Peter O. Phillips (born June 21, 1970), better known by his stage name Pete Rock, is an American record producer, DJ and

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time, and is often mentioned alongside

DJ Premier Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He is considered one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time. He was half of the hip hop du ...

, RZA, Q-Tip and

J Dilla J, or j, is the tenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its usual name in English is ''jay'' (pronounced ), with a now-uncommon vari ...

as one of the mainstays of 1990s

East Coast hip hop East Coast hip hop is a regional subgenre of hip hop music that originated in New York City during the 1970s. Hip hop is recognized to have originated and evolved first in the Bronx, New York City. In contrast to other styles, East Coast hip ...

production. He rose to prominence in the early 1990s as one half of the critically acclaimed group

Pete Rock & CL Smooth Pete Rock & CL Smooth were a hip hop duo from Mount Vernon, New York. They made their debut with their 1991 EP, '' All Souled Out'' and followed that with their 1992 LP ''Mecca and the Soul Brother''. Career 1991–1994: The Golden Age As a pr ...

. Early on in his career, he was also famed for his remix work. After the duo went their separate ways, Rock continued with a solo career that has garnered him worldwide respect, though little in the way of mainstream success. Along with groups such as

Stetsasonic Stetsasonic is an American hip hop band. Formed in 1981 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, Stetsasonic was one of the first hip hop acts to perform with a full band and use live instrumentation in their recordings, paving the way for future ...

Gang Starr Gang Starr was an American hip hop duo, consisting of Texas record producer DJ Premier and Massachusetts rapper Guru. For the entirety of their association, they were based out of Brooklyn, New York. Gang Starr was at its height from 1989 to 2 ...

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip

and

The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...

, Rock played a major role in the merging of elements from

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

into hip hop music (also known as jazz rap). Pete Rock is also the older brother and younger cousin, respectively, of rappers

Grap Luva InI was an American hip hop group that formed in 1990 and broke up in 1997. The group was composed of members Rob-O, Grap Luva, Ras G a.k.a. I Love H.I.M., Marco Polo (now known as Jolomite), and DJ Boodakhan. History ''The Life I Live'' ...

and

Heavy D Dwight Arrington MyersCuda, Heidi Sigmund Keeping it reel. '' Vibe'' ("born Dwight Arrington Myers")Samuels, Anita M. (January 12' 1996)Heavy D, the C.E.O. ''New York Times'' (May 24, 1967 – November 8, 2011), known professionally as Hea ...

Biography

Early life

Pete Rock was born in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

the fourth of five children born to

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

n immigrant parents. His family moved to

Mount Vernon, New York Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, immediately to the north of the borough of the Bronx. As of the 2020 census, Mount Vernon had a population of 73,893, making it th ...

when he was seven years old. During high school, he met his future recording partner

CL Smooth Corey Brent Penn, Sr. (born October 8, 1968, New Rochelle, New York), known by his stage name CL Smooth, is an American rapper. He is best known as the vocal half of the hip-hop duo Pete Rock & CL Smooth. Career After the duo Pete Rock & CL S ...

. He briefly attended

John Jay College of Criminal Justice The John Jay College of Criminal Justice (John Jay) is a public college focused on criminal justice and located in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY). John Jay was founded as the only liberal art ...

but was not a serious student and left to focus on his music career. According to Rock, his father was also a part-time DJ who had an impressive record collection. Rock would often accompany his father to a

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

club called Wembley in The Bronx and watch as he spun records for the guests. His first job was as a paperboy, in his neighborhood.

Solo career

Rock oversaw the production of ''

Jay Stay Paid ''Jay Stay Paid'' is the fifth studio album by album by American hip hop producer and rapper J Dilla. It was released as a posthumous album on June 2, 2009, by Nature Sounds. Despite the fact that the album has contributing vocals from several ar ...

'', a posthumous album by the producer

, released June 2, 2009, on Nature Sounds. Following that, Pete Rock joined

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

in Hawaii, who traveled there to work on the latter's fifth album, '' My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy''. In addition, he and

have announced that they are working on a joint album together, although further details are unknown. In London, he confirmed that Big Pooh and C.L. Smooth will be on his half of the VS album and he planned on releasing five albums in 2011, including reuniting with C.L. Smooth for a third album, and dropping his fourth album on Nature Sounds. His next few collaborative albums are both due for a summer release with Monumental first then with Camp Lo's "80 Blocks From Tiffanys" LP. In an April 2011 interview on Conspiracy Worldwide Radio, Pete Rock discussed his new solo work including his album with

, as well as exploring the fact that he has had numerous beats rejected by

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing Hip hop music, hip hop in Middle America (United Sta ...

over the years Pete Rock Uncensored Radio Interview. In an August 2011 interview, he has confirmed the completion of the Camp Lo album "80 Blocks from Tiffany's" and that he is currently working on production for

Torae Torae L. Carr (born March 18, 1977), known mononymously as Torae, is an American rapper from the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, New York. He has released a number of solo albums and collaborative works, and operates the independent record l ...

's album, Elzhi & his own solo album '' PeteStrumentals 2''. Pete Rock announced on Twitter that '' PeteStrumentals 2'' is indeed confirmed finished and scheduled for a 2015 release. The project was released on June 23, 2015, on the indie label Mello Music Group. On January 2, 2019, Rock posted a trailer video on his Instagram page announcing that new works will be coming soon, including '' Return of the SP1200'' (which was released on April 13, 2019, exclusively on vinyl (

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

) and released digitally on April 26, 2019), ''PeteStrumentals 3'' (a continuation to 2001's '' PeteStrumentals'' and 2015's '' 2''), ''Don't Smoke Rock 2'' (also a continuation to '' Don't Smoke Rock'') featuring Smoke DZA, and an album with rapper Skyzoo. Rock confirms to

Okayplayer Okayplayer is an online hip-hop and alternative music website and community, described by ''Rolling Stone'' as a "tastemaker" and "an antidote to dull promotional Web sites used by most artists". The community was founded by The Roots' drummer ...

that he is working on his sixth instrumental album called ''PeteStrumentals 4'', another continuation to Rock's previous PeteStrumentals series releases. The project was finished on June 30 and it's scheduled for a 2022 release on Tru Soul records. The project was released on March 31, 2022.

Affiliates

Proteges

Through the years, Rock has helped to jump-start the careers of several artists. His first project outside of Pete Rock & CL Smooth was the hardcore duo YG'z, who released an EP called ''Street Nigga'' in 1993, with four out of the six tracks produced by Rock; however, they were quickly dropped from their deal with Reprise Records. His next venture, INI, was a group featuring Rock, his younger brother

Ras G Gregory Shorter Jr. (December 11, 1978 – July 29, 2019), better known by his stage name Ras G, was an American record producer and DJ from Los Angeles, California. He was a co-founder of the record label Poo-Bah Records and was also associated ...

and rapper

Rob-O InI was an American hip hop group that formed in 1990 and broke up in 1997. The group was composed of members Rob-O, Grap Luva, Ras G a.k.a. I Love H.I.M., Marco Polo (now known as Jolomite), and DJ Boodakhan. History ''The Life I Live'' ...

. They released a single, "Fakin' Jax", through

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the ...

in 1995, before their debut album, '' Center of Attention'', was shelved by the label. The other two members continue to record solo material, albeit only sporadically. In an interview Rock elaborated on the situation:

Relationship with CL Smooth

Since their split in 1995, Pete Rock's relationship with CL Smooth has been highly unpredictable. Although the pair briefly united for the reflective "Da Two" from Rock's ''Soul Survivor'' album in 1998, they avoided entertaining requests for a reunion album until 2001, when they once again teamed up for "Back on Da Block" from Rock's ''PeteStrumentals''. In their interviews during this period, it appeared as though a new album was underway. As Rock would explain: The pair went on a short international tour culminating in their well-received show at London's Jazz Cafe; however, soon after this they declined to comment any further on the new album, which never materialized (although Smooth did make three separate appearances on ''Soul Survivor II''). Eventually, Smooth would confirm rumors of a rift in an interview with AllHipHop.com, in which he appeared angry and frustrated with his former partner, saying "I didn't ask him to be a superhero" and "I'm not the problem". In an interview taken in December 2006, Rock ruled out any further collaborations with Smooth but stated that he holds no grudges against his former partner.

Musical style

Production

Pete Rock creates beats from samples, the majority of which are taken from obscure R&B,

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the mi ...

, and

records. Early on in his career he would also sample drum breaks such as Black Heat's "Zimba Ku" for

Heavy D & The Boyz Dwight Arrington MyersCuda, Heidi Sigmund Keeping it reel. ''Vibe (magazine), Vibe'' ("born Dwight Arrington Myers")Samuels, Anita M. (January 12' 1996)Heavy D, the C.E.O. ''New York Times'' (May 24, 1967 – November 8, 2011), known profe ...

's "Letter To The Future". Pete Rock heavily used the

E-mu SP-1200 The E-mu SP-1200 is a sampler created by Dave Rossum that was released in August 1987 by E-mu Systems. Like the product it was meant to replace, the SP-12, the SP-1200's intended use was as a drum machine and sequencer for dance music produc ...

as well as the

AKAI Akai ( ja, 赤井, ) is a Hong Kong manufacturer of consumer electronics. It was founded as Akai Electric Company Ltd in Tokyo, Japan, in 1946. Grande Holdings in Hong Kong purchased the Akai brand, and now distributes various electronic produ ...

950��later moving onto using the MPC—for his productions. Pete Rock tends to use the samples as palettes for his beats, chopping (cutting the sample into smaller parts), filtering (altering the frequencies of the sample), and layering several samples, often within the same song. While this technique was applied long before Rock (on

De La Soul De La Soul () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1988 in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternati ...

's '' Three Feet High and Rising'' or the work of

The Bomb Squad The Bomb Squad were an American hip hop production team known for its work with hip hop group Public Enemy. The Bomb Squad is noted for its dense, distinct, innovative production style, often utilizing dozens of samples on just one track. The ...

for example), Rock's work is distinctive for the way in which he uses samples to achieve a hazy, droning effect. He is also noted for his resonant basslines, horn samples, and gritty sounding drums. His beats often sound as though they were being played from an old vinyl record; he samples many of his sounds straight off these records. He frequently recorded at Greene St. Recording in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, having liked the equalizer that was used there, which gave many of his productions a wah-wah effect. Another trait of his, more so in the earlier part of his career, is the way he uses horn samples to supplement his grooves. On " They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)", Rock uses a horn sample from Tom Scott's "Today"; he has also used horns on "Straighten It Out",

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe ...

's "Shut 'Em Down", Rah Digga's "What They Call Me", and A.D.O.R.'s "Let It All Hang Out". Along with

and

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip

, Pete Rock played a large role in the fusing of jazz and funk music into hip hop. The aforementioned "Reminisce..." withstanding, Rock used many jazz samples on his album ''Mecca and The Soul Brother'', such as

Cannonball Adderley Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928August 8, 1975) was an American jazz alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s. Adderley is perhaps best remembered for the 1966 soul jazz single " Mercy, Mercy, Mercy", w ...

's "Country Preacher", for the song "Return of the Mecca", or "Capricorn" for the song "In the House" from ''

The Main Ingredient The Main Ingredient was an American soul and R&B group best known for their 1972 hit song " Everybody Plays the Fool". Early history The group was formed in Harlem, New York City in 1964 as a trio called the Poets, composed of lead singer Do ...

''. Pete Rock's heavy use of intro and outro beats has also been widely influential. To introduce feature songs, he often plays a short instrumental excerpt, completely different from the rest of the song. Aside from their role as transitions, these are widely regarded as a way of displaying his large collection and as a challenge to other hip-hop producers to identify the records that the breaks come from. ''Mecca & the Soul Brother'' and ''The Main Ingredient'' use intro/outro beats on nearly every track to great effect, and the tradition continues to the present on Rock's recent releases.

Remixes

"Another Pete Rock Remix" is Pete Rock's trademark catchphrase, heard on countless singles that he has

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

ed. In addition to hip-hop artists he has done remix work for artists from other genres such as his 1995 remix of " Before You Walk Out Of My Life" for R&B singer Monica. In 1992 he collaborated with Mary J. Blige on the ''

What's the 411? ''What's the 411?'' is the debut album by American R&B singer Mary J. Blige. It was released on July 28, 1992, by Uptown Records and MCA Records. After signing a record contract with Uptown, Blige began working on the album with producer Sean "Pu ...

'' single "Reminisce", which utilized the same sample from his own single "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)". Rock claims to have done several high-profile remixes that remain unreleased, including one of

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

's " Secret". He also claims to have produced the original beat for

The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

's " Juicy" and that it was recreated by

P. Diddy Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent directo ...

and Poke (of Tone & Poke fame), without consent. However, he was invited to produce the remix, which utilizes the same sample as the original—

Mtume Mtume (pronounced ''em-tu-may'') was an American funk and soul group that rose to prominence during the early 1980s and had several R&B hits during its career. Its founder, former percussionist James Mtume, previously played and toured with ...

's "Juicy Fruit". Although he received no official producer credit, he made the original demo beat for

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip

's " Jazz (We've Got)", which was then recreated by Q-Tip on the album ''The Low End Theory''. He remixed

's "Shut 'em Down" and "Nighttrain" in the same day, starting at 12pm and finishing at 12am. Up until 2003, he created all of his productions on the E-mu SP-1200, thereafter using the

MPC2000XL. He also has a collection of about 90,000 records and looks for records at least once a week. Pete Rock was one of nine artists who participated in

thetruth.com Truth (stylized as truth) is a national campaign aimed at eliminating teen smoking in the United States. produces television and digital content to encourage teens to reject tobacco and to unite against the tobacco industry. When launched its ...

's Remix Project, where he remixed the Sunny Side song "Magical Amount".

Influence

Pete Rock has had a considerable impact on a number of record producers who have emerged in the hip hop scene since the late 1990s. Critics have favorably compared Detroit producer

and North Carolina's

9th Wonder Patrick Denard Douthit (born January 15, 1975),
better known as 9th Wonder, is a s me"

Discography

Studio albums * '' Soul Survivor'' (1998) * ''

Soul Survivor II ''Soul Survivor II'' is a studio album by hip hop producer Pete Rock, released in 2004. The album features guest appearances from a large number of hip hop artists, including Pharoahe Monch, Little Brother, RZA, GZA, Talib Kweli, Dead Prez ...

'' (2004) * ''

NY's Finest ''NY's Finest'' is the third studio album by hip hop producer and emcee Pete Rock. The album was Rock's first studio album since 2004's '' Soul Survivor II'', and was released on February 26, 2008 through the Nature Sounds record label. The a ...

'' (2008) * ''Soul Survivor 3'' (TBA) Collaboration albums * '' Mecca and the Soul Brother'' (with

) (1992) * ''

'' (with CL Smooth) (1994) * '' My Own Worst Enemy'' (with Ed O.G.) (2004) * ''80 Blocks from Tiffany's'' (with Camp Lo) (2011) * '' Monumental'' (with Smif-N-Wessun) (2011) * ''80 Blocks from Tiffany's 2'' (with Camp Lo) (2013) ad a 2020 re-release* '' Don't Smoke Rock'' (with Smoke DZA) (2016) * '' Retropolitan'' (with Skyzoo) (2019) * ''21 Grams: Worth It's Weight In Soul'' (with AMXXR) (2021) Collaboration EPs * '' All Souled Out'' (with CL Smooth) (1991) * ''The Basement Demos'' (with CL Smooth) (2009) * ''C'' (with Canibus) (2022) Instrumental albums * '' PeteStrumentals'' (2001) * '' The Surviving Elements: From Soul Survivor II Sessions'' (2005) * '' PeteStrumentals 2'' (2015) * ''Lost Sessions'' (2017) * '' Return of the SP1200'' (2019) * ''PeteStrumentals 3'' (with the Soul Brothers) (2020) * ''PeteStrumentals 4'' (2022) * ''Return of the SP1200 2'' (2022) Compilation albums * ''Pete's Treats'' (1999) * '' Good Life: The Best of Pete Rock & CL Smooth'' (with CL Smooth) (2003) * '' Lost & Found: Hip Hop Underground Soul Classics'' (2003)

References

External links

*
Pete Rock
discography at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the ...

*
Pete Rock's Tru Soul Record Label
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rock, Pete 1970 births Living people American rappers of Jamaican descent

Pete Rock Peter O. Phillips (born June 21, 1970), better known by his stage name Pete Rock, is an American record producer, DJ and rapper. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time, and is often mentioned alongside DJ ...

American hip hop record producers

Underground rappers 21st-century American rappers Mount Vernon High School (New York) alumni Barely Breaking Even artists