Mecca and the Soul Brother

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}} {{Redirect|If It Ain't Rough, It Ain't Right|the Luke Cage episode|If It Ain't Rough, It Ain't Right (Luke Cage)}} {{Redirect|Can't Front on Me|the Luke Cage episode|Can't Front on Me (Luke Cage)}} {{mcn|date=April 2025}} {{Infobox album | name = Mecca and the Soul Brother | type = studio | artist = Pete Rock & CL Smooth | cover = Pete & cl - mecca & the soul brother.jpg | alt = | released = June 9, 1992<ref>{{cite book |author1=Chuck D |author1-link=Chuck D |title=Chuck D Presents This Day in Rap and Hip-Hop History |date=2017 |publisher=Running Press |isbn=978-0-316-43098-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3hQUDgAAQBAJ&dq=Mecca+And+The+Soul+Brother+june+1992&pg=PT183 |language=en}}</ref> | recorded = | studio = Greene St. Recording (Manhattan, New York) | genre = {{hlist|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 | prev_title = All Souled Out | prev_year = 1991 | next_title = The Main Ingredient | next_year = 1994 | misc = {{Singles | name = Mecca and the Soul Brother | type = studio | single1 = They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.) | single1date = April 2, 1992 | single2 = Straighten It Out | single2date = 1992 | single3 = Lots of Lovin' | single3date = February 1993 }} }}

'''''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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/source.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060214200158/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/source.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=February 14, 2006 |title=Rocklist.net...The Source 100 Best Rap Albums & Singles |publisher=Rocklistmusic.co.uk |date= |accessdate=March 1, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://rap.about.com/od/toppicks/ss/Top100RapAlbums_7.htm |title=The Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of all Time – Top 100 Rap/Hip-Hop Albums |publisher=Rap.about.com |date=January 26, 2012 |accessdate=March 1, 2012}}</ref> 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).

==Composition== 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'").

== Release and commercial performance == ''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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rap.about.com/od/top10songs/ss/Top100RapSongs_10.htm |title=Top 100 Rap Songs – These are the Top 100 Rap Songs that helped shaped Hip-Hop – Top 100 Rap Songs |publisher=Rap.about.com |date=January 26, 2012 |accessdate=March 1, 2012}}</ref>

"Straighten It Out" is the second single taken from ''The Main Ingredient'', which was released to critical acclaim in 1992. The song deals with bootleggers and sample clearance opportunists. Unlike the previous single, "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)", "Straighten It Out" did not chart on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song contains a sample from "Our Generation" by Ernie Hines.

The third and final single, "Lots of Lovin'", was released in 1995. This is a downtempo and mellow song about relationships, with singer Vinia Mojica performing the chorus. Released just prior to the breakup of the group, the song received very little promotion. It was remixed and re-released at the beginning of 1996. The song features samples from the Roy Ayers song "Searching".

== Reception == {{Music ratings | rev1 = AllMusic | rev1Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="Stewart">{{cite web|last=Stewart|first=Stanton|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/mecca-and-the-soul-brother-mw0000072326|title=''Mecca and the Soul Brother'' – Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth|publisher=AllMusic|accessdate=October 24, 2010}}</ref> | rev2 = ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' | rev2Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=Omnibus Press|edition=5th concise|year=2011|isbn=978-0-85712-595-8}}</ref> | rev3 = ''Entertainment Weekly'' | rev3Score = C+<ref name="Browne">{{cite magazine|last=Browne|first=David|author-link=David Browne (journalist)|date=July 17, 1992|url=https://ew.com/article/1992/07/17/mecca-and-soul-brother/|title=''Mecca and the Soul Brother''|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|accessdate=October 24, 2010}}</ref> | rev4 = ''RapReviews'' | rev4Score = 9.5/10<ref name="Mennella">{{cite web|last=Mennella|first=Dan|date=September 30, 2003|url=http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/BTTL_meccasoul.html|title=Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth :: ''Mecca and the Soul Brother'' :: Elektra Records|work=RapReviews|accessdate=October 24, 2010}}</ref> | rev5 = ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'' | rev5Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="Hoard">{{cite book|chapter=Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/695|chapter-url-access=registration|via=Internet Archive|last=Relic|first=Peter|title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide|year=2004|publisher=Simon & Schuster|edition=4th|editor1-last=Brackett|editor1-first=Nathan|editor2-last=Hoard|editor2-first=Christian|isbn=0-7432-0169-8|page=695}}</ref> | rev6 = ''The Source'' | rev6Score = {{rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Matteo "Matty C"|last=Capoluongo|title=Pete Rock & CL Smooth: ''Mecca & The Soul Brother''|magazine=The Source|issue=32|date=May 1992|page=56}}</ref> }}

''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.<ref>{{cite web|last=Paine|first=Jake|url=http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.12696/title.dj-premier-confirms-pete-rock-vs-dj-premier-album-in-the-works|title=DJ Premier Confirms "Pete Rock vs. DJ Premier" Album In The Works|work=HipHopDX|date=October 21, 2010|accessdate=March 1, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150430180036/http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.12696/title.dj-premier-confirms-pete-rock-vs-dj-premier-album-in-the-works|archive-date=April 30, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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 === {|class="wikitable" |- !Publication !Country !Accolade !Year ! style="text-align:center;"|Rank |- |About.com |rowspan=2|United States |''100 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums''<ref>{{cite web|title=The 100 Best Hip-Hop Albums of All Time Show Overpowering Talents|url=http://rap.about.com/od/toppicks/ss/Top100RapAlbums_7.htm|website=About.com|access-date=January 24, 2024}}</ref> |2008 | style="text-align:center;"|37 |- |Ego Trip |''Hip Hop's Greatest Albums by Year: 1992''<ref>{{cite book|first1=Sacha|last1=Jenkins|author-link1=Sacha Jenkins|first2=Elliott|last2=Wilson|author-link2=Elliott Wilson (journalist)|first3=Jeff "Chairman"|last3=Mao|first4=Gabriel|last4=Alvarez|first5=Brent|last5=Rollins|date=1999|title=Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists|chapter=Hip Hop's Greatest Albums by Year: 1992|publisher=St. Martin's Press|pages=334|isbn=0-312-24298-0}}</ref> |1999 | style="text-align:center;"|8 |- |''Exclaim!'' |Canada |''100 Records that Rocked 100 Issues''<ref>{{cite web|title=100 Records That Rocked 100 Issues of Exclaim!|url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/100_records_that_rocked_100_issues_of|website=Exclaim!|date=January 1, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017052317/https://exclaim.ca/music/article/100_records_that_rocked_100_issues_of|archive-date=October 17, 2015|access-date=January 24, 2024}}</ref> |2000 | style="text-align:center;"|* |- |rowspan=2|''Rolling Stone'' |rowspan=3|United States |''The Essential Recordings of the 90s''<ref>{{cite magazine|author= |title=The Essential Recordings of the '90s|magazine=Rolling Stone|location=New York|pages=72|date=May 13, 1999|issue=812|issn=0035-791X}}</ref> |1999 | style="text-align:center;"|* |- |''The 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time''<ref>{{cite web|title=The 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-hip-hop-albums-1323916/pete-rock-cl-smooth-mecca-and-the-soul-brother-1992-1352841/|website=Rolling Stone|date=June 7, 2022|access-date=January 24, 2024}}</ref> |2022 | style="text-align:center;"|130 |- |''The Source'' |''The 100 Best Rap Albums of All Time''<ref>{{cite magazine|author= |title=100 Best Albums: The Top Hip-Hop LP's of All Time|magazine=The Source|location=New York|pages=27|date=January 1998|issue=100|issn=1063-2085}}</ref> |1998 | style="text-align:center;"|* |- |''Mojo'' |UK |''Mojo 1000, the Ultimate CD Buyers Guide''<ref>{{cite book|editor-first=Jenny|editor-last=Bulley|date=2001|title=Mojo 1000: The Ultimate CD Buyers Guide to Rock, Pop, Soul, Jazz, Soundtracks & More|chapter=Soul|page=76}}</ref> |2001 | style="text-align:center;"|* |- | colspan="7" style="text-align:center; font-size:8pt;"| (*) designates lists that are unordered. |}

== Track listing == {{Redirect|Can't Front on Me|the Luke Cage episode|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. {| class="wikitable" |- !# !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 == {| class="wikitable" |- ! 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 === {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" |- !scope="col"|Chart (1992) !scope="col"|Peak position |- !scope="row" {{album chart|Billboard200|43|artist=Pete Rock}} |- !scope="row" {{album chart|BillboardRandBHipHop|7|artist=Pete Rock}} |- |}

=== Singles === {| class="wikitable" |- !rowspan="2"| Year !rowspan="2"| Song !colspan="4"| Chart positions |- ! ''Billboard'' Hot 100 ! Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks ! Hot Rap Singles ! Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales |- |rowspan="2"| 1992 | ''They Reminisce Over You [T.R.O.Y.]'' | style="text-align:center;"|58 | style="text-align:center;"|10 | style="text-align:center;"|1 | style="text-align:center;"|20 |- | ''Straighten It Out'' | style="text-align:center;"| - | style="text-align:center;"|65 | style="text-align:center;"|7 | style="text-align:center;"|37 |- | 1993 | ''Lots of Lovin''' | style="text-align:center;"| - | style="text-align:center;"|66 | style="text-align:center;"|1 | style="text-align:center;"| - |}

== 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 == {{Reflist}}

== External links == * ''[http://www.discogs.com/Pete-Rock-CL-Smooth-Mecca-And-The-Soul-Brother/master/39477 Mecca and the Soul Brother]'' at Discogs * [https://books.google.com/books?id=ighxbRRgk6sC&pg=PA32 Classic Material: The Hip-Hop Album Guide – ''Mecca and the Soul Brother''] — By Oliver Wang

Category:1992 albums Category:Pete Rock & CL Smooth albums Category:Elektra Records albums Category:Albums produced by Pete Rock Category:Albums produced by Large Professor Category:Albums recorded at Greene St. Recording