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Biography
The son of a part-time DJ, who spun records to members of the Wembley cricket club in The Bronx, Pete Rock met his future recording partner CL Smooth during high school. Rock’s initial excursion into the hip-hop community came when he became a recognised DJ on New York WBLS radio show alongside Marley Marl. Known for using double copies of every record, allowing him to cut up and mix every track, it wasn’t long before Pete Rock became a respected and popular DJ. With the success of his DJ career Rock moved on to producing in the early 1990s and in 1991 collaborated with CL Smooth on the EP “All Souled Out”. The EP was well-received by critics and fans alike and led to the subsequent release “Mecca and the Soul Brother”, which was regarded as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time.
The duo then became the first act to sign with Elektra Records, managed by Eddie F of Heavy D and The Boyz, and Pete Rock proved himself as one of the three “Untouchables” producers alongside Eddie F and Nevelle Hodge. In addition to releasing his own material, Pete Rock produced for some of the most respected names in hip hop including Run-DMC, Nas, Jeru the Damaja, Public Enemy, and The Notorious B.I.G. Like its predecessor, Rock and CL Smooth’s follow-up “The Main Ingredient” earned critical acclaim from the musical press and a ever-growing fan base. After the release however the duo split and Rock went on to form the group INI in 1995, with the talents of Grap Luva, Rob-O and I Love H.I.M. The group’s debut was the 12” classic “Fakin’ Jax”, followed by the full length “Center of Attention”, which remained unreleased until 2003.
Pete Rock’s solo ambitions were realised in 1998 with the release of his debut full-length “Soul Survivor”. The rapper was subsequently dropped by the label Loud Records, however after signing with Rapster/BBE released “Petestrumentals” a collection of largely unreleased beats and instrumentals. In 2004 Rock released the follow-up to “Soul Survivor” entitled “Soul Survivor II”, which featured guest contributions from RZA, Talib Kweli and CL Smooth. The album marked the beginning of a relationship with Wu-Tang Clan, and in 2006 Rock produced three tracks for Ghostface’s “Fishscale” album. Rock’s next solo album “NY’s Finest” was issued in early 2008, earning favourable reviews and featuring the likes of Kool & The Gang, Redman, and Raekwon, followed by “Monumentals”, which appeared in April 2011 in collaboration with the rap group Smif-N-Wessun.
Live reviews
Huge fan of Pete's work, I saw him play the Mint in S.F. with C.L. and it remains one of the best shows ever any type of music. And yes, that was the show where Phife came out and sang. Also saw him with Premier in S.F. He had booked a date about a year ago but then cancelled so when I saw this one at Starline (which is a sweet little venue) I wasn't missing it.
What I guess I didn't see coming is that Pete wasn't doing any of his own stuff, it's literally D.J. Pete Rock spinning Tom Tom Club, Bee Gee's, Michael Jackson . . . etc.
In fairness - and sadly - there is likely a larger market for him performing as a DJ than there is for him playing his own stuff. Which is a bummer because I don't think anyone can touch him in that respect but, like all of us, he's got bills to pay.
So while I was a little disappointed I can tell you the kids in the audience were not, they ate it up, sold out show. And I'm also here to tell you that disco is back, which is weird because I was there for it's first iteration.
So net net if someone's going to be spinning records from the disco era you will be hard pressed to find anyone better qualified. Pete has forgotten more music than most DJ's will ever know. Did I mention that Disco is back? Mind blown on that one.
rojotoro
The legendary beat maker extraordinaire that is Pete Rock gave us a great DJ set when I saw him perform. Although there were no live MCs, the show reminded every hip hop mad audience member of the artistry that goes into hip hop production. He lead us through a sonic landscape that saw us journey from classic 80s R&B right through to more contemporary hip hop. A Tribe Called Quest and Gangstarr featured heavily in his set - something that wasn’t too much of a surprise to listeners aware of his involvement with the production of a lot of those artists’ material. There was a lot of 90s style hip hop featured throughout the show in general, and the audience loved it! If you love hip hop, vinyl, and/or jazz and R&B, go see this guy! He dropped a few of his own remixes and laced it all together with his great vinyl mixing and matching skills. All in all, the show was a crate-digger’s dream!
samseyes
I bought a ticket for some band I'd never even heard of before last summer just to see Pete Rock open up for them. I was in the ladies' room and heard his recognizable beats - I'd missed most of his performance - somehow the lineup got screwed up and he came on first. I'm still sorry I missed it. I LOVE this man's grooves and have enjoyed chillin to this music for years now.....
lizswan
There were some technical difficulties in the beginning. He still performed the way a legend was supposed too. He even apologized before and after his performance for the technical difficulties and it wasn't even his equipment. He's definitely one of the top 5 Dead or Alive hip hop music producers!
donald-battle-1
Bluestab ans Apollo shook da building up. Sharp sets....live beat cooking. Shit was dope man.
Pete ripped da house emceeing, freestyling wit da crowd. Wish my soul brother number 1 could have shown skills with da tools though.
Had a good one out there
Thanks.
frederic-michaud
