1st Class (album)

1st Class is the second full-length studio album by American rapper and producer the Large Professor. It was released on October 8, 2002, through Matador Records. Recording sessions took place at Bang'n Studios and C Mo' Greens Studio in Queens. Production was handled by Large Professor himself, Hill, J-Love and Xplicit, with Kenneth Johnson serving as executive producer. It features guest appearances from Akinyele, Busta Rhymes, Nas and Q-Tip.

1st Class
Studio album by Large Professor
Released	October 8, 2002
Studio	Bang'n Studios (Queens, N.Y.) C Mo' Greens Studio (Queens, N.Y.)
Genre	Hip hop
Length	56:21
Label	Matador OLE 509
Producer	Hill, Inc. J-Love Large Professor Xplicit
Large Professor chronology
The LP (2002) 1st Class (2002) Main Source (2008)
Singles from 1st Class
"Bout That Time" Released: August 29, 2000 "Radio Active" Released: September 24, 2002

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Pitchfork	7.5/10[2]
RapReviews	5.5/10[3]

The album didn't reach the Billboard 200 chart, however, it peaked at No. 52 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and at No. 21 on both the Independent Albums and the Heatseekers Albums charts in the United States. Its lead single, "'Bout That Time", made it to No. 38 on the Hot Rap Songs, while the album's second single, "Radioactive", reached only No. 43 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"	William Paul Mitchell	Large Professor	1:36
2.	"'Bout That Time"	Mitchell	Large Professor	3:30
3.	"Ultimate"	Mitchell	Large Professor	2:55
4.	"Brand New"	Mitchell	Large Professor	3:28
5.	"Stay Chisel" (featuring Nas)	Mitchell Nasir Jones	Large Professor	2:32
6.	"Akinyele (Live at the BBQ, Pt. 2)" (featuring Akinyele)	Mitchell Akinyele Adams	Large Professor	2:22
7.	"In the Sun" (featuring Q-Tip)	Mitchell Jonathan Davis Thomas Raic	Xplicit	4:28
8.	"Born to Ball"	Mitchell	Large Professor	3:48
9.	"Kool"	Mitchell Jason Elias	J-Love	3:47
10.	"The Man"	Mitchell	Large Professor	4:23
11.	"Large Pro"	Mitchell	Large Professor	3:23
12.	"Alive in Stereo"	Mitchell Tommie Spearman	Hill, Inc	4:06
13.	"Blaze Rhymez II" (featuring Busta Rhymes)	Mitchell Trevor Smith	Large Professor	3:44
14.	"On"	Mitchell	Large Professor	2:49
15.	"Hip Hop"	Mitchell	Large Professor	4:25
16.	"Radioactive"	Mitchell	Large Professor	5:05
Total length:				56:21

Personnel

• William Paul "Large Professor" Mitchell – vocals, producer (tracks: 1-6, 8, 10, 11, 13-16)
• Nasir "Nas" Jones – vocals (track 5)
• Akinyele Adams – vocals (track 6)
• Jonathan "Q-Tip" Davis – vocals (track 7)
• Trevor "Busta Rhymes" Smith – vocals (track 13)
• Thomas "Xplicit" Raic – producer (track 7)
• Jason "J-Love" Elias – producer (track 9), A&R
• Tommie "Hill, Inc" Spearman – producer (track 12)
• Pablo Puente – recording, mixing (tracks: 1, 2, 4-15)
• Max Vargas – recording & mixing (tracks: 3, 16)
• James Cruz – mastering
• Kenneth Johnson – executive producer, A&R
• Mark Ohe – art direction
• Matthew Salacuse – photography

Charts

Chart (2002)	Peak position
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[4]	52
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[5]	21
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[6]	21