Debut album for Mount Vernon hip-hop duo Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth, after releasing one of the best EPs of the season the year before. Eighty-minute document in which Pete Rock proves to be one of the best hip-hop producers ever, creating an entrancing soundscape, made up of soulful melodic samples and layered musical samples such as fluid bass, organs, cymbals, trumpets and cornets, and tough and robust drum machines.
The sound is cohesive, solid and clean throughout the album, soon becoming of fundamental importance to the jazz rap movement. Fans don't think CL Smooth is the best rapper for such an excellent production, but the MC is practically nothing wrong here: he deals with braggadocio themes, love songs ("Lots of Lovin"), socio-conscious ("Ghetto of the Mind"), political ("Anger in the Nation") and personal topics ("They Reminisce Over You"), with an impeccable, technically clean, solid and excellent rapping performance, he has a pleasant voice and top flow.
All sixteen cuts are great, including the posse "The Basement" featuring Heavy D, Grap, Dida and Rob-O, and Pete Rock's solo cut "Soul Brother #1", a song often accused of being the worst of whole project: the lyrics of Grand Puba are worthily recited by Pete Rock, who isn't the best rapper ever, but here he doesn't hurt that much, and as a rhythm he chooses to loop tightly a hot teapot straight from "Public Enemy No. 1", which is less annoying than it might seem. Fresh, polished and practically perfect album, it's among the best records of the year and one of the best ever in the jazz rap genre, the simple and easy lyrics of CL are elevated towards infinity by the sound chosen by Pete Rock, masterpiece.
"Return of the Mecca" is a perfect cut: light slow drum, spoken intro, then robust and hard drum, funky boom bap let breathe, simple whispered hook, silky delivery by CL, dope hook with horn sample. "For Pete's Sake" is clearly among the finest tracks, same speech for "Skinz". "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)" is a dedication to their deceased friend Trouble T Roy and one of the favorite ever by hip-hop heads. "When She Made Me Promise" by The Beginning of the End is the song sampled in the first seconds of this single, then comes the bass and sax of Scott Davis' "Today" and the song changes beat: CL Smooth offers one of his best performance ever on one of the best rhythms ever by Pete Rock, for a tribute song to their friend Troy "Trouble T Roy" Dixon, back dancer of the group led by Heavy D and prematurely passed away a few years earlier.
Rating: 9.5/10.
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