Pete Rock

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Pete Rock

Background information
Birth name	Peter Phillips
Born	June 21, 1970 (age 36)
Origin	Mount Vernon, New York
Genre(s)	Hip Hop
Years active	1989–present
Label(s)	Elektra Records Loud Records BBE Records Nature Sounds Records

Pete Rock (born Peter Phillips, June 21, 1970 in Mount Vernon, New York) is an American Hip Hop DJ, producer, and rapper. Along with A Tribe Called Quest and Gang Starr, Pete Rock was largely responsible for the merging of elements of jazz into hip hop music.

1 History
2 Solo Career
3 Selected Discography
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] History

His first major exposure to the hip-hop audience was in the late 1980s with Marley Marl as a DJ on New York's WBLS radio show "In Control With Marley Marl". Propelled by the growth of his popularity, he began producing in the early 1990s. In 1991 he joined with his friend and partner CL Smooth (Corey Penn) to form the aptly named group Pete Rock & CL Smooth. That same year they released the EP All Souled Out. Two full length albums followed, 1992's Mecca and the Soul Brother considered by many to be a classic, and 1994's The Main Ingredient. Both albums were released to wide critical acclaim, cementing their positions as classics in hip hop history.

The duo went their separate ways in 1994, following the release of The Main Ingredient. In 1995 Rock formed the group INI, with Grap Luva and Rob-O and released the classic 12" "Fakin' Jax". The trio recorded an album, Center Of Attention, which was heavily bootlegged and remained unreleased until 2003, through BBE Records. The release of this album was coupled with another mid-90s Pete Rock-produced album, Deda's The Original Baby Pa.

[edit] Solo Career

While working as a DJ with Marley Marl on Hot 97's Future Flavas show, Rock was able to forge a relationship with Loud Records, allowing him to release his solo album Soul Survivor in the summer of 1998. After being dropped from the Loud imprint, Rock signed with Rapster/BBE under his own label Soul Brother Recordings. He has since continued to release solo albums, including PeteStrumentals in 2001 and 2004's Soul Survivor II. In that same year he also produced the bulk of Edo G's My Own Worst Enemy.

Recently, Pete Rock has returned to greater visibility, mainly through a closer relationship with the Wu-Tang Clan. This began with Soul Survivor, which featured Inspectah Deck, Method Man, Ghostface Killah and Raekwon on various tracks, and also its follow-up, which featured both GZA and RZA. More recently, he has produced for Ghostface's newest release Fishscale and his upcoming More Fish, Raekwon's anticipated Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II, and committed to Nature Sounds labelmate Masta Killa's sophomore album, Made in Brooklyn.

Pete Rock has recently cultivated a relationship with Brooklyn, NY based Nature Sounds Records. He recorded the song "The PJs," which features Raekwon and Masta Killa, released on the Nature Sounds compilation Natural Selection. He also plans to release an album entitled "NY's Finest" in the spring of 2007, also on Nature Sounds. The lead single from the album is entitled '914' and features rappers Sheek Louch and Styles P.

[edit] Selected Discography

[edit] Solo Albums

Album cover	Album information
	Soul Survivor Released: November 10, 1998 Billboard 200 chart position: #39 R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #7 Singles: "Tru Master" & "Take Your Time"
	PeteStrumentals Released: May 1, 2001 Billboard 200 chart position: - R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #61 Singles:
	Lost & Found: Hip Hop Underground Soul Classics Released: November 4, 2003 Billboard 200 chart position: - R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: - Singles:
	Soul Survivor II Released: May 11, 2004 Billboard 200 chart position: #155 R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #27 Singles: "Warzone" & "It's A Love Thing/Appreciate"
	The Surviving Elements: From Soul Survivor II Sessions Released: January 25, 2005 Billboard 200 chart position: - R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: - Singles:

[edit] Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth

Album cover	Album information
	All Souled Out Released: June 25, 1991 Billboard 200 chart position: - R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #53 Singles:
	Mecca and the Soul Brother Released: June 9, 1992 Billboard 200 chart position: #43 R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #7 Singles: "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)", "Straighten It Out" & "Lots Of Lovin'"
	The Main Ingredient Released: November 8, 1994 Billboard 200 chart position: #51 R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #9 Singles: "Take You There" & "I Got A Love"

[edit] Compilations

Album cover	Album information
	Pete's Treats Released: March 22, 1999 Billboard 200 chart position: - R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: - Singles:
	Good Life: The Best of Pete Rock & CL Smooth Released: June 10, 2003 Billboard 200 chart position: - R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: - Singles:
	Underground Classics Released: July 11, 2006 Billboard 200 chart position: - R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: - Singles: