Rapper, DJ, and producer
Pete Rock emerged in the early '90s as one-half of a rap duo with
C.L. Smooth, later going solo and solidifying his place as one of the most acclaimed hip-hop producers to emerge from the East Coast scene. In addition to his own recordings (the Soul Survivor series), he's also worked with dozens of artists over the decades, including
Heavy D,
Kid 'n Play,
Doug E. Fresh,
Redman,
Run-D.M.C.,
Will Smith,
Nas,
Talib Kweli,
De La Soul, and various members of
the Wu-Tang Clan.
Born Peter O. Philips in the Bronx, he was influenced by his father, who was a DJ. Following in his father's footsteps, he also became a DJ/producer, forming a duo with his childhood friend
C.L. Smooth. The pair made their debut in 1991 on the
All Souled Out EP. A hit LP,
Mecca and the Soul Brother, followed before the two went their separate ways in the wake of 1994's
The Main Ingredient, with
Rock remaining a prolific studio presence prior to the release of his solo debut, Soul Survivor, on Loud/RCA four years later. Dropped from the label, he continued his career as an independent producer, and later signed to Rapster/BBE in 2001 for
PeteStrumentals. Two years later, the label released a two-part compilation of mid-'90s LPs with Lost and Found. In 2004,
Rock produced the sequel to his debut,
Soul Survivor II, with featured guests
Pharoahe Monch,
Dead Prez,
Talib Kweli, and former partner
C.L. Smooth. During the next few years,
Rock focused on producing for other artists, including
Ed O.G. and
Ghostface Killah, and released his next solo album,
NY's Finest, in early 2008. Over the next several years, he continued to focus on his production skills, toured with
C.L. Smooth, and released additional works of his own, including the full-length
Smif-N-Wessun collaboration
Monumental (2011) and
PeteStrumentals 2 (2015). In 2016,
Rock issued
Don't Smoke Rock, a collaborative effort with
Smoke DZA. The album included the single "Milestone," which featured
BJ the Chicago Kid,
Jadakiss, and
Styles P. He followed with another collaboration, this time with
Skyzoo, on 2019's
Retropolitan. He also crafted additional instrumental collections, Lost Sessions and Return of the SP1200, to close out the decade.
In 2020, he joined
the Soul Brothers for
PeteStrumentals 3 and also re-released the 2013 mixtape
80 Blocks from Tiffany's 2, a collaboration with
Camp Lo. ~ Jason Ankeny