PETE ROCK  (March 2008) | Interview By: Nima

We also talk about the New York Hip-Hop scene, which with the exception of a few he isn't too fond of. We get some words on West Coast artists he'd like to work with, CL Smooth, future plans and much more.


As ever, you can read this exclusive interview below and we urge you to leave feedback on our forums or email them to nima@dubcnn.com.

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Interview was done in February 2008.

Questions Asked By: Nima

Pete Rock Gave Dubcnn A Shoutout! Check That Here

Full Audio Interview Here

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Related media:

Pete Rock - We Roll (ft. Jim Jones)
Pete Rock - Till I Retire
Pete Rock - 914 (ft. Styles P & Sheek Louch)

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Dubcnn: we're right here with the legendary Pete Rock. How you doing man?

What's going on bro, what's the deal?


Dubcnn: You're getting ready to drop your first album in four years, what made you want to come back to the game?

I felt like it was needed for me to come back. From what I understand, people miss that Pete Rock sound, everybody, all these producers are trying to grasp that sound today, and I'm like why not put this album back out there and show people how you're really supposed to do shit. You know what I'm saying? All these new producers, Kanye, Just Blaze, all of them are trying to grasp that Pete Rock sound, and I just thought it was a good time to put something back out there.


Dubcnn: You called it "NY's Finest", what made you call it that?

Cause to me, I feel like I was one of the best coming out of New York, if not THE best. I was one of the first dudes to make beats a certain way, and then everybody else started following me, like even with Primo. If you listen to the way Primo's beats sounded before Mecca & The Soul Brother came out, then you can hear the change in his music. The same with all these other producers. I speak of them in a high manner, these dudes really caught on to what I was doing, which was my idea, which was what I wanted to do. I have to say that I'm a very inspirational producer.


Dubcnn: Yeah I was watching that little EPK video with Kanye and all the other dudes talking about how you influenced them, that was big! How would you compare the approach to this album as opposed to your last projects?

Like I said before when I said I'm a highly inspirational producer and I speak about other producers in a very high regard. I pushed this album to let people know: this is ME! I'm bringing this sound back that ya'll are trying to grasp, here it is, right here in your face! I felt like that was well needed, cause the way Hip-Hop sounds today, there is no balance in it. Everybody is making these keyboard beats and thinking that this is the way Hip-Hop is supposed to sound! What happened to the effort in your music? What happened to the effort in your hooks and in your lyrics and pleasing your audience? That's what I believed in since day one.


Dubcnn: Can you name and describe some of your personal highlights on the album?

There's a song I did called "Till I Retire" which I just finished doing a video to, which I had DMC's voice in the hook, so I snatched up DMC and put him in the video. It worked out pretty fine, that was one of the fun parts of that song. Then working with Redman and him being in the second part of the video. Royal Flush, working with him again, working with Chip Fu and Rhene, doing a Reggae song, was a main highlight. And doing a R&B song with this guy Rell, who was signed to Roc-A-Fella. Those were some of the main highlights. Then, working with Little Brother, bringing back Lords Of The Underground, working with Styles P and Sheek Louch from the Lox. I felt like I had something going here, with a nice roster.


Dubcnn: A bunch of aritsts were announced to be on the album like MF Doom, Lupe Fiasco, Method Man and a bunch of other people, what happened to those tracks?

The tracks are still around, and hopefully on the next album I can get those same people that I tried to get for this album, you know?


Dubcnn: On "Soul Survivor 1", you had tracks with Kurupt and MC Eiht. Which artists from the West Coast are you feeling right now and could see yourself working with?

Oh man, The Game, Ras Kass, Madlib, Dr. Dre, WC, Ice Cube, Ice T, it's so many muthafuckas man! I did something with Ice T just recently! Let me see, who else... I like Spice 1, you know what I'm saying? That's a real dude, I hope he's recovering.


Dubcnn: Yeah he's doing good now.

That's good man, I'm a big fan of his music and stuff.


Dubcnn: Do you still keep in touch with artists like Slick Rick, Ego G, Heavy D and all them?

Heavy D is my family so of course! Slick Rick I talked to a week and a half ago, and Edo G, I did the Special Teamz record that's out right now that he's on. So we're all cool, we're all still cool!


Dubcnn: What's up with the Tango & Cash project with you and Doo Wop, is that still in the works?

Yeah that's still in the works, we're just mapping out certain songs and getting certain people on the album.


Dubcnn: Do you have a favorite beat of all time, or a favorite record that you've done?

I have a lot of favorite records I did, like Shut 'Em Down, Reminisce, Straighten In Out, Jump Around (Remix), I don't really have one favorite, I have a couple of favorites.


Dubcnn: I know you get this question everytime, but I still gotta ask it: What's up with you and CL Smooth?

Nothing. At all. *laughs* Next question!


Dubcnn: That's it?

Yup, that's it. I get tired of talking about it, every interviewer asks me the same question, so...


Dubcnn: I feel you. You got Jim Jones on the single "We Roll" and I saw a lot of people surprised that you got with Jim Jones on that, what made you get with him?

Cause he was the new young artist to come out of New York, and I've seen the fanbase that he has when I went to one of his shows, he packed out a whole club and had the whole club singing his music, so I was like "This is the guy I wanna do a song with." That's how that happened! Oh and actually, my man Andre Neil hooked me up with Jim Jones, he works at Violator Records, he kinda reached out to me and put me with Jimmy. The rest was is history.


Dubcnn: You've been getting down with the Wu-Tang Clan quite a lot recently, and they're also on the album. What's the relationship there?

It's a beautiful relationship. It's Hip-Hop! These guys are real street guys and me, I'm a real music producer that makes street music, that can adapt to these guys' lives and come with the music that fits them. That relationship is beautiful, from Ghost, to Rae, to ODB, to Deck, to U-God, everyone is beautiful to me. What would Hip-Hop be without Wu-Tang? I mean for real! Cats need to embrace cats like that, because it's nothing out here to really embrace anymore! It's nothing, no one left to embrace that made an impact on Hip-Hop. No one, but Wu-Tang.


Dubcnn: What do you think of the New York Hip-Hop scene right now? Where does your album fit in there?

It's funny. It's up and down, it's funnystyle, but that's why I'm putting this album out, and that's why I named it NY's Finest, to kind of put that balance back into Hip-Hop. And to kind of get these DJ's off that bullshit and get them good music, and stop looking for a handout all the fuckin' time. I believe in this: if the music is dope, PLAY IT. Fuck paying a nigga to play my music! That's how I feel. If the music is good. When I was a DJ on the radio, nobody had to pay me to play their music! I played what was good, what sounded good, the things that I felt were dope, and if your shit was wack, it wasn't getting played! You couldn't pay me to play nothing wack!


Dubcnn: It wouldn't make no sense, it wouldn't be music!

Yeah! You couldn't pay me to play no wack shit!


Dubcnn: But is there anybody from New York that you're watching out for right now?

Nah. *laughs* That's a sad thing to say, but no. That's how I really feel, there's no one really coming out of New York, that's saying something, besides Joell Ortiz! He's the cat to look out for. He's a real dude, making real Hip-Hop. All these cats coming out of New York, supposedly that's real, they're doing bullshit music! They're not doing where they started, they're not keeping it true to the roots of the game. They're seeing that money, which is cool, but don't make your whole album full of them kinda keyboard beats, break it up with that real shit! It's all about how you do your music, how you treat your audience, how much effort you put into your shit. And you could still win! You don't have to make keyboard beats your whole fuckin' album in order for you to win.


Dubcnn: Are there any artists left that you'd like to see yourself working with in future?

There's cats like LL Cool J, Keith Murray, a lot of other cats that I haven't really worked with in a minute.


Dubcnn: You mentioned something that was going down with LL Cool J if I'm not mistaken, right?

Yeah, it was, but I don't know if it's happening now. But hopefully I'll get to work with him, and with Erick Sermon, people that I respected coming up in the game.


Dubcnn: Where do you see Hip-Hop going in the next few years?

It will still be here, still trying to go different routes and taking different roads, that's how I see it. But the roots are definitely gonna be back where they're supposed to be at.


Dubcnn: You see that happening?

Yeah I see that happening, maybe not right away, but slowly but surely it's happening.


Dubcnn: Where do you see yourself in there?

Right in the midst of all of it! I'm gonna do it until I can't do it no more.


Dubcnn: Sounds good man, before we go is there anything else that you'd like to let everybody know?

Just grab the album on February 26th, it's really worth it. You won't feel like you wasted any money on this album, seriously. I know a lot of people may say that, but I mean, when was the last time you heard a whole album full of good fuckin' beats? So, grab that man, New York's Finest, the best to ever do it, Pete Rock! New York's Finest producer.