The Scene: Large Professor at Underground Hip Hop

Underground Hip Hop Dot Com, the storefront with a website's name, uses its window display as a stage. It's a raised, carpeted platform with nothing more than three lights, a pair of turntables, a microphone, and a mixer. Last night, Large Professor, the 19-year hip hop veteran, stormed that stage and rocked a crowd of 15 people for a solid half hour. For free.

From the looks of things, Bostonist was the oldest person watching the show. We're certain, however, that everybody was a dude. Holding things down for the XX-chromosome population was the store's English bulldog, a bitch named Stella, who had the uncanny ability to roam the crowd on beat.

Bostonist is a longstanding fan of Large Professor's work, which includes a stint in Main Source, productions for Nas's classic debut Illmatic, and a clutch of solo recordings. So, we were as giddy as every other kid in the crowd when Extra P ran through his hits, from "Live at the Barbecue" to "Just a Friendly Game of Baseball," Main Source's indictment of police brutality.

His voice punched through the speaker, twice as loud as the backing track. The event had an element of spontaneity; it felt like Bostonist had stumbled into a NYC record store, circa 1992, mid-freestyle. In line to get stuff autographed, one young fan gripped an MFSB record, the source of a memorable Main Source sample. "It's his music now," he said, indicating the grooves inside the sleeve. "Word."

Our one regret: We never asked the Flushing, Queens rapper why he was rocking a Yankees cap.

Photo courtesy UndergroundHipHop.com.