C.L. Smooth

C.L. Smooth, born Corey Penn, formed one half of the Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth duo and supplied the lyrics for such enduring hip-hop tracks as “The Creator,” “Straighten It Out,” “Take You There,” and the landmark “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.).” His smooth voice, effortless flow, and conscious lyrics stood out sharply against the soulful, funky productions supplied by Pete Rock, allowing the pair to carve out a distinct identity even as numerous other alternative-rap acts rose to prominence in the early 1990s. Raised in Mount Vernon, NY, on the jazz records favored by his grandparents, Penn absorbed the music through daily exposure orchestrated by his grandfather and later found a natural counterpart in childhood schoolmate Pete Rock. After signing with Elektra, the duo issued three well-received projects—the 1991 All Souled Out EP, 1992’s Mecca and the Soul Brother, and 1994’s The Main Ingredient—that placed them alongside jazz-rap contemporaries such as A Tribe Called Quest and Gang Starr. The partnership dissolved in 1995 following their second album.

While Pete Rock amassed an extensive production résumé that earned him widespread respect among hip-hop beatmakers, Smooth largely stepped away from recording, limiting his appearances to occasional guest verses, one of which surfaced on Rock’s 1998 solo album Soul Survivor. Nearly a decade after the split, the two announced plans in 2004 for a reunion project; the subsequent vinyl 12-inch pairing “Shine on Me” with “Climax” generated strong underground enthusiasm, yet lingering tensions expressed in public interviews quickly derailed further collaboration. Shortly thereafter, Smooth joined the roster of the independent label Shaman Work Recordings and ended his long absence from solo work with the October 2006 release of American Me.