Producer extraordinaire Pete Rock ignores the so-called gravitational force sinking the Big Apple into hip-hop irrelevance and delivers big-time on his 6th solo album NY's Finest (Soul Survivor Records).
Pete is celebrated for his original sampling technique of layering R&B, jazz, and soul slices first employed alongside rapper CL Smooth. A native of Mount Vernon, N.Y., he enlisted a cast of top-notch lyricists and vocalists. He even lays down his own surefire verses on a handful of the fifteen tracks.
NY's Finest is chock-full of soulful melodies ("914" featuring Styles P & Sheek) and head-nodding drum sequences ("Bring Y'all Back" with Little Brother), as Pete masterfully crafts every instrumental save Green Lantern's laid-back beat on "Don't Be Mad."
Showing off his supreme music proficiency, Pete tactically intertwines old school, 90's golden era and modern rap realms. From a rolling bass line ideal for storytelling, from Wu-Tang members Raekwon and Masta Killa on "The PJ's," to radiant horns backing Redman and LD on "Best Believe," the disc's essential theme is preserving Pete's throwback sound for today's listeners.
The disc's best moments come unexpectedly as pleasant surprises. The lighthearted, piano-laden backdrop lets Pete depict his ideal relationship on "That's What I'm Talking About" between feel-good hooks from R & B crooner Rell. Pete incorporates a hypnotic riddim for "Ready Fe War," featuring former Fu-Shnickens MC Chip Fu and female dub singer Renée Neufville.
Another gem warranting constant spins is the heavy-hitting "Till I Retire" inspired by a famous Run-DMC line as Pete raps, "Well-connected and still make it pop / People wanna know, 'Pete, when did your album drop?' / When hip-hop's heart supposedly stopped / More bars than Alcatraz, just call me 'The Rock.'"
By withstanding the test of time, Pete cements a mention as not just one of N.Y.'s Finest, but of the entire genre.
