PETE ROCK
Pete Rock first exploded onto the music scene in the late eighties as a DJ on New York radio station WBLS “In Control with Marley Marl,” which aired every Friday and Saturday night. With a solid fan base behind him, Pete decided he wanted to expand his musical talents, so in the early 90′s Pete began producing. Not content with being a producer and DJ, Pete hooked up with long time friend and rapper CL Smooth in 1991. The rest as they say is history. Today Pete Rock is regarded as an icon in hip hop.
With the release of the EP ‘All Souled Out’ in 1991 and two full-length albums ‘Mecca & The Soul Brother’ in 1992 and ‘Main Ingredient’ in 1994, Pete Rock & CL Smooth became a major force in the rap community. After the solid Mecca/Creator 12″, the duo unleashed one of those all-time classic LP’s every MC dreams of having, “Mecca & The Soul Brother”. This album should serve as a model for what every hip-hop producer should strive for when they lay down tracks for an artist. Very rarely do you ever come across close to 80 minutes of music with little need to skip to the next track. That’s how good this album is. Quite a few of the songs on here are very monumental: ‘They Reminisce Over You’, ‘Straighten It Out’, ‘Ghettos Of The Mind’, and even ‘Lots Of Lovin’ to name a few… These are the types of songs that can literally make you cry – damn, they were playing TROY at funerals everywhere. While riding high on their success, Pete Rock & CL Smooth shocked their fans and the music industry by deciding to go their separate ways in 1994. Pete continued to work on his remix and producing skills – see discography below. In 1995 Chris LaMonica, National Director of Mix Shows at Loud Records hooked up with Pete who was now the DJ for Future Flavas with Marley Marl on Hot 97. From building a promotional relationship with Pete, Chris was able to bring the talent of Pete Rock to Loud, which resulted in the birth of a solo career. Pete’s debut solo album on Loud Records ‘Soul Survivor’ was released in the summer of 1998. The album featured guest appearances from Raekwon (Wu Tang Clan), The Roots, OC, Rob-O, Black Thought (The Roots), CL Smooth and Kool G Rap.
In early 2000 BBE hooked up with Pete Rock and he decided to produce an eclectic beats album for our BEAT GENERATION series. Alongside Pete’s extensive record collection, he inherited from his fathers’ record collection a rich variety of music, which he and BBE both decided should be reflected on this groundbreaking release. The fusion of reggae, jazz, pop, folk, rock and soul would lace this intricate project. A scattering of MC tracks are present to wet the appetite’s of Pete’s traditional fan base. All three MC cuts feature a new crew called the UN. The UN features Rock Marciano from Busta Rhymes posse – Flipmode Squad and newcomers Divine, Godfree and Laku.
CL SMOOTH
Long before it was prevalent for todays posturing rappers, who fabricate stories of lavish living with boastful dreams of killing innocent citizens and rivalries, there existed a dynamic duo dubbed Mecca & The Soul Brother. Hailing from a small suburbia area [Mount Vernon] located on the outskirts of the place that gave birth to hip-hop [Bronx], the dynamic duo known as C.L. Smooth and Pete Rock left a lasting imprint on the culture of hip-hop. Churning out hits that were critical acclaimed for its uniqueness and cleverness, a marriage was made in hip-hop that does not exist today. Pete Rocks production acumen was highly praised along side of his partner in rhyme [C.L. Smooth] who possessed a distinctive flow matched with a perfect delivery. Classical songs such as They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.), a tribute song packed with emotions that havent been duplicated up to this day, showed the conscientious of the lyrical rhyme slayer C.L. Smooth. After successfully releasing three albums the soul-tight brothers departed ways leaving die-hard fans in a frenzy for the signature horn loops of Pete and the verbal play of the Smooth one. While Pete Rock went on to become a much in demand producer, industry insiders and fans alike wonder the fate of C.L. Smooth. Fast forward to a decade later, C.L. is ready to give back what the game is missing by releasing his first EP in a decade as a solo artist with out the Boy Wonder Pete Rock, titled AMERICAN ME on Shamwork Records. Initially released as a mixtape heater, Multi Bar of Fury is a woofer blower single that will permeate through the air waves into the homes of C.L. Smooth loyalist while leaving jeeps rattling from his hometown of Mount Vernon to the far reaches of California. I Cant Help It keeps C.L. Smooth on a winning streak, bringing back old fans while garnering the attention of those who are novice to one of hip-hops legend. The song finds the Mount Vernon native spitting it like hes getting it, Im with the hood study/ good and right up in the cutty/ Sit real pretty/ but the shit can get ugly/ with no love for me you people think Im made out of money/ The illest niggas are under my thumb like puddy/. Production on this standout track is courtesy of in-house producer Mike Loe. When Its Warm Outside is a irresistible radio friendly song produced by Arsonist (Heat Makers) that everyones favorite drunken uncle will be blasting at the family barbeque. The Smooth one sets the tempo letting todays pro tool rappers know that hes not far removed from scene. In fact he is back to claim his position, rightfully so with the one line shot warner, Simple wife-beater bouncin off the tennis sneaker/ CL is that trend setter born leader/ No rapper has taken a 10 year sabbatical only to return better than ever in an industry that shuns ole heads and pioneers, but C.L. Smooth is the exception to this unwritten rule. AMERICAN ME is sure to be a classic album delivered with lyrical merits, tight production and substantial story lines.
