The Story behind Main Source’s Breaking Atoms

5 Mics?!

The Main Source’s debut album “Breaking Atoms” was one of the first albums to receive that prestigious 5 Mic rating. I wasn’t familiar with Main Source or paid too much attention to what was going on with that crew. There was so many major players releasing blockbuster releases that I never personally got a chance to go through “Breaking Atoms”.

I started to do some research later on about Main Source and found that they gave Nas his first break on “Live From the BBQ” which is where he made his mind blowing debut. This also gave me introduction to Large Professor whom is responsible for bringing that pro New York energy and giving it a signature sound. Large Professor’s style is very ubiquitous when you really think about it.. It can range from Crisp and thoughtful to Raw with a sprinkle of smoothness. Then I seen the video for “Fakin the Funk”from The White Men Can’t Jump Soundtrack and was sold. This was straight raw New York hip hop with a smooth edge. It also shows that Large Professor is definitely the frontman with members Mikey D K-Cut and Sir Scratch playing supporting cast. Although this song wasn’t on the album. It peaked my curiosity on what Main Source was bringing to the table.

Did The rest of the album match the hype of the Source?

Question is did this album REALLY deserve 5 mics? After revisiting it. I would have to say a definite YES because this was pure hip hop at its purist. Professor had that gift of making hardcore hip hop(Live at the BBQ, Halftime) to his genius usage of Jazz and Samples that you could definitely hear on Just Hangin out, Looking at the Front Door, Snake Eyes, and my personal favorite “A Friendly Game of Baseball ” where he uses the analogy of comparing Baseball to Police brutality.

MAIN SOURCE LEGACY 30 PLUS YEARS LATER

Large Professor left the group in 1994 and was replaced by Mikey D. Their followup album “Fuck What You Think” didn’t make a splash not only because it was sorely missing Large Professor, But also it was overshadowed by many of the releases at that time. Large Professor continued on his solo career producing for the likes for Mobb Deep, Nas, Akneyele, Cormega, Pete Rock, Kool G Rap and many others. “Breaking Atoms” will always be the orgin that started something great amongst hip hop and definitely solidified his spot as a classic.

King Eric Rating: 5 Crowns outta 5