DJ Premier Divulges Nas "Illmatic" & Comedic Big L Stories

On what would have been Big L's 39th birthday, DJ Premier reveals his funniest moment involving the Harlem rapper.

DJ Premier quite literally dropped knowledge during his recent interview with Only Hip Hop Facts as he let loose a few Hip Hop facts of his own. The noted producer shared personal stories and facts about Nas, Jay-Z, Large Professor, and even the late Big L who would have celebrated his 39th birthday today.

According to Premier, Big L’s humor was very similar to that of another late rapper. The producer went on to detail one of his funniest encounters with Big L before comparing the rapper’s laidback humor to that of Biggie’s.

“I watched him and Showbiz argue over their knowledge of Malcolm X while we were waiting for Fat Joe to come to the studio to record ‘The Enemy.’ And it was the funniest argument I’ve ever seen,” DJ Premier revealed. “Cause Big L he talks like he raps…Big L was funny just like Biggie. Super funny and not even trying to be funny, like a comedian. He’s just naturally funny.”

DJ Premier later compared the past musical partnership between Nas and Large Professor to that of his relationship with Guru, and also credited the pair as being a “dope team” before touching on the knowledge he gained from Large Professor.

“I watched Large Profess make ‘It Ain’t Hard To Tell,’ ‘One Time 4 Your Mind,’ and ‘It Ain’t Hard To Tell (Remix)’, all in one day,” said the beatsmith. “I sat there and watched him do it on the SP-1200...This was before I even did a beat for Nas. And I was like ‘yo’—that’s how I do beats now because of the way Large Professor did it. He would just walk in and make it right there on the spot. That’s how I do. I don’t have like a whole CD of beats picked from. I walk in, do it, and say ‘here.’”

The full interview with DJ Premier can be viewed below.