Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth

Hailing from Mount Vernon, New York, Pete Rock, who worked as both producer and DJ, joined forces with rapper C.L. Smooth to form a commanding duo that broke through in the first years of the 1990s. Their debut full-length release, Mecca & the Soul Brother, arrived in 1992 and quickly earned classic status in hip-hop thanks to standout tracks such as “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)” and “Straighten It Out.” A subsequent team-up with Mary J. Blige produced a remix of her track “Reminisce” that blended the two recordings into a freshly edited single. The follow-up album The Main Ingredient surfaced in 1994, yet the pair split the next year to pursue individual paths. Pete Rock went on to craft beats and remixes for a wide range of acts that included Heavy D & the Boyz, Public Enemy, and Nas, while also issuing his own projects, thereby establishing himself among hip-hop’s most essential voices. During the 2000s C.L. Smooth put out two albums. The duo would periodically reunite for shows and discussions about future material.