Backspin: Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth — Mecca and the Soul Brother (1992)
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth embodied the essence with a transcendent debut. (95.5/100)
“To know the truth is to know the self,” Pete Rock’s majestic baritone ministers over the burrowing bass and solemn organ of Cannonball Adderley’s “Country Preacher” .
“To know the self is to know the mecca. Mecca’s not a state of mind or a place. Mecca is a way of life. It is the answer to all confusion.”
As quickly as the understated preamble to Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth’s immaculate full-length debut fades in, it drifts into the distance, giving way to the throbbing drums and elastic bass that power Mecca and the Soul Brother’s deceptively understated opener. A far cry from the frenetic frontal assault that made the duo’s 1991 EP, All Souled Out, an underground favorite, “Return of the Mecca” coalesces stealthily, taking its time to assemble the album’s sonic and thematic motifs piece by piece.
The percussions are allowed to settle, the bassline roaming for over a minute before airy horns float into the mix, seemingly out of another dimension. Before the ear can fully acclimate, Pete Rock snatches them away, thrusting attention back onto his partner’s measured flow. C.L. Smooth meticulously stacks syllables en…
