Mount Vernon, New York City native Pete Rock recently released his collaborative 80 Blocks From Tiffany’s Pt. 2 mixtape with legendary Hip Hop duo Camp Lo to good reception.
Nah Right’s Daniel Isenberg recently got the once in a lifetime opportunity to make the trip over to Soul Brother Number 1’s lab and speak first hand with the producing great. During the interview, Pete Rock broke down his production process including where a lot of his original records came from.
“My record collection started through my [father’s],” Rock described while speaking about his collection. “I got a lot of stuff for Mecca and the Soul Brother [from there]. I used a lot of his jazz stuff. He had Kool & the Gang 45s. Mounds of 45s, which are mine now. Rest In Peace. He had everything. Jazz, rock, soul, and especially reggae, because we’re Jamaican.”
Pete Rock also talked about his early days and when he originally learned how to deejay. Heavy D’s brother, Floyd paved the way for one of the best producers in the genre’s history.
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“I was seven years old [when I learned how to DJ],” Rock recalled. “I was loving the fact that you could rub a record. I got hip to that, and attracted to that when I was seven. My cousin Floyd taught me how to scratch, that’s Heavy D’s brother. I would just be practicing, going back and forth, cutting all day long, not wanting to come outside.”
Pete Rock and CL Smooth’s legendary debut album, Mecca and the Soul Brother turned 20 years old last year. Rock’s affiliation with Heavy D runs deeper than almost anyone in Hip Hop’s history. He has production featured on all five of Heavy D & the Boyz’ albums. Pete and CL’s hit song “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)” is also based off the death of Trouble T, a dancer in the group.
Read the full Nah Right feature here.
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