Pete Rock - Soul Survivor II

Pete Rock, producer extraordinaire, MC and Hip Hop royalty. At the dawning of the 1990s, Pete Rock manned the boards and his MC counterpart C.L. Smooth handled microphone duties on two of the most influential and timeless contributions to Hip-Hop ever released. 1992’s Mecca & The Soul Brother and 1994’s The Main Ingredient have gone on to shape and influence an entire generation of music listeners as well as producers such as The Neptunes, Kanye West, Just Blaze and 9th Wonder.

Constantly producing and remixing music’s brightest stars (Nas, Public Enemy, Mos Def and Talib Kweli, Notorious B.I.G., Run DMC, Q-Tip, Mary J. Blige) and having released a classic solo album Soul Survivor (1998) and Instrumental excursion Petestrumentals (2001) Pete Rock returns With Soul Survivor 2.

Acting as MC, and producer Pete Rock has assembled a cast of Hip Hop’s most talented artists to deliver more than just a sequel to Soul Survivor. Pete teamed up with Dead Prez to create "Warzone", a club and street anthem for 2004 reminiscent of the heyday of Public Enemy and NWA when the music had so much soul that you couldn’t help but dance to it, but at the same time it also presented a strong social message. Recently reunited, Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth have crafted a summertime anthem titled "Love Thing", which brings to the forefront Justin Timberlake back-up singer Denosh. Other standout collaborations with Pete Rock on the album include the poignant Pharoahe Monch on "Just Do It", the soulful North Carolina group Little Brother on "Give It 2 Ya", and Slum Village’s certified head banger "Da Villa". The album also features collaborations with Talib Kweli, Kardinal Offishall, RZA, GZA, Postaboy, J-Dilla, Black Ice, Leela James, Skillz and Krumbsnatcha. Album Description

The Soul Brother Like No Other {4 Stars}

When you talk about most Pete Rock releases, they're usually showcases for his production skills. Every now and then he'll drop these albums with him rhyming on them. On this release Pete plays the background and lets the guests handle all the rapping. Artists like Talib Kweli, RZA, GZA, Dead Prez, Kardinal Offishall, J. Dilla, Slum Village, Little Brother, Leela James, and a few others all show up to lend their talents to Pete Rock's excellent production -- the cherry on top, in this case, would be when Mecca & the Soul Brother resurface and drop two dope tracks. Even the RZA & GZA collabo -- even though I thought it would never work. Top that off with the musical snippets/interludes between tracks and you have an album that demands your attention. Any fan of the Chocolate Boy Wonder should be familiar with that aspect of P.R. releases.

As far as skip material goes, I found "Just Do It", "One MC, One DJ", "It's The Postaboy" and "Beef" fell under that category. Don't get me wrong, none of these songs have bad beats, but the flows and rhymes on them are forgettable -- with the exception of "One MC, One DJ" which actually has the opposite problem (great lyrics, forgettable production). Some may disagree, but I simply didn't feel those tracks. The rest of the album is definitely on point though.

Soul Survivor is nothing short of guaranteed satisfaction. It'd be nice to hear P.R. go back to those jazz samples every now and then, but the man still has an ear for production that no producer has been able to approach since he came out back in the day. There are a few tracks on this LP that fall short of Soul Brother No. 1's pedigree, but they are in the minority. With that being said, I still think a good 85% of the tracks on this joint are pulled off seamlessly. I recommend checking this out.

Standout Tracks: Headrush [RZA & GZA], Give It To You [Little Brother], No Tears [Leela James] (My favorite), Truth Is [Black Ice], Fly 'Til I Die [Talib Kweli & CL Smooth], Ni**** Know [J. Dilla], It's A Love Thing [CL Smooth], and We Good [Kardinal Offishall] March 15, 2007

The Soul Brother Like No Other {4 Stars}

When you talk about most Pete Rock releases, they're usually showcases for his production skills. Every now and then he'll drop these albums with him rhyming on them. On this release Pete plays the background and lets the guests handle all the rapping. Artists like Talib Kweli, RZA, GZA, Dead Prez, Kardinal Offishall, J. Dilla, Slum Village, Little Brother, Leela James, and a few others all show up to lend their talents to Pete Rock's excellent production -- the cherry on top, in this case, would be when Mecca & the Soul Brother resurface and drop two dope tracks. Even the RZA & GZA collabo -- even though I thought it would never work. Top that off with the musical snippets/interludes between tracks and you have an album that demands your attention. Any fan of the Chocolate Boy Wonder should be familiar with that aspect of P.R. releases.

As far as skip material goes, I found "Just Do It", "One MC, One DJ", "It's The Postaboy" and "Beef" fell under that category. Don't get me wrong, none of these songs have bad beats, but the flows and rhymes on them are forgettable -- with the exception of "One MC, One DJ" which actually has the opposite problem (great lyrics, forgettable production). Some may disagree, but I simply didn't feel those tracks. The rest of the album is definitely on point though.

Soul Survivor is nothing short of guaranteed satisfaction. It'd be nice to hear P.R. go back to those jazz samples every now and then, but the man still has an ear for production that no producer has been able to approach since he came out back in the day. There are a few tracks on this LP that fall short of Soul Brother No. 1's pedigree, but they are in the minority. With that being said, I still think a good 85% of the tracks on this joint are pulled off seamlessly. I recommend checking this out.

Standout Tracks: Headrush [RZA & GZA], Give It To You [Little Brother], No Tears [Leela James] (My favorite), Truth Is [Black Ice], Fly 'Til I Die [Talib Kweli & CL Smooth], Ni**** Know [J. Dilla], It's A Love Thing [CL Smooth], and We Good [Kardinal Offishall] March 15, 2007

The Soul Brother is back

Of course this album isn't as good as his first one, I don't think anyone was exspecting it to be as good. It's a step below Soul Survivor, which means it is still good. What I like about it the most is that it doesn't have alot of guest apperances that were also on the first one. He did new stuff with a bunch of different artists. Great varitity. I think this album has some real hot beats, but the songs last too long. My favorite tracks are "Just Do It" w/ Pharoahe Monch, "Beef" w/ Krumbsnatcha, and "Appreciate" w/ C.L. Smooth. April 5, 2006

SOUL BROTHER #1...ALWAYS

Even though this album came out two summers ago, I'm still bumping it like it's brand new. Pete Rock never fails to please and manages to stay consistant with the times. It's because of his golden ear and mastery of the boards that he continues to influence young up-and coming producers. With "Soul Survivor II", he makes the tracks for the artists instead of sticking to the horns n bass formula. The stand out tracks are:

1. "Truth Is" feat Black Ice- From Mount Vernon to Philly, Black Ice drops def poems like rainfalls and PR brings the heat. This track is about what happens when MC's with a message get into the industry.

3. "Just Do It" feat. Pharoahe Monch- Beat and rhymes so gutter, you'll be sick for a week. This is probably the dirtiest beat he ever made.

4. "Give It To Ya" feat. Little Brother- The very first time I heard LB and I'm still a fan to this day. Light, mellow track about their hopes of getting into this industry. Listen close to the 2nd beat. It's "Skinz" (Mecca & The Soul Brother)remixed.

6. "It's A Love Thing" feat. CL Smooth and Denosh- throws it back to the good ol' days. CL's laid back flow and PR's horns complement each other. Stuff like this'll have you begging for a reunion album.

7. "One Mic & One DJ" feat. Skillz- the rock n roll meets the menace from VA.

9. "No Tears" feat. Leela James- introducing Leela James ladies and gentlemen. Remeniscient of Aretha Franklin and Nina Simone. The soul you NEED to hear. Reminds me of "Get By" by Talib Kweli.

12. "Warzone" feat. dead prez- OH MY GOD. This track is undescribible.

13. "Da Villa" feat. Slum Village- the banger of the album. I was feeling Slum Village before this. But after this I realized what kind of beasts these two can be, 'specially Elzhi.

14. "Niggaz Know" feat. J. Dilla- who says producers can't rap? R.I.P. Dilla.

15. "Appreciate" feat. CL Smooth- Mecca & The Soul Brother bring the album to a full circle by giving thanks to everybody who's supported them over the years. The beat got 60's soul all over it.

All in all, this is arguably Pete Rock's most consistant and critically acclaimed solo album. By improving on his game and bringing more soul to the table, this is a testament that Pete Rock ain't going anywhere anytime soon. February 21, 2006

Pete Rock is on point!

I have been a Pete Rock fan since way back.. I use to tape him on the radio(mixing,cutting & scratching records)when he was on WBLS Friday nights b4 Future Flava's.

I like this album, the beats are on point except for the real commercial sounding stuff. Also, some (not all) but some of the guest appearances I am not feeling.

To be honest I prefer Pete Rock ryhming over his own beats.. To me his lyrics are just as good if not better than alot of the MC's that he put on his records.

I would have liked a little more turntablism on this album and even on some of his instrumentals. I don't mean scratching on every song but just a little more to blend in with those beats.

Overall, this CD is good, on point and far better than the type of so called hip hop that is out there now. The intro is hot and most of the songs are banging. You need a decent system to get the full effect of a Pete Rock track.

I look foward to the next Pete Rock release. December 2, 2005

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