Mecca and the Soul Brother

"If It Ain't Rough, It Ain't Right" redirects here. For the Luke Cage episode, see If It Ain't Rough, It Ain't Right (Luke Cage).

"Can't Front on Me" redirects here. For the Luke Cage episode, see Can't Front on Me (Luke Cage).

Mecca and the Soul Brother is the 1992 debut album from hip-hop duo Pete Rock & CL Smooth. The album contains their best known song, "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)". Mecca and the Soul Brother has been widely acclaimed as one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time.^[2][3] The album was mostly produced by Pete Rock and executive produced by DJ Eddie F of Heavy D & the Boyz (co-group member with Trouble T-Roy).

Mecca and the Soul Brother
Studio album by Pete Rock & CL Smooth
Released	June 9, 1992[1]
Studio	Greene St. Recording (Manhattan, New York)
Genre	East Coast hip hop golden age hip hop jazz rap alternative hip hop
Length	77:23 (CD) 85:14 (2xLP/MC)
Label	Elektra
Producer	Pete Rock & CL Smooth Nevelle Hodge Large Professor
Pete Rock & CL Smooth chronology
All Souled Out (1991) Mecca and the Soul Brother (1992) The Main Ingredient (1994)
Singles from Mecca and the Soul Brother
"They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)" Released: April 2, 1992 "Straighten It Out" Released: 1992 "Lots of Lovin'" Released: February 1993

Background

Mecca and the Soul Brother was released soon after the duo's debut EP, All Souled Out (1991). Despite being a critical success, Mecca and the Soul Brother had little commercial success in comparison to other noteworthy releases of 1992, such as Dr. Dre's The Chronic. The first single, "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)", a dedication to their deceased friend; Trouble T Roy (a dance member of Heavy D. & The Boyz), has gone on to become not only their signature song, but also one of hip hop's most highly regarded songs.^[4]

Other topics on the album range from life in the ghetto ("Ghettos of the Mind"), the teachings of the Nation of Islam ("Anger in the Nation"), bootlegging ("Straighten It Out"), and love ("Lots of Lovin'").

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[6]
Entertainment Weekly	C+[7]
RapReviews	9.5/10[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[9]
The Source	[10]

Mecca and the Soul Brother brought considerable acclaim to the duo. They were often compared to the group Gang Starr, which also featured one MC, and a producer/DJ.^[11] Although the album garnered a great amount of acclaim, sales were slow. The group only grew more popular, however, and next appeared on the Menace II Society soundtrack, followed by Who's the Man? and Poetic Justice respectively, before returning in 1994 with The Main Ingredient.

Accolades

Publication	Country	Accolade	Year	Rank
About.com	United States	100 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums[12]	2008	37
Ego Trip		Hip Hop's Greatest Albums by Year: 1992[13]	1999	8
Exclaim!	Canada	100 Records that Rocked 100 Issues[14]	2000	*
Rolling Stone	United States	The Essential Recordings of the 90s[15]	1999	*
		The 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time[16]	2022	130
The Source		The 100 Best Rap Albums of All Time[17]	1998	*
Mojo	UK	Mojo 1000, the Ultimate CD Buyers Guide[18]	2001	*
(*) designates lists that are unordered.

Track listing

"Can't Front on Me" redirects here. For the Luke Cage episode, see Can't Front on Me (Luke Cage).

• All tracks produced by Pete Rock & CL Smooth, except #4 co-produced by Nevelle Hodge and #5 co-produced by Large Professor.

#	Title	Performer(s)	Time
1	"Return of the Mecca"	Intro: Pete Rock Verses: C.L. Smooth Chorus: Pete Rock	5:42
2	"For Pete's Sake"	Intro: Pete Rock First verse: C.L. Smooth Second verse: Pete Rock Third verse: C.L. Smooth Outro: Pete Rock	5:48
3	"Ghettos of the Mind"	C.L. Smooth	5:01
4	"Lots of Lovin'"	Verses: C.L. Smooth Chorus: Terri Robinson / Tabitha Brace	5:07
5	"Act Like You Know"	Verses: C.L. Smooth Chorus: Pete Rock	4:01
6	"Straighten It Out"	C.L. Smooth	4:12
7	"Soul Brother #1"	Pete Rock	4:30
8	"Wig Out"	Intro: Pete Rock Verses: C.L. Smooth	4:10
9	"Anger in the Nation"	Intro: Adofo Abdullah Muhammad Verses: C.L. Smooth	5:31
10	"They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)"	C.L. Smooth	4:44
11	"On and On"	Intro: Grap Luva Verses: C.L. Smooth	5:10
12	"It's Like That"	Intro: Pete Rock Verses: C.L. Smooth	3:55
13	"Can't Front on Me"	Intro: Pete Rock Verses: C.L. Smooth	4:18
14	"The Basement"	First verse: C.L. Smooth Second verse: Grap Luva Third verse: Heavy D Fourth verse: Pete Rock Fifth verse: Rob-O Sixth verse: Deda	5:22
15	"If It Ain't Rough, It Ain't Right"	C.L. Smooth	5:04
16	"Skinz"	First verse: C.L. Smooth Second verse: Grand Puba Third verse: C.L. Smooth Fourth verse: Pete Rock Fifth verse: C.L. Smooth	4:14

Notes

• The cassette and 2xLP versions contain two bonus tracks: "The Creator (Remix)" and "Mecca and the Soul Brother (Remix)"
• (*) Symbolizes co-producer

Album singles

Single information
"They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)" Released: 1992 B-side: "The Creator"
"Straighten It Out" Released: 1992 B-side: "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.) (Remix)"
"Lots of Lovin" Released: February 1993 B-side: "It's Not A Game"

Chart history

Album

Chart (1992)	Peak position
US Billboard 200[19]	43
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[20]	7

Singles

Year	Song	Chart positions
		Billboard Hot 100	Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	Hot Rap Singles	Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales
1992	They Reminisce Over You [T.R.O.Y.]	58	10	1	20
	Straighten It Out	-	65	7	37
1993	Lots of Lovin	-	66	1	-

In popular culture

The first single "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)" appeared in the 2003 video game NBA Street Vol. 2, the 2011 video game Madden NFL 12 and NBA 2K18, as well as in the Netflix series Master of None. All of the episode titles of the season 2 of Luke Cage are titles of songs from this album. The song "Soul Brother #1" appeared in the video game Tony Hawk's Underground 2.

References

1. Chuck D (2017). Chuck D Presents This Day in Rap and Hip-Hop History. Running Press. ISBN 978-0-316-43098-2.
2. "Rocklist.net...The Source 100 Best Rap Albums & Singles". Rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
3. "The Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of all Time – Top 100 Rap/Hip-Hop Albums". Rap.about.com. January 26, 2012. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
4. "Top 100 Rap Songs – These are the Top 100 Rap Songs that helped shaped Hip-Hop – Top 100 Rap Songs". Rap.about.com. January 26, 2012. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
5. Stewart, Stanton. "Mecca and the Soul Brother – Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth". AllMusic. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
6. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
7. Browne, David (July 17, 1992). "Mecca and the Soul Brother". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
8. Mennella, Dan (September 30, 2003). "Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth :: Mecca and the Soul Brother :: Elektra Records". RapReviews. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
9. Relic, Peter (2004). "Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 695. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8 – via Internet Archive.
10. Capoluongo, Matteo "Matty C" (May 1992). "Pete Rock & CL Smooth: Mecca & The Soul Brother". The Source. No. 32. p. 56.
11. Paine, Jake (October 21, 2010). "DJ Premier Confirms "Pete Rock vs. DJ Premier" Album In The Works". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on April 30, 2015. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
12. "The 100 Best Hip-Hop Albums of All Time Show Overpowering Talents". About.com. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
13. Jenkins, Sacha; Wilson, Elliott; Mao, Jeff "Chairman"; Alvarez, Gabriel; Rollins, Brent (1999). "Hip Hop's Greatest Albums by Year: 1992". Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists. St. Martin's Press. p. 334. ISBN 0-312-24298-0.
14. "100 Records That Rocked 100 Issues of Exclaim!". Exclaim!. January 1, 2006. Archived from the original on October 17, 2015. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
15. "The Essential Recordings of the '90s". Rolling Stone. No. 812. New York. May 13, 1999. p. 72. ISSN 0035-791X.
16. "The 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. June 7, 2022. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
17. "100 Best Albums: The Top Hip-Hop LP's of All Time". The Source. No. 100. New York. January 1998. p. 27. ISSN 1063-2085.
18. Bulley, Jenny, ed. (2001). "Soul". Mojo 1000: The Ultimate CD Buyers Guide to Rock, Pop, Soul, Jazz, Soundtracks & More. p. 76.
19. "Pete Rock Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
20. "Pete Rock Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard.

External links

• Mecca and the Soul Brother at Discogs
• Classic Material: The Hip-Hop Album Guide – Mecca and the Soul Brother — By Oliver Wang