Customer Reviews

Ny's Finest

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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...

You know, when it comes to making beats, not many producers are on the level of Pete Rock. Even if he isn't recognized as THE best producer in rap history, it'd be hard not to acknowledge his portfolio as top 5 material. That's what made me check out NY's Finest, but it's safe to say that this isn't PR's finest work. Sure, the beats are tight, but you already knew that would be the case. What hurts the album is lackluster performances from mediocre to so-so rappers. Despite that, there are some gems on the album. Joints like "Bring Y'all Back", "The PJs", and "Questions" all bang without incident. Lords Of The Underground redeem themselves somewhat after dropping a wack LP not too long ago. Pete's production on "We Roll" can even make the usually awful Jim Jones and Max B. tolerable. At the end of the day, the beats make everything worthwhile.


As you've probably guessed by the title, some of the rappers recruited for this album are just plain boring or wack. Jim Jones and Max B. soil the aforementioned beat for "We Roll" with some awful rhymes and disappointed me a little. And, while he's been tolerable over the years, Pete managed to ruin a few beats all by himself with some truly wack rhymes -- 'Til I Retire and Don't Be Mad (which is just plain awful) are perfect examples of this.

NY's Finest is a decent album. Pete Rock can still make dope beats, we all know this, but some of the rappers he solicited bring the album down some. There are enough dope tracks to make getting this a good idea though. I recommend checking this one out, and even though it's solid, I wouldn't make it a priority purchase.

Standout Tracks: The PJ's feat. Raekwon & Masta Killa, Ready Fe War feat. Chip Fu & Renée Neufville, 914 feat. Styles P. & Sheek Louch, Questions feat. Royal Flush (My Favorite), Bring Y'all Back feat. Little Brother, & Best Believe feat. Redman & LD

New work from Soulbrother No. 1, emperor of underground djs, master of ceremony: the mood is softer than ever, but stamina flows as usual. Best track and charming raps with Little Brother, who need to prove the world they can do without 9th Wonder, king of underground djs. Fine come back of the Lords of the Underground, no longer chief rocka, but good to hear again. Nice reggamuffin in "Ready Fe War". Velvet carpets under the R&B of Rell and Tarrey Torae. Not memorable, but the atmosphere of a Pete Rock album is always worth the buy.

Of course you know that Pete Rock is one of the greatest producers in this hip hop game, so there is no question that the production is going to be banging. All the beats here are going to range from good to excellent on the 15 tracks on this album, so I really won't go into much detail with that.

The problem is the obvious: Medicore lyrics. With the exception of maybe three tracks, the lyrics here are nowhere near impressive. Of course you know Jim Jones and Max B are bad, and they waste a great beat on "We Roll". I agree that even Pete Rock has been slippin on the mic as well, and it really shows since he himself rhymes on almost every song. Many sources told me "Till I Retire" was the best track on the album, but I only see it as okay (dope scratching of Run DMC on the hook though). Styles P. and Sheek Louch of the LOX comes in for a dope "914". "Questions" is nice from Royal Flush, someone I haven't heard in over a decade rhyming. Redman does his thing with LD and Pete on "Best Believe" with a great beat. Some other people I haven't heard in a while are Chip Fu (from the Fu Schnickens) and Renee Neufuville (from Zhane) appear on the solid reggae sounding track "Ready Fe War". Pete Rock can prove that he himself can waste great beats too, with bad rhyming on "Don't Be Mad". Little Brother and Joe Scudda appear on "Bring Y'all Back", one of the better tracks on this album. The Lords Of The Underground make "Best Kept Secret", a track that should have appeared on their last album. "Thats What I'm Talking About" featuring Rell, is my favorite track on this album. Pete's lyrical ability shines on that song as well, redeeming him from bad lyrics on earlier tracks. "The PJ's" featuring Raekwon and Masta Killa is a solid track. "Made Man" features Tarrey Torae is another okay track. "Lets Go" has a spectacular beat, and Doo Woop sounds alright. Unfortunately the track itself is under a minute and a half. The album closes off with "Comprehend" with Papoose, who sounds wack on the track.

Overall, Pete Rock's latest album is good. As mentioned before the beats are good, but the lyrics are not. Only a few rappers bring something new to the table (Royal Flush, LB, Redman), but outside of that, there is very little to offer for on the lyrical side of things (I hate to bring this up, but where is CL when you need him). This is one of the times I would say search for the instrumentals for this album, and download the tracks that I said stood out. Peace.

Lyrics: C+
Production: A-
Guest Appearances: C
Musical Vibes: B+

Top 5 Tracks:
1. Thats What I'm Talking About (featuring Rell)
2. Questions (featuring Royal Flush)
3. Bring Y'all Back (featuring Little Brother and Joe Scudda)
4. Best Believe (featuring Redman and LD)
5. Lets Go (featuring Doo Woop)

Honorable Mention:
1. Best Kept Secret (featuring Lords Of The Underground)
2. 914 (featuring Sheek and Styles)

If you're already a PR fan then you're probably going to like this album, it's really nothing drasticly different than anything else he's ever done before. Personally I was a little dissapointed with Pete's idea of who's actually "NY's Finest" after scanning the back of the CD and seeing the likes of Jim Jones, Max B, Rell, and Papoose on the guest slots. I'm not trying to argue with anyone who holds any of the previously mentioned rappers in high regard as far as whether or not they're decent at what they do, but I will say that their contributions weren't exactly the highlights on this record in my opinion. Anyway onto the music. After a standard & forgettable intro we get to the 1st track "We Roll" which has Jim Jones, Max B and Pete Rock himself lazily flowing over one of my favorite beats on this effort. The beat is on some golden era smooth soul vibe, and it's perfect music for driving around to. The next track that immediately stands out to my ears would be Bring Ya'll Back featuring Little Brother. The beat has a real dark gritty, sinister feel to it, and isn't exactly the type of track I would expect Little Brother to get down to, but they held it down and did my favorite beat on NY's Finest complete justice. Raekwon and Masta Killa show up for a noteworthy guest appearances for a street anthem called "The PJ's" which I believe Nature Sounds previously released for one of their compilations last summer, it's a tight track and I'm glad they included it on this project as well. The rest of the songs on this album range from great to slightly above average and the whole thing flows together fairly seemlessly with the exception of reggae flavored "Ready Fe War" which should have never made it to the final tracklisting because it's so out of place compared to the rest of the record. I've only had this for a couple of days, but it's already grown on me considerably since my 1st listen. If you appreciate quality hip hop then you're probably going to be satisfied with NY's Finest. Pete Rock is a legend and he's showing no signs of slowing down with this offering. I would have liked to hear sharper rappers over tracks like "We Roll" and "That's What I'm Talking About" and that's the main reason I'd rate this at a 3 1/2 for lyrics, but the focus on a Pete Rock joint is going to be on the beats which is an easy 5 stars.

this album has some good Hip-hop and better than average beats but Pete's flow is very dated and boring for tha most part. Masta Killa has a pretty hot verse on PJ's and Little Brother comes off nice, but i found this album a little bit boring. For fans of his work, they should be pleased however. He makes entirely too many references to his beats and skills behind tha boards to make up for lack of lyricism. I think with some better hooks this album could have been hotter.

Pete Rock's new effort "NY's Finest" is a different sound for Pete. If you're looking for another "Mecca And The Soul Brother" or "Soul Survivor" this isn't it. However, it's a well-crafted album. It kicks off with "We Roll" which features the oddest choice on here- Dipset's Jim Jones and Max B. Other artists that appear on here have been long absent from the music scene, such as the Fu-Schnickens member Chip-Fu on the dancehall track "Ready Fe War" and Lords Of The Underground on "Best Kept Secret". Redman shows up on the excellent "Best Believe" and Little Brother appears on "Bring Y'all Back" which is the other highlight of the album. The only missteps on "NY's Finest" are the songs "Made Man" (It's too commercial sounding even for Pete Rock) and the only song not produced by Pete- the Green Lantern-helmed "Don't Be Mad". Otherwise, it's pretty good.

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

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
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