Bet y’all forgot about this little ’90s hip-hop gem huh? Large Professor hooks up the dusty, boom-bap production while Nas proceeds to body the beat with his nonchalant flow. Biz Markie also stays for the introduction although it would have been dope to hear a verse or two from the Biz.
According to Extra P during an interview with Complex, “Understanding” was created during the sessions between Illmatic and It Was Written, when Nas was getting back into the groove of recording again.
But Grandmaster Vic was there, Biz was there, AZ. Raekwon came through [to hang out]. Nas was just starting to work on It Was Written. Those were sessions between Illmatic and It Was Written. That was one of the first sessions when he started getting in the swing of working again.
Source: Complex – Large Professor Tells All: The Stories Behind His Classic Records (Part 1)
