Beatmakers: Pete Rock

Pete Rock hands down is one of my favorite hip hop producers. His ability to mix jazz and soul samples and turn them into hip hop beats is unmatched. I have been a fan of his work since 1992 when he and CL Smooth, dropped their second album, Mecca and The Soul Brother. Two of the standout tracks on that album were "Straighten it Out" and the classic, T.R.O.Y (which I love so much I have requested it be played at my funeral). Fun Fact: The sample from T.R.O.Y is from Tom Scott's "Today" and that song was featured on The Boondocks episode of "Riley Was Here".

After the breakup of him and CL Smooth, Pete Rock struck out on his own and began producing tracks for a slew of artist such as: Nas(Illmatic), Biggie(Ready to Die), Run-DMC(Down with the Kings), and Ghostfaced Killah(Fishscale) to name a few.

Pete Rock also released two critically acclaimed solo albums, the first being Soul Survivor (soundtrack to my senior year in high school). This album contained some of the most epic collabos that I have seen in my lifetime. My personal favorite? "Strange Fruit"....you had Big Pun, Sticky Fingaz, Cappadonna, and Tragedy Khadafi (remember him?). Where else would you have heard these four completely different artist on one track? The beauty of it was the entire track flowed beautifully and it didn't sound forced or awkward like some of the collaborations you hear today.

His second solo project, was Petestrumentals (soundtrack to dating my daughter's father, who is also a producer). This project is one that me and my daughter's father bonded over and it could be said that "Play Dis Only at Night" and "Pete's Jazz" were in constant rotation in my household.

My love of Pete Rock's work is that it is not sloppy and you can tell by listening to the alchemy of the beats that he creates that he takes his time with t he music he creates. He has a process, a formula which is well thought out and he has not deviated from that formula and that is what has given him longevity in this indusrty. So since the phrase that seems to be floating around these days is "pay homage (no Lil Kim)", I tip my hat to you Peter Phillips....you have truly made a mark in hip hop.