Significant Historical Hip Hop Moments:"Life, Love and Creativity"…• 1979 –o I fell in love with hip hop, hearing songs by the Fat Back Band, Jocko, The Treacherous Three, Sugar Hill Gang, Grand Master Melle Mel and the Furious Five and Super Rhymes… staying up late at night to record anything good on WHBI.• 1984 –o I started puttin up graffitti tags with my homeboy Steve, aka NAN... My tags were DISP, DAY-ONE and DAY-SKI.o I wasn’t really that great at it but I tried to break dance with my homeboy Flip and Donnie… I sucked but they never told me… I just knew it… I was mad because I could never do a windmill.o When I heard the Disco Twins perform"Good Times" back and forth back to back… it was the greatest DJ moment for me ever…o I started writing my own rhymes after hearing"Five Minutes of Funk" by Whodini, making my love for Hip Hop personal, putting myself among the ranks of Emcee’s. I named myself DaySki.o My boy Donnie came over to hear some of my rhymes and he told me that they sucked and that I should try to sound more like J-Von… I was like…"F**k J-Von!"… I’m gonna sound like how I “sound like” and I kicked him out of my house. Learning that my passion was going to be based on me and my decisions… and not by someone else’s opinion or view…o I ran into Willie Gums at Power Play Studios, who was B-Fats"Whop Dance" manager and he fed me a load of lies, saying that he’ll be my manager and put me on wax.o My cousins Chilly Dee and Kid Ski Emceed, but they were on another tip… I remember Spoonie Gee playing a lot in the background with lots of break dancing going on – I was definitely feeling the hip hop vibe in Corona/Jackson Heights… it was unquestionably a different culture there.o I saw RunDmc at a high school game and I wasn’t moved…o I battled Craig G in a beat box battle and beat him, but when he wanted to Emcee battle, I said naaa… {who was later taken under Marly Marl’s wing and first hit the radio with Shout}o I saw Cool J step into a crowd of students at August Martin and just started swinging holdin his own against 4 dudes swinging back.o I had a great need for beats, so I would create a pause tape of break beaks… meaning… I would find an instrumental break… record that part… hit pause… rewind and record again… over and over until I had a few minutes of instrumental beat. Necessity was the mother of invention and this is what sustained me.• 1985 –o I changed my rap name to Day-EL…o I performed the Beat Box for local shows in Jamaica, Queens.o I used to hang out at Dave Dex’s house"All the time"… this was the house that hip hop built… Everybody and I mean everybody… hung out there… Dave Djayed and it was hip hop heaven.o I got DJ equipment for Christmas and borrowed beat machines from Dave Dex to make some sounds for myself.o I got dissed by MC Shan… I was cool with him since he rode my school bus {#931} with his girl Serena. But on this one day she and I hung late at a school function, missing the bus with her telling me that she got me and that he would ride us home in his Audi… of course when he got there, he only had room for her, with his peeps rolling deep. I then proceeded to walk to the bus, took the train and took another bus home.• 1986 –o I performed with my homeboy Dread, Rhonda and Karen at Washington Irving, getting compliments from the Cold Crush Brothers. This was my first performance. My mouth dried out soooo much to where I couldn’t enunciate – So glad that the system was wack so my muffled words weren't clear.o I chilled with POET a few times… {The POET who went at Krs-One… The Bridge Wars - Now known as Black Poet}… who hung out with Craig G and Dread all the time.o I got the biggest"box" {radio} EVER made… it was all black, 4 ft long, 8 inches wide and 16 inches tall… with dual cassette, 10 band equalizer and a mic input. It weighed about 50 pounds with 10 D batteries. I played"Fly Girl" by the Boogie Boys ALL THE TIME!!!… with the echo feedback bouncing off of the project buildings…o I made a track with my homeboy"Melquan"… called"Let's Do This"• 1987 –o I sold my DJ equipment and joined the Marines.o I made a track with Henry Maldonado called Rock Hard… I played that song into the earth.• 1988 –o When I was in Okinawa, Japan, I had nothing but time to practice and I greatly improved on my freestyle abilities.• 1990 –o While stationed in Newburgh, NY, I read an article about a local producer looking for local talent out in Middletown, NY, so I called and met Wesley Goodman of G Records who worked with DBC of Stetsasonic. Since I hadn't practiced in a while, I was clearly rusty and shaky with my lines. They asked me to come back after I wrote 10 songs. I respected that and got on my grind. It took me 30 days to write and memorize 10 songs… I was ready and I wasn't going to miss this opportunity… We met at DBC's spot and I spit my rhymes - They were impressed and we recorded"Flowin Lyrics" on the spot. DBC made the track in minutes. As a result, in the days that followed, they had me perform my song at a local venue and so I could be performance ready... I was lucky to find and recruit a couple of local hip hop dancers. I was the opening act for their primary artist.… and I was slotted to be the next act they’d push.Lol… {I had dancers ya'll!!!}…o We performed at the Otisville Federal Correctional Facility and was paid $50.00. {The only paid gig ever.)o I got orders for Parris Island, South Carolina and"I had to go…" thereby killing any of my Hip Hop aspirations in Middletown.o Wesley put me in touch with his homeboy J.C. in S.C. and we met up and did some songs together. That was cool..• 1992 –o I started Emceeing and doing shows with my Marine buddy… Dana Quander at Parris Island, SC.o I changed my rap name to Large-Ness. I got it from reading the dictionary - liking the way it flowed when said with a purposeful pause. :largeness n. Synonyms: large, big, great...o I was bragging to everyone I met in Beaufort, S.C. saying that I was the best rapper in Beaufort, trying to get someone to come challenge me. But it never happened. I was feeling myself. Lol...o I was discharged from the Marines and settled in Riverdale, Maryland.• 1995 –o My mom passed and I moved back to NY.o J.C. from S.C. put in contact with a Jewish dude name J.V. in Astoria, who gave me beats to rhyme to… He was cool… {Somebody always knows somebody}…o I used the money I received from my moms passing to purchase an MPC3000, a Mixer, a track machine and various other items to assist me with music production.o I worked with many cats from my neighborhood… Truth Mafioso, Big Tone, Big Stretch {R.I.P.}, Knottyheadz, Tywan Boogie, Father Supreme, John Gobbie, Sic Sense, DMF, 10.5• 1996 –o The corner of 24th Street and 34th avenue in front of the Bodega was the meet up/hang out spot for anyone trying to spit rhymes. This was where I’d try on my new rhymes. Some nights I shined and some nights I was wack… Either way, I took each moment as inspiration and I'd go home and build beats and write more rhymes.o I ended up living next door to Horseman of the Bravehearts in East Elmhurst {now married to Heather B}. We did a couple of songs together.o I worked with my cousins in Queensbridge. Shout Out to the Wilson Fam on my Grandfathers side… aka… The"Wolfpak". Their passion was undeniable.o I started working with my man Pipe who took me all over, trying to break in the business… auditioning and performing in Lower Manhattan, New Jersey and Staten Island… In the process, I ended up Meeting Method Man and Ghostface Killa… My focus was on!!! Them dudes were cool.o I was asked to become the sole producer for a local group in East Elmhurst called"New Yorks Finest" that was formed by my barber… Jammare. The members were… Truth Mafioso – who had his own hustle with Def Jam, Lay Low - From L.I., Demolition - From Brooklyn living in East Elmhurst and another cat named D.L. that lived out there. To help with one of our tracks, I brought in a girl named 10.5, who I met through Pipe from Staten Island. She had skills that reminded you of Foxy Brown.o Shout out the John Canty… he wasn’t an Emcee or a producer, but he was there all the time and he knew his music, and he was always down. {Thanks for pushing me home in my broke down Buick Kid… I’ll never forget that}…o I ran into Heather B {Clueless that she was seeing Horse, my neighbor}, and passed her a"cassette" with beats… calling my production Sinister Sounds and she asked me if I knew DJ Sinister… I was like… um… no… {so that didn’t go well}o We booked studio time at a home studio in Jamaica, Queens and the dude looked familiar… after speaking to him it quickly hit me as I realized who he was... I was floored to learn that it was Twin of the Disco Twins… I met one half of my DJ idols! COOL!… so I kept talking to him during the session, and we put two and two together and learned that he dated my cousin Joann… Whoa… Small world!!!o Due to irreconcilable differences, I decided to leave N.Y.F.o I created a 4 song demo that summer and while in the Reserves in North Carolina with the Marines, I shared the songs with anyone who’d listen… and then I met Ron of No Joke Records.o Ron invited me to join a new group he was starting… to be named…"Illegitimate" initially composed of… Face Man, Preme, Meek-Low, Rocks {R.I.P.}, to be later joined by… Millz and G-Drezy. Honorable Mention to… Big Stretch… {R.I.P.} He bowed out after about 3 meetings… We didn’t like the name so we finally decided to go with"Elements Of Madness" aka E.O.M.o This group was what I needed! My skills skyrocketed. I felt a healthy competitive rivalry and I had to come with it every time.• 1997 –o Stretch and I formed our own group called Worldwide and recorded a few tracks at the home of Twin of the Disco Twins which was the contact I gained from recording with N.Y.F. He blessed me and Stretch with beats and studio time… with him steadily asking me over and over again to ask my cousin Joann to call him…o I used to hang out at Wetlands downtown… I saw hella cats from the industry there. I took that energy from there and found myself creative on higher levels. Evil Dee, Premiere, Jaz-O, Lord Jamar and a lot more.o I sent my songs to Hot 97 for their Sunday Home Jams segment and in August my song"Fill Ya Mind" featuring Venus Hall, hit the airwaves around 11:50pm… I got a call from Stretch waking me up telling me that it was on… I went crazy… I was elated…o I worked as a PA on a video shoot for AZ. I was in the video for a brief moment and during the breaks, I hung with Nas, Raekwon, and Jay-Z came through.• 1998 –o I did my first break dance windmill in my new Loft apartment on the wood floors… I was elated… I was older, so I sided with sanity and resting in the solace of finally being able to do it…o E.O.M. rehearsed regularly. To the point where it was affecting my relationship. But I loved the opportunity…o We recorded a 30 minute rap show for QPTV at York college that played"All the time"… I was noticed all the time back then…o I put out a series of 3 CD’s with a compilation of my songs and the songs of those I worked with named…"Hip Hop 101: Chapters I, II, and III."• 1999 –o E.O.M. performed at the Paul Robeson Theater and The Palm Court in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. Lots of good and great acts came through the Palm Court… I loved it.o The group was slowing down, with the label more focused on their Caribbean acts.o Smaller sects broke off, yet we remained loyal and still hung out from time to time and recorded a couple of songs at my home studio.o I changed my rap name to Large-Master and I put out a CD called"Fear No More" I sold it for $10.00 each and only sold about 20 of them.o I networked with a guy at my job name Dennis Thompson and we discussed a deal to have my music loaded onto the internet at {www.iimix.com } to be sold… but no sales were made…• 2000 –o I got tired of the New York Life and I moved back to Maryland. – ignited by"Domestic issues"...o I put out my second CD called"Fear Of The Unknown"• 2001 –o I ran into Kwabena Shango at my job and he put me down with his crew… Black Tongue as a featured act.o I modified my rap name from Large-Master to Large Mass…o I recorded 3 tracks on their highly locally acclaimed CD called Divine Intervention… Fame, Spittin and Cherish Your Breatho As a result of a Domestic dispute, my years of acquired studio equipment, estimated at 10k; was destroyed.• 2002 –o Black Tongue performed at the Latin Palace for 15 people. We also performed at the Baltimore City Library and F.L. Tempton Elementary School. At this school, I had a chance to make a connect with a Radio Personality who really liked my skills wanting me to talk to him on the side but I was loyal to Black Tongue and I asked the dude to speak to Kwabena. I have no idea what they spoke about but I wasn't looking to leave them hanging. They appreciated my skills and was loyal to me, so I responded in kind.• 2003 –o Black Tongue Broke Up due to scheduling conflicts and an overall lack of interest.• 2004 – 2011o Semi – Retirement… aka… My Sabbatical… - I was getting older and Hip Hop changed, thinking that no one wants to see a 40 something year old Emcee…o I fell into Poetry Mode {I kept my creative juices going}• 2012 –o I ran into a coworker named TwinSki aka BigTwin who has his own music out… he approached me about being on a track with him… and a creative dam burst… Since then I’ve been writing and rehearsing ever since… with my Lady"E Money" at my back supporting me… I love her for that… and I’m now in the process of re-building my studio… I’m back in my passion Ya’ll…o I reverted my rap name back to Large Ness... but I’ll still answer to Large Mass because either way.. I’m Large…o I put out a mix CD named"Mo Fire"... It felt good to complete an album again... I jacked the production from various producers, but I'm now in the process of building beats and rhymes for my next project called..."Large Ness Monsta" with a Fire track named"CONCRETE" featuring my homie Big Twin.• 2014 –o Will be 30 years of creating and performing Hip Hop.