Today, March 21, Large Professor celebrates another year on earth, turning 45 years old.

The Flushing, Queens native was a founding member of underground hip-hop group Main Source, before taking on a solo career. In 2012, he released Professor @ Large that boasted features from Busta Rhymes, Action Bronson, Roc Marciano, Saigon and more. It was highly regarded as a slept-on release that was met with plenty of praise. Large Professor is best known as the mentor and frequent collaborator of Nas. In fact, Large Professor credits Nas with improving his work ethic.

"I’ve always been good with creating and getting beats and rhymes together, but this is definitely a business, and after a while that’s what really dawned on me. And that’s the energy that Nas would always put out and I got that from him. To see how he’s conducted business throughout his career is amazing," Large Professor told XXL.

Large Professor continues to make history in hip-hop. He produced P.A.P.I.’s single, “Built Pyramids,” which marked the first time the two worked together. As an ode to their hometown, it’s a signature boom-bap track that can’t go wrong. Professor's production credits have also shown up on "Natural Born" by Kool G Rap and Big Noyd. He even dropped his own album, RE:Living in 2015.

Happy Birthday, Large Professor!

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