Crates Crew, abbreviated as D.I.T. ...

. He references his falling-out with Sir Scratch and K-Cut on

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip

's third album ''

Midnight Marauders ''Midnight Marauders'' is the third studio album by American hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, released on November 9, 1993, by Jive Records. Recording sessions for the album occurred at Battery Studios, Platinum Island Studios and Scorcerer So ...

''. On the track "Keep It Rollin'" he says, "I'm Uptown chillin', takin in this Grandmaster Vic blend/from the projects, the PJ's, fuck them two DJ's; Self mission." K-Cut also produced for a wide range of hip hop artists including

Big Pun Christopher Lee Rios (November 10, 1971 – February 7, 2000), better known by his stage name Big Pun (short for Big Punisher), was an American rapper. Emerging from the underground hip hop scene in the Bronx borough of New York City in the ea ...

Maestro Fresh-Wes Wesley "Wes" Williams (born March 31, 1968) is a Canadian rapper, record producer, actor, and author. He is known professionally by his stage names Maestro Fresh Wes (formerly Maestro Fresh-Wes) or Maestro as a musician, and is credited by his ...

Fu-Schnickens Fu-Schnickens were an American hip-hop trio from 1988 to 1995, based in Brooklyn, New York. History Fu-Schnickens was composed of Chip Fu (Roderick Roachford), Moc Fu (Joe Jones), and Poc Fu (Lennox Maturine). ''Fu'' stood for unity and '' ...

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album ''All Hail the Que ...

, and even NBA star

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), known commonly as "Shaq" ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. O'Neal is regarded as one of the greates ...

. He also mentored another Toronto-based producer named

Watts Watts is plural for ''watt'', the unit of power. Watts may also refer to: People *Watts (surname), list of people with the surname Watts Fictional characters *Watts, main character in the film '' Some Kind of Wonderful'' *Watts family, six chara ...

. On December 22, 2002, at a concert in Toronto, the original members of Main Source performed together for the first time in nearly 10 years. ''Breaking Atoms'' was named as one of two jury vote winners, alongside

Buffy Sainte-Marie Buffy Sainte-Marie, (born Beverly Sainte-Marie, February 20, 1941) is an Indigenous Canadian-American (Piapot Cree Nation) singer-songwriter, musician, composer, visual artist, educator, pacifist, and social activist. While working in these are ...

's ''

It's My Way! ''It's My Way!'' is the first album by folk musician and songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie. It was released in April 1964 by Vanguard Records. It was later released in Britain in the spring of 1965 by Fontana Records. Though the album did not chart, ...

'', of the Polaris Heritage Prize at the

2020 Polaris Music Prize The 2020 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on October 19, 2020. The longlist was announced on June 15, 2020, with the shortlist following on July 15, 2020 and the winner announced on October 19, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 ...

."2020 Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize Winners Named"
''FYI Music News'', November 16, 2020.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (1991) * ''

'' (1994)

Singles

*"Think" (1989) *"

" (1990) *"Watch Roger Do His Thing" (1990) *"Just Hangin' Out" (1991) *"Peace Is Not the Word to Play" (1991) *"

Fakin' the Funk "Fakin' the Funk" is a single by hip hop group Main Source, released on May 19, 1992, from the soundtrack '' White Men Can't Rap''. It features an uncredited guest appearance by rapper Neek the Exotic and contains a sample of "Magic Shoes" by The ...

" (1992) *"What You Need" (1993)

Guest appearances

The Brand New Heavies The Brand New Heavies is an acid jazz and funk group formed in 1985 in Ealing in west London. Centered around songwriters/multi-instrumentalists Simon Bartholomew and Andrew Levy, the core members of the group since its founding, Brand New H ...

- "Bonafide Funk" from ''

Heavy Rhyme Experience, Vol. 1 ''Heavy Rhyme Experience, Vol. 1'' is a 1992 studio album by the Brand New Heavies. It includes collaborations with Main Source, Gang Starr, Grand Puba, Masta Ace, Jamalski, Kool G. Rap, Black Sheep (duo), Black Sheep, Ed O.G., Tiger (musician), ...

'' (1992)

Charts

References

External links

Main Source
at MySpace * {{DEFAULTSORT:Main Source African-American musical groups Musical groups established in 1989 Musical groups disestablished in 1994 Musical groups from Toronto Hip hop groups from New York City Canadian hip hop groups Wild Pitch Records artists EMI Records artists 1989 establishments in Ontario 1994 disestablishments in Ontario