★★★★★
Over the past few years the chorus calling for a return to "real" hip-hop that's been going steadily since the 90s has only gotten louder and angrier as the genre's entered an era of unprecedented experimentation that's left older fans and artists bewildered. Most of the arguments seem to come from rap musicians who've fallen out of style and knee-jerk reactionary hip-hop heads who can't deal with rappers wearing kilts. Few of them make a convincing case...
- pitchfork.com
2013-08-08
★★★★★
Nine times out of ten Pete Rock will be your favourite producer's favourite producer. 'Underground Classics' unleashes a host of cuts both unknown and unforgettable, and thanks to acts such as The Un, Edo G., and of course C.L. Smooth ignites the interest of lyrical fans as well as the instrumental ones. 'Ain't No Thang' (featuring The Un) explodes systems everywhere courtesy of its nasty beat structure and ear catching string arrangement...
- www.gigwise.com
2010-11-23
★★★★★
Fuck pro wrestling, this here is the only Rock that matters. What could be better than a couple of unreleased 1994 records from the production master? Well, maybe two unreleased records with better rappers, but this is a start. INI is aaaight, and so is Deda, but neither crews really live up to the Rock-docker - what a sound this guy has. Maybe that's why the album is called Pete Rock: Hip Hop Underground Classics, and you have to squint to find the rapper names...
- www.hour.ca
2010-11-02
★★★★★
Rock is joined on this, his new reality CD show, by a bunch of MCs who are voted off the record one by one on the basis of their mic skills, shoe style and how well they get along with the group...
- www.hour.ca
2010-11-02
★★★★★
Pete Rock is widely regarded as one of hip-hop's best producers ever. Mostly known for his stellar albums with C.L. Smooth, 1992's Mecca and the Soul Brother (which featured the classic "They Reminisce Over You") and 1994's Main Ingredient, him and C.L. went their separate ways after 1994's album...
- rapreviews.com
2010-05-15
★★★★★
Lost & Found dropped in the fall of 2003, not surprisingly, to little fanfare. In fact, for those who aren't firmly-rooted in the underground scene (and even for some of those who are), this release slipped well under the radar. But, in light of the low-key, anti-flossing path Pete Rock's career has followed, it's only fitting...
- rapreviews.com
2010-02-13
★★★★★
Pete Rock's signature sound has evolved a little since his first opus, "Mecca and the Soul Brother." While most of the other great producers from this time have either altered their musical selections significantly or fallen off the map, Pete Rock has stuck to his guns with alarming success. As the standards held above rap music have changed, so has he, but he has adhered closely to the style that brought him acclaim. A jazz sample here, perhaps another for effect, and he's got it...
- rapreviews.com
2010-02-13
★★★★★
To all vinyl junkies, think of the five most esoteric records in your collection. Then remember, Pete Rock has them and more. Film buffs think of the most radical and exploitive blaxplotation flick that you've seen. Now remember, Pete Rock has seen it and more. The point being, with each Pete Rock album one has grown accustomed to expecting the most obscurest of samples...
- www.urb.com
2010-02-13
★★★★★
I like Pete Rock. I like his layered, jazzy beats, his knack for finding the perfect samples and working them into perfect beats, his ability to realize hip hop's potential to reference and build off of other African-American art forms, and his wicked drum beats. I like him because he is a producer's producer, intent on making good music rather than on riding the latest wave...
- rapreviews.com
2009-07-21
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