Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth, Mecca and the Soul Brother (1992)
In 2000, the Baltimore Ravens had a defense that could hold it's own against the greatest of all time. On offense, however, they lacked an abudance of stars. Not to say that they had a bad offense, it was great, but there were certainly better ones out there.
Pete Rock in 1992, in his prime, is that defense at its height. C.L. Smooth is that offense - it couldnt win by itself, but it certainly did its half. So how good is this album? Well, the Ravens won the Superbowl.
Not to compare C.L. to Trent Dilfer tho, because C.L. hit his stride with this album and positioned himself in more than a few 100 best lists and the like.
Pete creates everything from the slow R&B-tinged "Lots of Lovin" to the funkiness and speed of "Act Like You Know."
Continuing with the classic horns of "Straighten It Out," you can appreciate C.L.'s mistake-free rapping and an incredible knack for feeling right at home over any Pete R beat.
Pete Rock raps himself as well on songs like "Soul Brother #1" and he performs like Ray Lewis at Wide Receiver but with things like sampling the classic JB's instrumental, "The Grunt," this song is a winner.
And then we get to the absolute classic "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)" which may likely be the best rap beat ever. This song is incredible in its vocals as well - the song is about fallen (oh shit, no pun intended) Heavy D Boy and friend Trouble T-Roy. This song is impossible not to like.
After a quick beatbox/freestyle interlude from Rob-O, we get to yet another incredible creative and funky use of sampling of horns, piano and vocals on "On and On." The next songs is the likeable horn loops and drumming of "It's Like That" and "Can't Front On Me" and the weirdly funky posse cut "The Basement" featuring Grap Luva, Dida, Rob-O and Heavy D.
The album closes with the sexually explicit "Skinz" featuring microphone wizard Grand Puba of Brand Nubian, a pretty strong closer.
This album is an incredible audio experience, to hear one of the best ever to do it in his magnum opus - calling it "classic" is pretty fuckin accurate. As a matter of fact, the beat to "T.R.O.Y." alone is worth the price of admission. Add to that another 16 songs that never fall below good, and this is a must-have.
Rating: 10 Mr. T chains
Buy or Copy: Buy it!
Pete Rock in 1992, in his prime, is that defense at its height. C.L. Smooth is that offense - it couldnt win by itself, but it certainly did its half. So how good is this album? Well, the Ravens won the Superbowl.
Not to compare C.L. to Trent Dilfer tho, because C.L. hit his stride with this album and positioned himself in more than a few 100 best lists and the like.
Pete creates everything from the slow R&B-tinged "Lots of Lovin" to the funkiness and speed of "Act Like You Know."
Continuing with the classic horns of "Straighten It Out," you can appreciate C.L.'s mistake-free rapping and an incredible knack for feeling right at home over any Pete R beat.
Pete Rock raps himself as well on songs like "Soul Brother #1" and he performs like Ray Lewis at Wide Receiver but with things like sampling the classic JB's instrumental, "The Grunt," this song is a winner.
And then we get to the absolute classic "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)" which may likely be the best rap beat ever. This song is incredible in its vocals as well - the song is about fallen (oh shit, no pun intended) Heavy D Boy and friend Trouble T-Roy. This song is impossible not to like.
After a quick beatbox/freestyle interlude from Rob-O, we get to yet another incredible creative and funky use of sampling of horns, piano and vocals on "On and On." The next songs is the likeable horn loops and drumming of "It's Like That" and "Can't Front On Me" and the weirdly funky posse cut "The Basement" featuring Grap Luva, Dida, Rob-O and Heavy D.
The album closes with the sexually explicit "Skinz" featuring microphone wizard Grand Puba of Brand Nubian, a pretty strong closer.
This album is an incredible audio experience, to hear one of the best ever to do it in his magnum opus - calling it "classic" is pretty fuckin accurate. As a matter of fact, the beat to "T.R.O.Y." alone is worth the price of admission. Add to that another 16 songs that never fall below good, and this is a must-have.
Rating: 10 Mr. T chains
Buy or Copy: Buy it!
posted by Zodiac Digital at 3:25 PM
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