Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth

Pete Rock & CL Smooth
CL Smooth (left) and Pete Rock (right) in 1994.
Background information
Origin	Mount Vernon, New York
Genres	Golden age hip hop, jazz rap
Years active	1989–95, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2010–present
Labels	Elektra Records, Untouchables Music
Associated acts	Heavy D, Grap Luva, Rob-O, Deda, YG'z
Members	Pete Rock CL Smooth

Pete Rock & CL Smooth are a hip-hop duo from Mount Vernon, New York. They made their debut with their 1991 EP, All Souled Out and followed with 1992's Mecca and the Soul Brother LP.

As a producer, DJ Pete Rock (Peter Phillips) tended to prefer obscure soul and jazz sides for sample sources, frequently making use of horn-driven hooks. Lead vocalist CL Smooth (Corey Penn) tended to be philosophical in his raps, and he mostly avoided profanity. Their signature hit was "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)", a dirge for fallen friends—namely Troy "Trouble T-Roy" Dixon, a member of Heavy D & The Boyz, who died in 1990. They were first signed to Elektra Records, managed, and Executive Produced by Eddie F of Heavy D and The Boyz and Untouchables Entertainment who also then managed Pete Rock as a producer. Pete Rock was one of the original three "Untouchables" producers along with Eddie F himself and Nevelle Hodge.

1994's The Main Ingredient was the follow-up, and they appeared on a string of guest appearances for remixes, soundtracks, and other works. Public Enemy, EPMD, Heavy D and Johnny Gill were among the artists they collaborated with, and they can also claim credit for producing (and performing on) Run–D.M.C.'s 1993 comeback single 'Down with the King'. Despite all this, the duo failed to go gold on any of their own releases in the 1990s.