NY's Finest

New Amerykah, Pt. 1: 4th World War Subtitled 4th World War (when was the third, eh?), New Amerykah Part One is the first release in five years from the woman born Erica Wright. The wait was worthwhile though, as this smart, eclectic set, her fourth, adds to the grand tradition of socially conscious soul music. Lit...	Rising Down Grammy award winning hip-hop trailblazers The Roots are set to release Rising Down on April 29th via Def Jam Recordings. Known for their prolific lyrics and live instrumentation, the Legendary Philadelphia crew is composed of Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter (vocals), Ahmir "?uestlo...	The Show The Hip Hop world has long been looking for a breath of fresh air and four legendary emcees are about to step up together, as EMC. EMC is a brand new super group consisting of the Midwest's phenom Stricklin, the widely respected Lyricist Lounge duo Punchline & Wordsworth, and t...	Time:Line	Vol. 2-Dream Merchant Dream Merchants Vol 2 is a collection of 9th Wonder s newest beats featuring Royce Da 5'9", the Justus League crew, Little Brother, Mos Def, Jean Grae, Memphis Bleek, Camp Lo, Sean Price, Skyzoo, and more.
Undeniable	Nas Nas is back and more controversial than ever on his new untitled Def Jam release. On this, his 9th studio album, Nas studies and lyrically dissects some of the our most divisive issues: race, inequality, poverty, and power. And who better to stir up debate than the man most consi...	Ode To the Ghetto Guilty Simpson's full-length solo debut, Ode to the Ghetto, brings him worldwide, while chronicling a life led in the rough-hewn city that birthed him. Featuring an all-star cast of producers normally reserved for those signed to six-figure deals (Denaun Porter of D-12, Oh No, Ma...	And Justus for All The Hall of Justus Music Group is proud to present Phonte and Big Pooh's return as Little Brother with the official release of ...And Justus for All. The North Carolina duo and founding members of The Justus League have made a major impact on Hip Hop by successfully combining ...	The Cool The name of Lupe Fiasco's sophomore set sounds like a Kanye-ism, and that's fitting: The Cool spills over with Mr. West-style urgency, and it's just about as smart as anything Fiasco's more flamboyant mentor has issued. It could even land Lupe a little too close to the top of the...

3 ½ Stars
I'm in a really good mood right now, so I'll be generous and mark this as 4 stars, even though it's a 3 1/2 star album. Aside from RZA and DJ Premier, Pete Rock is my favorite producer. Everything he's ever made is ahead of its time, and remarkable. Most producers just focus on making a track that'll sell, and move bodies at clubs. Pete Rock however, has completely opposite motives, and he stomps the life out of 95% of any DJ/producer behind the boards, and the tables. Pete Rock makes the tables just as much an instrument as a guitar, and a piano, all the while making PURE Hip Hop. It disgust's me that the over rated, over exposed Kanye West had the balls to say that he's the modern day Pete Rock. You wish Kanye, you wish. When I heard that Pete Rock was to release this new album in February, it never crossed my mind that it may not be ... well ... as good as his previous albums. It seemes like he's trying to appeal more to the modern, younger audience on this one, but he still maintain's his essential stlye. The guest appearances on the Soul Surviver albums were amazing, and I don't expect him to have the same one's over and over, but what was he thinking when he recruited some of the guests for this? I can see having Redman, and Wu Tang members Raekwon and Masta Killa. LD, and Royal Flush were pretty good, but the rest of the guest spots are bland, and really provide nothing for this album. It's cool that he has small named artist's to get their names out there, but when they drag along, and don't contribute a whole lot, what's the point? I've never been a fan of Styles P, nor Jim Jones and can certaintly say they don't deserve to be on a Pete Rock track. Their lyrics are thoughtless, effortless, unoriginal, uninspiring, and they have absolutely no flow. Yet they get mad props. Pete Rock has never been the best MC when he hops on the mic, but he's never been the worst. His smooth laid back flow, and old school styled rhymes always go good with his remarkable beats. But not quite as much on this one. Every track I've ever heard Pete Rock produce, just absolutely thrilled me (to this day they still do.) After all these years, Pete's still got it. I wouldn't say this is on the level as some of his classic material, but it does come awfully close. The beat for "Don't Be Mad" is the illest beat on here. "We Roll" "Till I Retire" "914" "Best Believe" "Bring Yall Back" "The Best Secret" and "Comprehend" are noteworthy tracks as well. To all the people that gave this 5 stars, are you kidding me? The first Soul Survivor is a 5 star album. The albums he made with C.L. Smooth are 5 star albums. This is probably a 3 - 4 star album. But as I mentioned earlier in this review, I'll be generous and mark it as 4. This is definately a Hip Hop album worth checking out. Yes the guest spots could have been better, and it's not an album on the status as some of his earlier work, but you'll more than likely find likable tracks.

Excellent Album
I really enjoyed this album from to start to finshing. The Styles P track was one the many highlights of this album.

My kind of hip-hop
NYC-based producer and MC Pete Rock should need no introduction as he's been around for ages. A friend sent me a link to the video to "Till I Retire/Best Believe" on YouTube and I got into it immediately. Then I checked the album out on Amazon and after reading Chandler's brilliant review (see it on the product page), checked out the soundclip to the incredibly funky "That's What I Am Talking About" featuring Rell (I wonder where he's been?) and I was sold. I remember saying to Chandler at the time: even if the rest of the album is c**p, which I thought would be very unlikely - this is Pete Rock, after all - this will still be a top buy. I wasn't wrong. I've explained it on here a few times; I'm a very bizarre and atypical hip-hop fan and rarely take any notice of what the rappers are saying. It's the music, the beats, the vibe, that I live for and it's all heavenly on here. Musically, this is up there for me with the likes of Little Brother and The Roots. I love all the tunes, the only two exceptions being "Questions" featuring Royal Flush and the sickeningly homophobic "Let's Go" featuring Doo Wop (maybe I do listen after all). But this is what those clever people invented skip buttons on CD players for, n'est-ce pas? An excellent CD for bouncing around in the car on those hot summer days. Let's hope we get some in this part of the world.

Decent album from Pete Rock - maybe 3.5 stars
Pete Rock returns to bring us another "solo" album.. Like most of his solo projects, guests are heavy. Of the 14 songs on here, only 3 have no guests. 2 of the songs Pete Rock isn't on, and another 4 he only does the hook, so he really only has verses where he is rapping on 8 of the 14 songs. The majority of the guests aren't bad and do a good job aiding Pete. Production, like most of his albums, is almost handled entirely by him, Green Lantern does 1 song. Of the 14 songs, 1 I skip, 5 are ok, and 8 are good, a few real good but no classic. A nice album to have if you want to hear from one of Hip-Hops best producers turned rapper, and someone who has ben in the rap game over 15 years. #2 - 7 (f/ Jim Jones & Max B -- Pete definiely has the best verse on this one) #3 - 7.5 #4 - 8.5 (f/ Styles (who has 2 verses) and Sheek, Pete only does the hook) #5 - 9 (Royal Flush solo -- tight beat) #6 - 8.5 (f/ Redman & LD -- nice beat) #7 - 4 (long intro before song -- f/ Chip Fu & Zhane) #8 - 6 #9 - 8.5 (Little Brother --Pete only does the hook -- nice beat) #10 - 7.5 (f/ Doitall & Mr. Funky of Lords of the Underground) #11 - 8 (f/ Rell -- nice beat) #12 - 9 (f/ Raekwon (who does 2 verses) and Masta Killa - Pete only does the hook -- tight beat) #13 - 8 #14 - 7.5 (Doo Wop solo) #15 - 8.5 (f/ Papoose - Pete only does the hook) Peter Phillips -- b. 6/21/70 -- New York, NY Check all my reviews

C'mon Pete Rock!!!
Pete did it again with this one but there's a couple of joints that I like. It's cool that he put out an album to keep his statis alive but he got to break out the big guns...