Customer Reviews

Mecca & The Soul Brother

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It took me almost ten years of listening to hip-hop before I listened to this album. How this happened I'll never know (I attribute it to being young and stupid). I was tired of the same old crap (this was 5 years ago too!), longing for something real, a friend recommending picking this album up. I remember coming home from classes freshman year of college, opening up the package, popping in this album and listening to this album on my head phones the rest of the night. This album changed the way I listened to music, in particular hip-hop.

From the opening moments of the album, there is a sense that what you're about it hear is going to be different. When the sounds of Return of the Mecca hits your ears, your are flooded with multiple layers of sampled horns, drums, and scratches. CL's flow just couldn't fit any better with this beat, and that goes for every song. I've said this before but it literally sounds like CL's voice is an instrument hand crafted to become another layer of Pete Rock's production.

This is one of those albums where there are no highlights, simple put the whole album runs as a seamless blend of music that is one complete highlight. I'd be lying if I told you there weren't tracks that I like better than others, but I'd also be lying if I said that I ever skip to these tracks.

For the most part the beginning of the album allows you to soak in the multiple layers of sound as For Pete's Sake and Ghettos of the Mind groove in your mind. Lot's of Lovin slows down things providing the smooth sampling and triangle for CL to seduce the listener's ears.

The intro to Act Like You Know slowly gears you up to speed before Pete just drops the main beat in and let's CL lyrically take off. The next track Straighten It Out is a classic, the beat practically an instruction course in sampling. Soul Brother #1 gives Pete Rock a chance to shine on the mic and could be the weakest track on the album, weak being a relative term here.

The way the album is constructed there is a definite climax in the middle starting with Wig Out, Anger In the Nation, which passes along a strong message. These tracks aptly prepare listeners for the ultimate experience of T.R.O.Y. (top 5 greatest hip-hop/rap songs ever, no question). This song is followed by the incredible tracks On and On, and It's Like That. Both quick paced tracks, show off CL's lyrical ability and smooth flow.

Can't Front on Me and The Basement follow and are more hard hitting tracks with heavy drums. If It Ain't Rough, seems to start off the same way as well, with the heavy drums until Pete brings in some incredible horn samples, which throughout the song change and interweave CL's Rhymes.

The album comes to a close with Skinz, driven by again some horns and also some xylophones. This track along with Grand Puba (one of the limited guests on here) provides a nice groove to end the album on.

This album, simply put, is a classic. It's Pete Rock's best-produced album in entirety. Over a jazzy Pete Rock sample, or maybe any Pete Rock production no one can capture it quite like CL Smooth (even today it's still evident in their reunion tracks Back On the Block, Shine On Me, Love Thang). Every time I listen to this I long for the music that came out of that era, this album changed my standards and could be used as an example for anyone who looks for a sense for creative art in hip-hop.

If you haven't heard this album, it's probably time that you return to the fundamentals of the genre and make your required trip to the Mecca.

(10/10)

On 106th and Park the other day, proof to me the decline of Western Civ is upon us they had a trivia question:

"On the album from the early 90's titled Mecca and the Soul Brother, this two man duo from NY eulogized a fallen soldier in arms by name, what was this song ?"

Oh gee, lemme think, only one of the all time tighest hip hop tracks EVER laid to tape ? T.R.O.Y.

Yeah, well none of the kids had a clue, only two girls even raised their hand and one of them guessed P. Diddy . . . ? F#$% P. Diddy, he isn't qualified to take out their trash ! The girl host was like "naaaah, come on ya'll, OK, let's run down the old school acts from Mt. Vernon, com'on, money earn'ing from Mt. Vernon, run 'em down . . . " and so the other girl guessed Chuck D ? And this is a local crowd, I mean if they were broadcasting live Des Moines that would be one thing, but these were local kids for chrissakes.

I was standing there screaming at the T.V.

Oh well, at least they played the video afterwards, a nice break from the c/rap that is on constant heavy rotation from the Ylang Ylang twins and Tipsy, talk about a couple of no talent azz MF's.

That was proof to me that 106th and Park is doing the young population a huge diservice by forgetting the past that made this music great. Like: "It's OK kids, there was no music prior to the year 1999, then Price came out and did his thing and that opened it all up for the brothers . . . blah, blah, blah."

Maybe it's for the best, these guys will remain a badge of honor for people in the know, kinda like the ixthus (sp?) for the followers of Jesus, well if ya don't know, ya can't go.

Guys (meaning PR and CL) if you ever look here, there are still those of us who remember, who appreciate what you did.

"t to the r to o y how did you and I meet in front of Big Lou's fighting in the street . . . "

Later Skaters.

Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth's "Mecca & The Soul Brother" (1992) is an excellent album. I have always found that this duo was ahead of there time, and on there first full length release they delivered with an album full of memorable tracks, great beats and impressive lyrical content. First track "Return of the Mecca" has C.L. kicking some knowledge backed by some impressive beats. Next two tracks are nice and lead up to the the relaxed oldschool sounding love song "Lots of Lovin" which is followed up "Act Like You Know" which has C.L. talking about the ladies. The instrumentals (like drums and horns) enhance "Straighten It Out" a track that flows smoothly from start to finish. My favourite track on this one is "They Reminisce over You" (T.R.O.Y.), just love the horns and C.L.'s flow and lyrics on this one. On tracks like "On & On" the duo basically just let the beat do the work and since the beat is great, it works. Another standout out for me "Can't Front On Me" a track where the duo come a bit harder backed by a pounding beat to remember. My only regret about this album is that I did not get it sooner, listening to it back in 92 must of been pure pleasure. Highly recommend "Mecca & The Soul Brother" as an album for the collection.

This album goes back to a time when it was more common for one person to produce a whole album (all of the production is by Pete Rock), when there was a large Black Muslim presence (see "Anger In The Nation"), and when albums could be successful without every other song having a guest artist. On Mecca And The Soul Brother, there are only two songs with vocals from someone other than CL Smooth or Pete Rock, and the majority of the album is all CL. So what you have is a unified and focused vision that translates into one of the best musical experiences you can have with hip-hop.

Pete Rock is one of the best producers in hip-hop history. This album is lasting proof of his talents as a producer who could take crisp jazz and funk samples and with them create multi-layered beats that did not stagnate in any way. I also really like how Pete Rock had short instrumental intros for many of his songs.

Pete Rock also was able to create tracks that went far beyond the standard hip-hop beat. An example of this is on "Ghettos Of The Mind." There is a short intro consisting of the title repeated, and then it goes into a classic but simple boom bap beat and CL comes in (verse). Halfway into the verse, a sax line comes in for a few bars and goes away, and then pretty soon the chorus comes in with a similar sax line. After another verse and chorus, an short instrumental break comes in and adds a new dimension to the song. This throws you for a loop and by the time you get back to the next verse, there is a completely new horn line giving the verse a whole new flavor which takes this song from great to genius.

CL Smooth is an extremely solid MC and gets the job done here and remains fresh with each track. He has a vintage early 90s flow that really swings with the beat.

This is one of the most solid albums of the era, with no weak tracks, beats, or lyrics. There are a few cuts however that stand a bit above the rest:
"Mecca And The Soul Brother," which has great sax lines throughout and pretty much sums up how the rest of the album is gonna sound like, lyric and beat wise.
"For Pete's Sake," where Pete Rock gets his chance to shine over a smooth vibraphone sample and horn section.
"Straighten It Out," with one of the tightest beats ever created.
"They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)," a powerful song with an amazing intro, truly inspired production centered around a repeating sax line and meaningful lyrics. "Skinz," a real pleasure with CL, Pete, and the great Grand Puba trading verses.

I could go on for days, but basically this album is a certified classic and a great purchase. I haven't met anybody or heard of anybody who doesn't like it. Get one of the best hip-hop albums of the 90s!

Mecca and the Soul Brother is simply CLASSIC!!. It is one of the best albums ever made and i only wish there were more hip hop albums like it. Pete rock produces the funkiest beats I have ever heard and C.L. Smooth rhymes have awesome flow and meaning. My favourite songs on there are T.R.O.Y., The Basement, It's Like That and If It Ain't Rough, It Ain't Right. Not to say the others arent good. You could listen to all of the songs over and over again. The beats are very jazzy sort of like early 90's GangStarr. Dont go past this album any hip hop lover should have it. This is real hip hop. Any hip hop listener who says it aint any good dont know what the f**k they are on about. 50 Cent lovers can F@*k Off. Underground forever. peace

I was listening to the radio a few fridays ago and the DJ decided to play some old school songs and give his take on things. He played "Lots of lovin" and I was like man this song is nice, sounds like CL Smooth but what song is this. When the song played out the DJ started talking about the duo stating that if Pete Rock had a better MC or someone that had talent equal to his that they would be bigger in hip hop history and sell more records. I have had Mecca and the Soul Brother on my wish list for some time now and that statement pushed me to finally buy the album while I had the cash to get it. I listened to the album as soon as I got it and decided to just let it play through. I don't know what that cat was listening to because I have never in my life heard an album with this amount of tracks that was so perfect.

16 tracks and not one is average or below, from Pete Rock's magnificent production to Cl Smooth's thoughtful and smooth lyrics, guess they don't call him CL Smooth for nothin. Maybe people think CL failed to deliver on the other albums but on this album he is flawless and it's hard to search for flaws when you're relaxing to the hot beats. The album mixes a lot from philosophy to issues in the black community and most definitely a lot of soul and you can strongly feel it in T.R.O.Y. Pete Rock's soul and jazz style is incredibly stylish and different. I love that not one beat sounds alike and every song is fresh, any generation of hip hop can no doubt relate to this album. Mecca and the Soul Brother is an album that you have to have to call yourself a true hip hop head and it is in my top greatest albums list because it doesn't get any better than this.

Together with Heavy D, there was this legendary duo that put Mount Vernon on the map, Pete Rock & CL Smooth debuted in the summer of '91 with their EP named All Souled Out, at this time Rock where known as Marley Marl's pal on the radio show In Control on WBLS. This was about to change drastically, and in record time this man became New Yorks most wanted producer. No one had bigger influence on the eastcoastsound in the early 90's as Pete Rock, and together with CL Smooth, he went in front as we like to call the gold age of hip-hop. Mecca and the Soul Brother is an essential record.

What you first recognize about Pete Rock's sound, is of course the horns. Plenty of his beats either have trumpet or saxophone (Check out "Act Like You Know", "Wig Out" and "If It Ain't Rough, It Ain't Right") This album is filled with soul- and jazzsamples and he even borrowed drums from James Brown. Compared with others heroes from that time period, like DJ Premier and Large Professor, I think that Rock's sound where warmer and more soulful, maybe that's why they called him "The Soul Brother".

As a rapper CL Smooth were the perfect partner for him, with an exceptional comfortable voice and flow, he was technically tight, with storytelling as his strong side. He called himself for "The Mecca", and punchlines and humor wasn't really his thing. Rock actually tried rappin' on the song "Soul Brother #1" ( Grand Puba wrote his lyrics) Their classic song, with a big C, "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)" is also to be found here. An outstanding song, and for those who don't know, this song where dedicated to Trouble T-Roy, one of Heavy D's dancers, who died in a tragic accident in 1990. Other highlights are "Straighten It Out", "On and On" and "Can't Front On Me". Most of the in total 16 tracks, where a pleasure for my ear and this album is a time journey back to 1992. This record is timeless. Why? "No gimmicks", as Lord Finesse says. This is music with soul, period. Don't sleep on Money Earnin' Mount Vernons coolest duo.

I can't stress enough on how great this album is. TROY was one of the songs that really influenced me to get into hip hop. There's other songs too, but this one really got me. I heard this and was like, f--- Vanilla Ice and PM Dawn, I gotta listen to stuff like this more. CL and Pete Rock layed it down on that. CL's verses were some of the strongest story telling I've ever heard, kind of going into his history. The beat matched it perfect, with the horns and the little singing in the background. This song makes you sit back and think about your own life. Ok, now with the rest of the cd. The songs were great, minus Lot's of Lovin. That one was a mediocre track, but good enough not to skip. The Basement was just sick, and even Heavy D dropped a tight verse, which usually, he drops nonsense. Skins was just ill, having Puba on it just made it even better. For Pete's sakes was straight rugged. This is great. This was a landmark album, so anyone who is a big hip hop fan, should have this. If not, get it now.

i was reading "redandjenn" review and was thinking that the audience members of 106 & park are usually 13 to 16 years old they wouldn't remember this gr8 artwork of an album.but i do agree that most music video outlets act like music prior to 1999 don't exist,wich is a shame cause thats hip-hops bettter era.this album was a must have during the early 90's.its sort of like the east costs chronic album.its consistancy reminds me of bone thugs E.1999 ETERNAL album.stand out trax are obvious,like T.R.O.Y,lots of lovin,and if it aint rough it aint me.its a must have album

EVERYTIME I HEAR THIS SONG,I GO CRAZY!!!
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth's 1992 album,"Mecca and the Soul Brother"
is without a doubt a early '90s hip hop stunner but that aforementioned song brings back so many memories! That song is one of the few hip hop songs in a while that you actually FEEL-not in the sense of the word that you like it but it moves you.Smooth's liquid delivery and the remorseful vibe is so moveable.
I know I'm not making any sense but this song to me is like the early '90s answer to Marvin Gaye's "Trouble Man".

And every time you hear this song,you can't help but to drift back into 1992,with the Cross Colours gear,African mediallions,acid washed jeans,and oh man,the high top fades....Sorry for going on a nostoglia trip!