Debut studio album by Peter "Pete Rock" Phillips, producer and rapper son of Jamaican immigrants, Bronx-born, raised in Mount Vernon, New York. At school he meets C.L. Smooth, with whom he forms one of the best duos of the nineties, and undoubtedly also in the history of hip-hop: three albums, three classics. In 1995, the duo disbanded and Pete Rock continued his career as a solo artist: he planned a collaborative album with his group InI, but Elektra Records did not release it, because the producer wants to stay true to his style and refuses to copy the new sound of the music industry, which follows the one established by Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records.
In 1998, he made his solo debut with a gigantic album-producer, entirely produced by him except for "Half Man Half Amazin", a song made by Grap Luva, his younger brother. Guests are Inspectah Deck, Method Man, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon and Cappadonna of the Wu-Tang Clan, Kurupt of Tha Dogg Pound, OC of DITC, Prodigy of Mobb Deep, Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz, Kool G Rap & Tragedy Khadafi of Juice Crew, Large Professor of Main Source, Black Thought of The Roots, Rob O of InI, MC Eiht of Compton Most Wanted, Carl McIntosh, Jane Eugene, Vinia Mojica, Ms Jones, CL Smooth, Big Punisher of Terror Squad, Common, Noreaga of Capone-N-Noreaga, Stickey Fingaz of Onyx, Heavy D of Flavor Unit, and Beenie Man. Pete Rock performs on every track except "Massive (Hold Tight)".
The album starts very strong, perhaps too strong, with an entire section dedicated to the Wu-Tang Clan: there are four MCs from the Staten Island group in the first five tracks. After Pete Rock's soulful intro, comes "Tru Master", Rebel INS kills the cut, he flows dope over a light essential jazz beat, supported by Kurupt on the hook. Method Man is the host on track number three, the title of which is a tribute to Nas: it's the only song produced by a beatmaker other than Pete Rock, being created by Grap Luva, his younger brother and part of the InI group. Boom bap jazzy skeletal and oriental, Johnny Blaze delivers quick, graceless, technical, dope; Pete Rock is discreet at rapping, on the hook there's an additional tribute to Nas.
"Respect Mine" features Omar Credle, emcee of DITC, and from the tracklist you might think that it's the only song that has nothing to do with Wu-Tang and that interrupts the section dedicated to the best group ever: Pete Rock immediately denies these thoughts by putting a sample directly from Raekwon's verse in "C.R.E.A.M.", to which the title also refers. Boom bap essential, jazzy, gloomy, perfect for OC that runs rough and smoothness on this soundscape, in perfect style. Track number five is "The Game": jazz production, simple, oriental, Ghostface Killah delivers solid, raw, smoothness, he annihilates the beat with fresh flow, Prodigy's hook and his great verse, then Raekwon, raw, velvety, it closes Pete Rock. Excellent cut.
The album begins to drop. "#1 Soul Brother" is a Pete Rock solo on a beautiful boom bap, not at the level of the previous tracks. Four solid choices follow, with Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz, G Rap & Large Pro, Black Thought & Rob O and MC Eiht: the production is dynamic, boom bap jazz, and the performers deliver at their best, with remarkable rapping, however, the songs don't stand out, despite they are all very good. Track number eleven opens a rnb section with some good singers and a light soul and jazz production. "Da Two" marks the return of CL Smooth to a Pete Rock rhythm: gorgeous ethereal jazzy boom bap, CL dope delivery, Pete Rock good rap. "Verbal Murder 2" is a posse track in which Big Punisher rips the cut, Noreaga and Common don't reach him, well the others on this essential production. "Strange Fruit" features Cappadonna, still affiliated with Wu-Tang at the time, and Stickey Fingaz of Onyx, nevertheless, it's the Juice Crew obscure member Tragedy Khadafi to steal the show, he murders this creepy Pete Rock beat. The last song is a ragga filler with Beenie Man and Heavy D.
Consisting of 17 tracks and 74 minutes of material, Pete Rock's solo debut boasts excellent production and great rapping, even if it's slightly bloated and overkill. Released by Loud and RCA, is distributed by BMG: it reaches the top ten among rap records, and is welcomed lukewarmly by the professional critics. The producer gathers a number of high-profile MCs, especially from the East Coast, and builds one of the most solid projects of the year, almost a masterpiece work.
Rating: 8/10.
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