Good morning.

Today we’re listening to Pete Rock, an American hip-hop producer from The Bronx. Rock was born to Jamaican immigrant parents and as a teenager picked up DJing from his father, who did it part-time.¹ Rock sampled jazz records and slung some beats around the city, thereby defining the sound of early ‘90s hip-hop by producing now-iconic tracks like “The World Is Yours” by Nas and “They Reminisce Over You” by Rock himself and C.L. Smooth. We’re playing two of Rock’s solo instrumental records, The Original Baby Pa, which is originally from 1998, and Petestrumentals 2 from 2015, which is more experimental in many ways. “Sampling is such an addicting thing,” he told The Guardian earlier this year. “There’s nothing like pretending to be your own band in your head.”

The Original Baby Pa (Instrumentals) - Pete Rock (40m, scant vocal samples)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music / Bandcamp / Tidal

Petestrumentals 2 - Pete Rock (60m, more vocal samples)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music / Bandcamp / Tidal

Have a great Thursday.