Search - Pete Rock :: Soul Survivor 2

Pete Rock- Soul Survivor 2

Constant | Vancouver, BC Canada | 05/11/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Over the years I have been more then impressed by Pete Rock's production for established artist after artist, and his two group albums with C.L. Smooth are two of my favourite early 90's albums, so its good to see him back at it with "Soul Survivor 2" (2004). That said I still can't honestly give this album the great ratings I would like to. Spoken word may appeal to some but Black Ice gives me a headache on "Truth Is" and a number of MC's I like disappoint me (or just dont blend well) on this one.Others like Postaboy are just horrible. I could talk more about this but instead I will look at the highlights of this album: Underground sensations Little Brother (The Listening) appearance on the standout "Give it to You" is off the hook, find myself loving the production, lyrics to this track. C.L. Smooth and Pete Rock are ill as ever on the two reunion tracks they do. "It's a Love Thing" and "Appreciate" are excellent first class tracks with great replay value. I really feel these two have not lost one bit of there edge, and if anything show that they are getting better with time. I would love to see them do another album toghether. Talib Kweli's collabration with the duo on "Fly till I die" is solid as is the relaxed "No Tears" feat. Leela James. The standout gems on this one, are reason enough for Pete Rock fans to cop "Soul Survivor 2". For those that are new to Pete Rock I highly recommend checking out "Mecca and the Soul Brother" and "The Main Ingredient". 3.5."

Destined to be labeled a disappointment - yet very good

S.J.S. | 09/19/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you have ever heard "Mecca & The Soul Brother" or "The Main Ingredient" with his back'n the days partner C.L. Smooth on the mic you know what Pete Rock is capable of. If you take a look at 90's New York hiphop history you will most likely get to the conclusion that he was one of the most influential producers in the first half of the decade and has left a mark on the sound of rap's world capital like few others.



Pete Rock is, to be honest, a mediocre MC. As mentioned above, in his earlier days it was C.L. Smooth who accompanied him and did most of the rapping on his albums, his first solo effort "Soul Survivor" was crowded with guest rappers from Common to Kurupt and its official follow-up actually comes in the form of a compilation with Pete doing what he does best - beats.



The expectations people tend to have for albums like this one, albums by legends they had to wait for half a decade, are usually impossible to live up to. If the artist tries to move on with his style, the album will be compared to his earlier work and critisized, if he sticks to his trademark sound it will be compared to his earlier work even more and he'll be critisized for not moving on. However, the route Pete chose to take kis the latter. And it turns out to have been the right decision.



Indeed, Pete fails to produce another classic. His work on "Soul Survivor II" is solid, but at many points lacks the brillance of some of the material he has done. Still, there is no jumping on bandwagons and when it comes to 2004 trends, Pete is not very obliging. Instead, many of the beats seem to be geared to the artists that rap on them much more than to the majority of the potential audience - "Give It To Ya" featuring Little Brother and the short yet very entertaining "Head Rush" featuring the Wu-Tang masterminds RZA and GZA are good examples.



The tracks on "Soul Survivor II" are usually carried by both Pete Rock and the MC's. "One MC, One DJ" featuring Skillz reflects the concept of the album and "Da Villa" featuring Slum Village, "Beef" featuring Krumbsnatcha and "Fly Till I Die" featuring Talib Kweli & C.L. Smooth are more examples of how both the MC(s) and the DJ should contribute to each track. Also, Dead Prez turn their formula into the menacing pseudo-club joint "Warzone", Pharoahe Monch does the good (by his standards average) rapping part on "Just Do It" and Kardinal Offishal drops some nice verses on "We Good".



The album's flaws are minor. Not every track is equally strong and the long-awaited reunion with C.L. Smooth (that has, on a side note already turned into beef by now) is not what people would have hoped for it to be. Nevertheless, this is overall one of the more solid hiphop releases in 2004 and anachronistic in a quite positive way"

For Pete's Sake

Cedric R. Porties | Detroit, Michigan United States | 05/28/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Give the guy a break. You can't expect Pete to produce classics every album. Most artists today compromise their sound in order to attract a broader audience, but Pete has been holding it down for years with the same formula. Think about it, how many Illmatics has Nas produced since 93, How many Reasonable Doubts has Jay produced since 96? Did Tribe put out another album as dope as Midnight Marauders? Are these guys wack now? Did we not like any other music they put out? You can't tell me you're not gonna be playing some of the songs off of Soul Survivor 2 10 years from now. Thats a whole lot more than you can say for the majority of the muSICK thats being put out nowadays. The bottom line is, appreciate the music and the fact that Pete hasn't strayed from his formula, "Real Hip Hop". He's not able to sample as much due to stricter sampling laws, and he's no longer using the SP-1200. This album to me represents a new beginning for Pete. When Jordan couldn't drive to the hole as much, he had to learn how to use a jumper. Did that stop him from scoring? We may not have seen as many highlight reels, but he was still the "Man". There are at least 12 cuts on SS2 that are tight. If that's not scoring in todays hip hop industry than I don't know what is.A Realistic Critic,"