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Artist

Pete Rock

Pete Rock (Peter Phillips), the Chocolate Boy Wonder from Mount Vernon: Pete Rock & CL Smooth, “T.R.O.Y.,” Soul Survivor and SP-1200 soul.

Mount Vernon

Pete Rock was born Peter O. Phillips on June 21, 1970, in the Bronx and grew up in Mount Vernon, New York. His father was a DJ with a deep record collection, and his cousin was Heavy D, whose group Heavy D & the Boyz gave him his first studio work. As a teenager he joined Marley Marl on the WBLS radio show In Control.

Pete Rock & CL Smooth

With Mount Vernon rapper CL Smooth he released the All Souled Out EP (1991), then Mecca and the Soul Brother (1992) on Elektra. Its centerpiece, “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.),” was written for Trouble T Roy of Heavy D & the Boyz, who died in 1990, and is one of the most celebrated productions in rap. The Main Ingredient followed in 1994 before the duo split.

The sound

Working mainly on the E-mu SP-1200, Pete Rock layered filtered basslines under chopped jazz and soul, with horn stabs and short instrumental intros and outros between songs. That approach shaped a generation of producers, J Dilla among them. He was also a sought-after remixer in the early 90s, reworking records for Public Enemy, Heavy D and many R&B acts, and he produced “The World Is Yours” on Nas's Illmatic (1994).

Solo and beyond

His solo albums include Soul Survivor (1998), PeteStrumentals (2001), Soul Survivor II (2004) and NY's Finest (2008). He made Monumental (2011) with Smif-N-Wessun and Return of the SP1200 (2019), and still DJs, produces and digs for records.

Press play

Watch

WatchPete Rock & CL Smooth - They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.) (Official Video)
ShareX (opens in a new tab)Facebook (opens in a new tab)Reddit (opens in a new tab)WhatsApp (opens in a new tab)Pinterest (opens in a new tab)
Pete Rock & CL Smooth - They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.) (Official Video)
Music video, Mecca and the Soul Brother (1992)Pete Rock & CL Smooth - They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.) (Official Video)UPROXX
Pete Rock & CL Smooth - Straighten It Out (Official Video)
Music video, Mecca and the Soul Brother (1992)Pete Rock & CL Smooth - Straighten It Out (Official Video)UPROXX
Nas - The World Is Yours (Official HD Video)
Music video, Nas, Illmatic (1994), produced by Pete RockNas - The World Is Yours (Official HD Video)NasVEVO
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth ‎- Lots Of Lovin' (Official Video)
Music video, Mecca and the Soul Brother (1992)Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth ‎- Lots Of Lovin' (Official Video)UPROXX
Pete Rock, Inspectah Deck, Kurupt - Tru Master (Official Video)
Music video, Soul Survivor (1998)Pete Rock, Inspectah Deck, Kurupt - Tru Master (Official Video)PeteRockVEVO
Every record

Discography

Pulled from Discogs. Titles in yellow have a full page on Breakbeat Archive.

Studio albums 11

  1. 1998Soul SurvivorLoud RecordseBayDiscogs
  2. 2001PeteStrumentalsBBEeBayDiscogs
  3. 2004Soul Survivor IIRapster RecordseBayDiscogs
  4. 2004The Surviving ElementsRapster RecordseBayDiscogs
  5. 2008NY's FinestNature SoundseBayDiscogs
  6. 2015PeteStrumentals 2Mello Music GroupeBayDiscogs
  7. 2017Soul Brotha BeatsNot On Label (Pete Rock)eBayDiscogs
  8. 2019Return Of The SP1200Tru Soul RecordseBayDiscogs
  9. 202080 Blocks InstrumentalsTru Soul RecordseBayDiscogs
  10. 2022Return Of The SP1200 Vol. 2Tru Soul RecordseBayDiscogs
  11. 2022Petestrumentals 4Vinyl DigitaleBayDiscogs

Collaborative albums 25

  1. 1997Future Flavas Radio Show Hot 97 FM 1997Marley Marl & Pete Rock · Nuts Ent.eBayDiscogs
  2. 2002Music For Your EarPete Rock And DJ Goldfinger · MasterTapeseBayDiscogs
  3. 2002Cornerstone Mixtape No. 36 / Feb. 02Pete Rock, DJ Goldfinger, Various · Cornerstone Promotion, Cornerstone Promotion, Cornerstone PromotioneBayDiscogs
  4. 2003Center Of AttentionPete Rock, InI · Rapster RecordseBayDiscogs
  5. 2003The Original Baby PaPete Rock, Deda · Rapster RecordseBayDiscogs
  6. 2004Cornerstone Mixtape #64 / August 04Pete Rock & DJ Maseo*, Various · Cornerstone Promotion, Cornerstone PromotioneBayDiscogs
  7. 2004My Own Worst EnemyEdo G* Featuring Pete Rock · Fat Beats RecordseBayDiscogs
  8. 2004It's A Love ThingPete Rock Featuring C.L. Smooth and Denosh · Rapster RecordseBayDiscogs
  9. 2004WarzonePete Rock Featuring Dead Prez · BBEeBayDiscogs
  10. 2007Cornerstone Mixtape #99 / October 2007: The Petes' RockPete Rock, Peter Rosenberg, Various · Cornerstone Promotion, Cornerstone PromotioneBayDiscogs
  11. 2011MonumentalPete Rock / Smif-N-Wessun · Duck Down Music Inc.eBayDiscogs
  12. 201180 Blocks From Tiffany'sPete Rock & Camp Lo · Not On LabeleBayDiscogs
  13. 201380 Blocks From Tiffany's Pt. IIPete Rock & Camp Lo · Not On LabeleBayDiscogs
  14. 2016Peace BelovedPete Rock Presents Ameer · Smart MobbeBayDiscogs
  15. 2016Don't Smoke RockSmoke DZA x Pete Rock · BabygrandeeBayDiscogs
  16. 2017Lost SessionsPete Rock / INI · Vinyl DigitaleBayDiscogs
  17. 2019Live at WBLS 08/12/89P*** R**** · Nice Up InternationaleBayDiscogs
  18. 2019RetropolitanSkyzoo + Pete Rock · Mello Music GroupeBayDiscogs
  19. 2020PeteStrumentals 3Pete Rock & The Soul Brothers · Tru Soul RecordseBayDiscogs
  20. 2020The People's ChampFlee Lord, Pete Rock · Loyalty Or DeatheBayDiscogs
  21. 202121 Grams: Worth It's Weight In Soul - The MixtapePete Rock & AMXXR* · Tru Soul Records, Vinyl Index.eBayDiscogs
  22. 2024The Auditorium Vol. 1Common & Pete Rock · CommoneBayDiscogs
  23. —The Wake Up Show & Future Flavas May 1997 East Coast West Coast LivePete Rock, DJ Revolution, Marley Marl · Beat Street RecordingseBayDiscogs
  24. —Future Flavas & Home Jamz, Sunday 02-11-97Pete Rock & Marley Marl Featuring Big Dennis* · Music Makes Me High!!!!eBayDiscogs
  25. —All Souled OutPete Rock & C.L. Smooth · ElektraeBayDiscogs

Compilations 3

  1. 2000Funk Spectrum IIIBBEeBayDiscogs
  2. 2003Hip Hop Underground Soul Classics (Lost And Found: Previously Unreleased Soul Brother Classics)Rapster RecordseBayDiscogs
  3. 2006Underground ClassicsRapster RecordseBayDiscogs
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