''NY's Finest'' is the fourth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

producer and emcee

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

. 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 Nature Sounds is a record label based in Brooklyn, New York, specializing in hip hop and reggae music. The label is independently owned and operated. It was founded by Devin Horwitz in 2003. History Nature Sounds was founded in 2003 by Devin H ...

record label. The album's cover art was created by Fuse Green and inspired by the cover of

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

's ''

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...

''. The instrumental version of the album was released on May 13, 2008 and includes two additional songs not available on the ordinary release; "It's So G" (which appeared with lyrics by

Roc Marciano Rahkeim Calief Meyer (born February 11, 1978), better known by his stage name Roc Marciano, is an American rapper and record producer. He is known for his intricate internal rhymes and wordplay detailing mafioso and pimp themes over sample bas ...

on the deluxe edition) and "When I Need It" (which later was released with lyrics by Pete Rock on the ''

NBA Live 10 ''NBA Live 10'' is the 2009 installment in the ''NBA Live'' series, developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts. Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic is the cover athlete. It was released in 2009 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PSP, and i ...

'' soundtrack).

Collaborations

''NY's Finest'', as the name suggests, features many of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

's most respected and successful rap artists. As with previous Pete Rock albums, the album features an array of guest artists, and prior to its completion, Rock expressed interest in collaborating with rappers such as

Papoose Papoose (from the Narragansett ''papoos'', meaning "child") is an American English word whose present meaning is "a Native American child" (regardless of tribe) or, even more generally, any child, usually used as a term of endearment, often in ...

, Redman,

D-Block A block of the periodic table is a set of elements unified by the atomic orbitals their valence electrons or vacancies lie in. The term seems to have been first used by Charles Janet. Each block is named after its characteristic orbital: s-bloc ...

Jim Jones James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American cult leader, preacher and mass murderer who founded and led the Peoples Temple between 1955 and 1978. Jones and the members of his inner circle planned and orchestrat ...

Raekwon Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), better known by his stage name Raekwon ( ), is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which achieved mainstream success following the release of the ...

Masta Killa Jamel Irief (born Elgin Evander Turner; August 18, 1969), better known by his stage name Masta Killa, is an American rapper and member of the Wu-Tang Clan. He was only featured on one track on their 1993 debut album '' Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chamb ...

. The album also sees Rock rapping on 7 songs. In December 2007, an EPK was released featuring Rock and other musicians talking about the album and in the studio. The album was to also feature Detroit hip hop act

Slum Village Slum Village is an American hip hop group from Detroit, Michigan. The group was formerly composed of the rappers Baatin (1974–2009), T3, and rapper / producer J Dilla (1974–2006). J Dilla left in 2001 to pursue a solo career with MCA Record ...

, in a song called "Gangsta Boogie", but was taken off the album, probably to keep with theme of the title (however, the North Carolina group Little Brother appears on the song "Bring Y'all Back").

Use in film

The album track "Best Believe" was used in the 2008

Paul Rudd Paul Stephen Rudd (born April 6, 1969) is an American actor. Rudd studied theatre at the University of Kansas and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts before making his acting debut in 1991. He was included on the ''Forbes'' Celebrity 100 li ...

and

Seann William Scott Seann William Scott (born October 3, 1976) is an American actor. In film, Scott is best known for his breakout role as Steve Stifler in the ''American Pie'' film series (1999–2012). He also starred in a lead role as Doug Glatt in '' Goon'' (2 ...

comedy ''

Role Models ''Role Models'' is a 2008 American comedy film directed by David Wain, who co-wrote it with Timothy Dowling, Paul Rudd and Ken Marino. The film stars Rudd, Seann William Scott, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Bobb'e J. Thompson, Jane Lynch, and ...

''.

Reception

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 193 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling 3,900 copies in its first week. The first single is "914", featuring

LOX Lox is a fillet of brined salmon, which may be smoked. Lox is frequently served on a bagel with cream cheese, and often garnished with tomato, onion, cucumber, and capers. Etymology The American English word ''lox'' is a borrowing of Yiddi ...

members

Styles P David R. Styles (born November 28, 1974), better known by his stage name Styles P (also known Mononymous person, mononymously as Styles), is an American rapper, best known as a member of East Coast hip hop group the Lox. Formed with fellow rappe ...

and

Sheek Louch Sean Divine Jacobs (born September 30, 1974), better known by his stage name Sheek Louch (or simply Sheek), is an American rapper, best known as a member of East Coast hip hop trio the Lox, which he formed in 1994 with Jadakiss and Styles P. ...

, backed with

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

"The PJs", featuring

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop collective formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its members include RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and, until his death in 2004, O ...

members

and

. A third track, "Gangsta Boogie" featuring

, was also leaked onto the internet but will be an

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

exclusive only.

Track listing

:''All tracks produced by

unless noted otherwise.'' #"Pete Intro" #"We Roll" #*Featuring

Max B Charley Wingate (born May 21, 1978), better known by his stage name Max B (short for Max Biggaveli), is an American rapper and singer. He is best known for his solo ''Public Domain'' and ''Million Dollar Baby'' series of mixtapes, and introduc ...

#*Samples: "You Don't Have To Change" by

Kool & The Gang Kool & the Gang is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B, soul music, soul, and funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964. Its founding members include brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell (musician), Ronald Bell (also known as " ...

#"Till I Retire" #"914" #*Featuring

#"Questions" #*Featuring Royal Flush #*Samples: "Exercise Run" by

Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson (June 14, 1932, Manhattan, New York or possibly (unconfirmed) Winston-Salem, North Carolina – March 9, 2004, Chicago) was an American composer whose interests spanned the worlds of jazz, dance, pop, film, televisi ...

#"Best Believe" #*Featuring Redman & LD #"Ready Fe War" #*Featuring Chip Fu & Renee Neufville (Formerly of Zhane) #"Don't Be Mad" #*Produced by

DJ Green Lantern James Christopher D'Agostino (born July 7, 1975), professionally known as DJ Green Lantern, is an American hip hop DJ and producer from Rochester, New York. In 2002, D'Agostino was signed by American rapper Eminem, to become the official DJ for ...

#"Bring Y'all Back" #*Featuring Joe Scudda (uncredited) & Little Brother #"The Best Secret" #*Featuring

Lords of the Underground The Lords of the Underground (L.O.T.U.G.) is an American Hip hop music, hip-hop trio based in Newark, New Jersey. The group is composed of Dupré Kelly (professionally known as DoItAll) (born January 14, 1971), Al'Terik Wardrick (professionally ...

#"That's What I Am Talking About" #*Featuring Rell #"The PJ's" #*Featuring

#"Made Man" #*Featuring Tarrey Torae #*Samples: "Take The Time To Tell Her" by

Jerry Butler Jerry Butler Jr. (December 8, 1939 – February 20, 2025) was an American soul singer-songwriter, producer, musician, and politician. He was the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group the Impressions, who were inducted into the Rock and ...

#"Let's Go" #*Featuring Doo Wop #"Comprehend" #*Featuring

#*Samples:

I'm Not In Love "I'm Not in Love" is a song by British group 10cc, written by band members Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman. It is known for its innovative and distinctive backing track, composed mostly of the band's multitrack recording, multitracked vocals. ...

10cc 10cc are an English rock music, rock band formed in Stockport, southeast of Manchester, in 1972. The group initially consisted of four musicians, Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme, who had written and recorded togethe ...

#"Gangsta Boogie" #*Featuring

(iTunes Bonus) #*Samples: "They Long To Be Close To You" by

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records in the 1960s, serving as an in-house songwr ...

#"It's So G" #*Featuring

(Deluxe Edition Bonus)

Album singles

Charts

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ny's Finest 2008 albums Pete Rock albums Albums produced by Pete Rock Albums produced by DJ Green Lantern Nature Sounds albums