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As far as DJ/producer/rapper Pete Rock is concerned, his latest album will be the salvation of rap music. Upset that many of today's biggest hip-hop stars launch their careers with accessible, overly-familiar R&B beats, fill their songs with
"It's up to people like me and other underground artists to bring hip-hop back to where it's supposed to be right now," Rock said from his New York home last week. "We need to teach the children that [hip-hop] is not about violence, and it's not about [sampling the same tired] R&B tracks. It's about reality." Rock, born Peter Phillips, is enthused about his upcoming release. The album, which is nearing completion, will feature Rock's production and rapping on 18 tracks. Joining Rock in his battle to restore hip-hop's luster are such well-respected rappers as Wu-Tang Clan members Raekwon, Method Man and Ghostface Killah, as well as up-and-comers including Cappadonna, Big Punisher and Organized Konfusion associate O.C. Additionally, the album will feature appearances by rap veterans MC Eiht, Noriega, Rakim and Kool G Rap. And Rock even gets back together with his former partner-in-rhyme, Corey "C.L. Smooth" Penn, recreating the duo responsible for the soulful hip-hop classic "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)." "Da Two," the song on the new album that reunites Rock and Smooth, takes both listeners and the artists on a trip back in time with a spare soundtrack consisting of "phat drums with a piano and a sample that I can't reveal right now," said Rock. The song outlines how the duo came up from their hometown of Mount Vernon, N.Y., and scored success in the early '90s with a brand of hip-hop that relied heavily on samples from obscure soul songs punctuated by jazzy horns. "I'm taking it back to [old-school] hip-hop, but adding a new twist to it," Rock said of "Da Two." "It's basically a new sound that people haven't heard in a while ... I couldn't just come out and drop something that sounded like everything else that's out there today. I'm not going to play myself out like that." Black Thought (a.k.a Tariq Trottder) of the Roots, who collaborate with Rock on a song entitled "It's About That Time," also agrees that the time has come for the hip-hop pendulum to swing back to a more old-school sound. "What it is is a renaissance," Black Thought said from his home in Philadelphia. "Right now there's a reinvention of the past, so to speak ... a throwback to the foundations [of hip-hop], with dozens of artists like Pete Rock coming to the rescue." "It's About That Time" is a big step in that direction, according to both men. "It's hot and has got a really classic hip-hop flavor to it," Black Thought said. Rock described the track's sound as consisting of an organ riff, scratching and some background noise. "It's really old-school," he said, "and even something like an R&B track." Asked how that sound meshes with his anti-R&B rant, Rock explained that he knows what works when he hears it. "I can get with some R&B. I've just got to like the beat." So Rock embraces whatever assists his mission: making everything old-school new again. "My whole thing is that I really care about and love hip-hop," he said. "There's nothing I won't do for hip-hop."
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