Slick Rick “It’s A Boy (Remix)” (1991)
Album: It’s A Boy 12 Inch
Label: Def Jam
Producer: Large Professor
Large Professor: “I’m from Flushing, and Slick Rick was living down the block from where I was staying in Flushing with his son’s mother. And I went to school with her. So when it came time for that project to happen, Rick was around the way. It was kind of like a family thing to me [because I knew his son’s mother from school and she lived right near me].
“Def Jam came to me in the situation with him getting locked up, and was like, ‘We want you to remix this joint.’ Once I heard what it was, I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, I gotta rock that.’ And my man Rashad Smith, who’s now a famous producer, he used to come through with a lot of bangers, nice records and stuff like that. So, he put me on to the Cal Tjader album, with the vibes. I always zoned out to that record. So I hooked up that one piece right there.
“That’s another joint where Pete Rock had the drums. He found the Lonnie Smith ‘Spinning Wheel’ drums from [A Tribe Called Quest’s] ‘Can I Kick It?,’ but [I used] an earlier part of the record. So I chopped them up, threw that bassline in there—let’s go. Something slick.
“Rick was already locked up, so I just had the acapellas. I never heard his reaction, but when we continued to work [later on when he was released], it let me know that he was rockin’ with it. Rick is a master. Out of all the people I’ve worked with, that dude, and Busta Rhymes, are way up there.”
