In the latest installment of Off The Record, Mass Appeal sit down with Large Professor to reflect on the making of Nas’ “It Ain’t Hard to Tell.” Large Pro remembers how the blend culture in Queens sparked the idea, how Nas being on the same label as Michael Jackson (Sony) helped them clear the sample, and his approach to remixing his own beat.

Above all else, Extra P and Nasty Nas were operating with a true N.Y. state of mind. “We were heavy New York, so we weren’t thinking about the globe and, like, ‘Yo, what do they want in Paris?’ We was just like, ‘Yo, we do what we do and we put it down,'” he says. “We’re just thankful that the world received it and loved it.”

Watch below…

Speaking of Illmatic, here’s DJ Premier on the making of Nas’ “N.Y. State of Mind” and “Memory Lane (Sittin’ In Da Park).”

Related: ‘Illmatic’ at 20: Watch Fuse’s Three-Part Special Featuring Nas, Large Professor, Miss Info & More