by SCOTT C

After one terribly long hiatus, hip hop magicians Pete Rock and CL Smooth are once again in the studio, not to mention coming to a city near you. I file this reunion in the "better late than never" pile because when I last spoke to Rock, aka the Chocolate Boy Wonder and Soul Brother No.1, the reasons behind his mid-'90s split with golden-voiced MC Smooth were pretty unclear, let alone something he would voluntarily talk about.

This time he laughs a little easier when I ask how many times the topic has come up in the last six years. "C'mon, man," chuckles Rock, "that's every day of my life. That's every freakin' day of my life. There hasn't been a time when somebody didn't ask what happened, and when we were getting back together. I got tired real quick of people asking, but it's not like I could escape the questions."

It was now-classic albums like the All Souled Out EP, Mecca and the Soul Brother and The Main Ingredient that made Pete Rock a prominent fixture in the early-'90s world of hip hop production. While he made his mark doing remixes for just about everyone in the business, from Public Enemy to Gangstarr to Mary J Blige, it was his work with CL, a near perfect combination, that earned them the respect they have today. "The fans are more important than us, and I think it's about time we gave the people what they want. We're grown men now, so things are gonna be a little different."

While CL has been relatively absent from recording over the years, Pete has been able to release his solo debut Soul Survivor Vol. 1 and Petestrumentals, a double LP for BBE. While currently working on a new album with CL as well as Soul Survivor II, Rock's also enjoyed some second-hand shine of late, with Little Brother producer 9th Wonder building his lush and soulful production style on the Pete Rock template. "When I first heard his stuff, I didn't say, ‘Wow! That sounds like me,' but the beats were dope and he definitely knows what he's doing. It was nice to hear him say that I had inspired him, and to hear the inspiration in the beats."

At 33 years old, Pete Rock has come out of the other side of 10 years in the music business with royalty status and too many productions to count, not to mention a reunion that people actually want. "There's a lot of things going on in the music game now, and back in the days, I wish I could have been on top of my business, and we wouldn't have gone through what we went through. I feel like the business side of music should be a little less harsh, and I wish the music side had a little more soul."

With DJ Kool at le Medley on Tuesday, April 27, 9pm, $15

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