Video After The Jump
In this episode of "People's Party With Talib Kweli," Kweli and Jasmin Leigh sit down with the legendary producer, DJ and rapper:
Soul Brother #1, The Chocolate Boy Wonder...
PETE ROCK
Here's what we dug into with one of the most iconic and influential producers in hip-hop history:
• Hip-hop being born in the Bronx and having its roots in the Caribbean.
• Being cousins with Heavy D and how he helped Pete get his big break.
• Marly Marl putting Pete on the air at age 13.
• How important Heavy D and his legacy are to the culture.
• His parent's record collection and how much it impacted his ambitions.
• Meeting James Brown at age 7 and Pete's favorite JB songs.
• The influence of Marley Marl, Howie Tee, Large Professor, and Prince Paul.
• Making the albums 'Mecca And The Soul Brother' and 'Main Ingredient'.
• The process behind the creation of 'They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)'
• Pete's brother Grap Luva and his contributions on 'Mecca And The Soul Brother'.
• Kanye West taking inspiration from Pete's production on 'I Got A Love'.
• What it was like working with Run DMC on 'Down With The King'.
• Being inspired by the militant sound of Public Enemy's production team The Bomb Squad.
• Getting on the roster for 'Illmatic' and the producers competing with each other.
• Pete producing the original mix for Biggie's 'Juicy' and BIG not liking the beat initially.
• Love for Marvel's the Hulk and comparing the Wu-Tang members to superheroes.
• Pete's long-time friendship with producer Madlib as well as DJ Premier.
• The loss of Phife Dawg and how much it deeply affected Pete.
• How it feels to be a go-to classic producer for the younger generation of NYC hardcore emcees.
• A breakdown of the differences between the SP-1200 and the MPC.
• Why Pete feels hip-hop instrumental albums are so important.
• If we'll be seeing another Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth album.
• Pete goes on to name off some of the projects he has in the works right now.
TIME STAMPS:
3:04 -- The interview begins with talk about hip hop's emergence from the South Bronx and it's roots being in Jamaica. They discuss Pete being brought up by Jamaican parents in the Bronx and moving to Mount Vernon at 7 years old. Being cousins with Heavy D, Pete details what it was like in the early days growing up with Hev and CL Smooth. He also digs into how he met Marley Marl at age 13 getting a spot on the air DJing which helped Pete build a name for himself and led him to getting regular gigs doing live shows.
8:17 -- Pete is asked if he can identify elements of hip hop that are rooted in Jamaican influence. They talk about the godfather of the culture Kool Herc himself being a Jamaican immigrant, Heavy D's reggae being underappreciated, Pete singing the hook for one of Hev's classics at 15 years old, parties at Pete's parents crib and they further discuss how deeply important Heavy D and his legacy is, Pete thanking Hev everyday for giving him the opportunity to shine.
12:22 -- Pete speaks on how having parents with a deep record collection and strong knowledge of music set the stage for his destiny of becoming one of the most iconic hip hop producers in hip hop history. He tells how his dad showed him how to take care of the records, taught him about the artists, Pete tells the story of meeting James Brown at 7 years old and names off his top five JB tracks of all-time.
17:27 -- Talib brings up Pete's name being featured on a flyer in the movie Juice, proving Pete's status as one of the most sought after DJ's at the time. They dig back into how important Marley Marl was, reflect on Pete blessing Black Star with the 'Respiration Flying High Remix', discuss how much DJ/Producer Howie Tee inspired Pete, as well as picking up tricks of the trade from Large Professor and Prince Paul's production style having a huge influence as well.
25:07 -- Pete discusses how important the album 'Mecca And The Soul Brother' was and Talib asks Pete "what the f*ck was going on in your brain when you decided to make that album." Pete replies with "things like time didn't matter when you're making magic." He details what he said to CL the last day of completing the record and they discuss the song 'Straighten It Out' pointing to bootleggers, along with issues of sample clearance and how much that's changed the game.
32:59 -- Pete details his process as a producer when he first heard Tom Scott's 'Today' that he would end up sampling for Pete and C.L.'s monumental classic 'They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)'. They also discuss Pete's childhood friend "Trouble" T Roy of Heavy D & the Boyz who the song was dedicated to, Pete's asked about C.L.'s unique contribution to hip hop, how Pete and C.L. initially started working together and how at that time all the right things were falling into place.
39:28 -- Pete is asked about his brother Grap Luva and his contributions freestyling on the album 'Mecca And The Soul Brother' and they also go on to discuss Pete and C.L.'s second album 'Main Ingredient'. They talk about the group's move to more love themed tracks on that record, Pete's take on C.L.'s bar "I'm lettin off on anybody tryin' to steal my DJ", his feeling going into making that album as well as Biggie sitting in with Pete when he produced 'In The Flesh'.
44:38 -- Talib brings up an interview where Kanye West notes how much inspiration he took from Pete's production on 'I Got A Love', Pete talks about his experience working with Kanye on 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' and why Pete had so much love for the Greene St. Recording studio. They also dig into Pete and C.L. making 'Down With The King' with Run DMC, what it was like working with the legendary duo and the process of laying down the production for that track.
51:04 -- Pete speaks on another one of his huge production influences being Public Enemy's Bomb Squad. He talks about being at Green St. Studio for the making of Ice Cube's 'Amerikkka's Most Wanted, Pete drawing from the Bomb Squad's militant sound for his remix of PE's 'Shut Em Down' as well as how that song opened people's eyes and ears to who Pete Rock was. They then go on to discuss how Pete was brought on to the roster of Nas' 'Illmatic' and all the iconic producers on that album secretly competing with each other.
56:22 -- Pete is asked about his producing the original mix for Biggie's classic 'Juicy' as well as how Puff and Trackmasters took credit for it but gave him the consolation of producing the remix and Pete reveals how Biggie originally wasn't a fan of the beat. Talib and Pete also reflect on touring together with the group Slaughterhouse and they discuss Pete's love of Marvel's the Hulk character as well as how much Talib and Pete enjoyed working with the group Camp Lo who Talib said challenged him.
1:04:30 -- Talib thanks Pete for asking him to contribute three verses on 'Soul Survivor II'. Pete is also asked to break down his comparison of Wu Tang Clan to Marvel superheroes, for him the Clan being the Avengers of hip hop. They also go on to talk about Pete's long time friendship with producer Madlib, Pete's excitement of Talib and Diamond D's 'Gotham' and how Pete feels about the future of his team the Knicks and them being in the playoffs this year.
1:10:59 -- Pete speaks on his and DJ Premier's history of working closely together on so many iconic projects over the years. They also talk about Pete's love of the Native Tongues family as well as his close friendship with Phife Dawg and how much the loss of Phife deeply affected Pete. Jasmin also goes on to ask Pete how it feels to be go-to classic producer for the younger generation of NYC hardcore emcees like Skyzoo, Benny The Butcher, Smoke DZA, Max B and Jim Jones and others.
1:14:58 -- Pete is asked about his move from using the SP-1200 to the MPC for making beats and if he can break down the most significant differences between the two machines. They also discuss Pete working on a Petestrumentals 4, a new artist he's bringing out named Ameer, why Pete feels these instrumental albums are so important, things going full circle with J Dilla inspiring Pete and working with the live band The Soul Brothers on Petestruemntals 3. Pete's also asked if we'll be seeing another Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth album anytime soon as well as what else he might have coming down the line.
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