Main Source

The Canadian rap band Main Source formed in Toronto in 1989, but was based in New York for most of its career. Its groundbreaking first album, 1991’s BREAKING ATOMS, included the #1 rap hit "Lookin' At The Front Door," gave the rappper Nas his start. One of the group's principals, Large Professor, went on to produce A Tribe Called Quest among others. The group’s imaginatively constructed soundscapes, which culled samples from a wide range of sources and combined them with sharp, subtle observations on street culture and social issues, were hugely influential on early-1990s hip-hop.