PETE ROCK Vinyl & CDs

Review: There are few beatmakers as essential and pioneering as Pete Rock. His albums often take the form of collections of his beat-strumentals and they make for compelling listening that covers a wide variety of hip-hop joints. This Record Store Day Black Friday 2022 special is another cat in port that finds the American talent gaming out on his trusty SP1200, an iconic drum machine and sampler combo that very much defined early rap and hip hop. He gets the very best out of it once more here over classic boom bap sounds, more edgy late-night beats and plenty of steamy rollers.

Review: Pete Rock is widely hailed as one of the most important producers in hip-hop history, and with good reason. From his early groundbreaking work with CL Smooth onwards, he's brought a heavy sound steeped in the East Coast style, but with a sharp approach to production which makes his beats land crisper than most. His Petestrumentals series reaches back to 2001, when BBE deemed it necessary to shine a light on his next-level tracks. This fourth volume takes you back in on the expert touch of a grandmaster, with a clutch of productions so vibrant you never even imagine an MC riding on top.

Review: Nature's Sounds presents 'NY's Finest' from Pete Rock. Rock revolutionized rap production through ground-breaking studio wizardry. He made
remixes matter more than the original songs. He introduced dramatic, forceful horns to rap's sonic discussion. Pete Rock has notched these
achievements during his impeccable recording, producing and remixing career, one of the most distinguished in rap history and one that includes
collaborations with Nas, Common, Mary J. Blige, Ghostface Killah, Busta Rhymes, Public Enemy and Run-DMC, among many others.

Review: The reissue of Pete Rock & CL Smooth's Main Ingredient reminds hip-hop heads what a timeless masterpiece it really is. The record has a sure place in hip-hop history and has since it was originally released in 1994. The album showcases the duo's famous and unparalleled chemistry, with Pete Rock's soulful production and CL Smooth's smooth lyricism blending seamlessly on tracks that continue to resonate with listeners and very much capture the essence of 90s hip-hop while still remaining relevant today. 'Sun Won't Come Out', 'The Main Ingredient', and 'Get On The Mic' all demand to be played loud and proud

Review: "Retropolitan" is a first coming together of rapper Skyzoo and beat maker extraordinaire Pete Rock, and one that has been long in the making. Some of the beats here, such as "It's All Good" come from Rock's own secret stash of jams made on his trusty SP-1200 as far back as 1994 when he was working on the seminal "Illmatic" album with Nas. Elsewhere guests like Styles P, Benny The Butcher, Conway and Raheem DeVaughn add their own rhymes and help make this a super sweet coming together of different generations who address the current state of New York City amongst much more.