Feature
Pete Rock: Still standing strong as ever
As a rapper, DJ and producer Pete Rock is one of the few artists out there that has reached the top in all three professions. Twenty years on and he is now a legendary name in the hip-hop hall of fame. I caught up with Pete when he was in the UK to talk about his latest project with Smif-n-Wessun on 'Monumental' which transports you in many ways back to the good old days of hip-hop.
You are one of the most sought after producers in hip-hop but who inspired you?
I was inspired by a lot of producers from Teddy Riley to Russell Simmons to Marley Marl, (he was one of my favourites) - I studied all their work and I said I want to produce quality like them and sample real shit. With that I developed my character with God’s help and my passion to make good music.
What did those producers and people like Dilla et al bring to the hip-hop scene?
What they brought to the game is to not sound like anyone else. It is about making good music I believe in making music to the best of your ability no matter what the era.
Is the scene a bit disappointing at the moment?
There are a lot of people who follow in the footsteps of other producers and there are people who can do and there are those that think they can do it on their own. Many have no clue about the game and when they are tossed out on their ear they have no idea why.
And what about your creative process?
Once I have the right sound that I am looking for, be it kick, snares or a drum pattern - I can make the sounds gel. I think I became a master at taking a single kick or snare and making it sound like a drum loop. I do not see people doing that today the only other person that has done that is probably Premier.
What influences or indeed influenced your production?
Soul, jazz, a little bit of rock n roll; reggae was one of the genres of music that really influenced me and would you belief 80’s soft rock. People like the Bee Gees and they made great records. This was funny because the black influence of music was so strong that you had the white brothers coming out with soul it was crazy.
So to your collabo with Smif and Wessun on Monument explain?
We have been friends for a while and we always talked about doing something together and when I was playing on the radio we did a little radio promo that I used to come on with. Years passed and we never got around to it but now when we decided to work together, we thought we should do an album because we lost so many years not doing stuff together.
The response for your news stuff has been huge.
I honestly did not think the album would get the response that it did and in truth I thought there was still some work I could have done on the album but the fans liked the snippets and so you have to listen to the fans.
Lastly what you working on?
There are a lot of things in the pipeline but I am definitely focusing on this current release right now.
Words Semper Azeez-Harris
