April 26 street date. Mecca And The Soul Brother by Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth is considered by fans and critics as one of the finest hip hop albums of the early Nineties. Songs like "Lots of Lovin", "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)","Anger In The Nation" and "If It Ain't Rough, It Ain't Right" have everything; funky basslines, solid production, convincing lyrics and lots of soul. Producer Pete Rock built his beats from obscure R&B, funk and jazz records and CL Smooth added his sometimes-philosophical raps. Guest rappers on the album include Grand Puba (of Brand Nubian), Heavy D, Rob-O, Grap & Dida, and it reached #7 in the US R&B/Hip-hop charts and #43 in the US album charts. Mecca And The Soul Brother is available as a limited of 1500 individually numbered copies on silver coloured vinyl and includes an insert.
April 26 street date. The Main Ingredient is the second album by Pete Rock & CL Smooth, originally released in 1994. Characterized by sultry soul and jazz samples, the album saw a more polished sound than the duo's debut Mecca & The Soul Brother, building on the praise that they had already garnered. The Main Ingredient is notable for its snappy, crispy drums and extensive use of vocal scratches. It contains some of the duo's best-known work, in the form of tracks such as the upbeat "In The House", and the catchy "Sun Won't Come Out", which features a lush vocal sample from the song of the same name by Harvey Scales. Continuing a theme initiated by Mecca and the Soul Brother, brief instrumental interludes are placed at the beginning and end of songs. Except for just a few tracks, this feature is recurrent throughout the album. In addition, The Main Ingredient saw Rock fleshing out and defining his trademark production style, which is now recognized for often containing smooth basslines, swirling horns, filtered samples, and spacious grooves. The production on this album proved to be influential upon a legion of latter-day producers. Celebrating its 30th anniversary The Main Ingredient is available as a limited edition of 1500 individually numbered copies on translucent yellow coloured vinyl and includes an insert.