| Product Summary | | Label: K7 Studio | | UPC: 00730003903229 | | Release Date: 5/11/2004 | | Buy.com Sku: 60628427 | | Item#: MVKCEG | | Buy.com Sales Rank: 25079 | Format:  CD |
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Disc 1
| | Song Title | Sample | | 1. Truth Is - (featuring Black Ice) ~ Pete Rock |  | | 2. We Good - (featuring Kardinal Offishall) ~ Pete Rock | | | 3. Just Do It - (featuring Pharoahe Monch) ~ Pete Rock | | | 4. Give It to Ya - (featuring Little Brother) ~ Pete Rock | | | 5. It's the Postaboy - (featuring Postaboy) ~ Pete Rock | | | 6. It's A Love Thing - (featuring C.L. Smooth/Denosh) ~ Pete Rock | | | 7. One MC One DJ - (featuring Skillz) ~ Pete Rock | | | 8. Beef - (featuring Krumb Snatcha) ~ Pete Rock | | | 9. No Tears - (featuring Leela James) ~ Pete Rock | | | 10. Head Rush - (featuring RZA/GZA) ~ Pete Rock | | | 11. Fly Till I Die - (featuring Talib Kweli/C.L. Smooth) ~ Pete Rock | | | 12. Warzone - (featuring Dead Prez) ~ Pete Rock | | | 13. Da Villa - (featuring Slum Village) ~ Pete Rock | | | 14. Niggaz Know - (featuring J Dilla) ~ Pete Rock | | | 15. Appreciate - (featuring C.L. Smooth) ~ Pete Rock | |
| | The time has come for Pete Rock AKA The Chocolate Boy Wonder to step up, and push the envelope once again. Constantly producing and remixing music's brightest stars (Nas, Public Enemy, Mos Def and Talib Kweli, Notorious B.I.G., Run DMC, Q-Tip, Mary J. Blige) and having released a classic solo album Soul Survivor (1998) and Instrumental excursion Petestrumentals (2001) Pete Rock returns With Soul Survivor 2. In Pete Rock the people have a savior and a new sense of hope that will inspire a revolution in Hip Hop. Pete Rock has time and time again proven to be successful in his development of a sound that's relevant in Hip Hop at any given point, while still staying true to his loyal fan base. With Soul Survivor 2 Pete Rock returns to give the world what they've been waiting for, a truly diverse artist album that tells the whole story. Soul Survivor 2 is an album that restores the much needed soul that Hip Hop has been missing. Acting as MC, and producer Pete Rock has assembled a cast of Hip Hop's most talented artists to deliver more than just a sequel to Soul Survivor . Having recorded hundreds of tracks since Soul Survivor , Pete Rock has cultivated a masterpiece that will inspire a whole generation. Pete teamed up with Dead Prez to create "Warzone", a club and street anthem for 2004 reminiscent of the heyday of Public Enemy and NWA when the music had so much soul that you couldn't help but dance to it, but at the same time it also presented a strong social message. Diverse as usual, Pete Rock is not only about the soul of the revolution on the streets but also about the jams for the summertime. Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth have crafted the summertime anthem titled "Love Thing", which brings to the forefront Justin Timberlake backup singer Denosh. "Love Thing" is truly an important song for Hip Hop culture as it celebrates the woman behind every man and the special bond they share. Other standout collaborations with Pete Rock on the album include the poignant Pharoahe Monch on "Just Do It", the soulful North Carolina group Little Brother on "Give It 2 Ya", and Slum Village's certified head banger "Da Villa". The album also features collaborations with Talib Kweli, Kardinal Offishall, RZA, GZA, Postaboy, J-Dilla, Black Ice, Leela James, Skillz and Krumbsnatcha. From explosive club bangers to summer jams and rugged street anthems Soul Survivor 2 is the quintessential hip-hop album.
"...Pete has remained, in a word, incredible." HipHopDX.com
| | Album Notes and Credits |
Notes & Personnel Info |  | Personnel: Pete Rock; J Dilla, Dead Prez, Kardinal Offishall, Krumbsnatcha, Little Brother, Pharoahe Monch, Postaboy, RZA, Talib Kweli, Leela James, C.L. Smooth. | | Though by the mid-'90s he had earned his status as one of the finest producers in hip-hop, Pete Rock's solo career didn't get off to a good start. He split with C.L. Smooth in 1995 and moved back into independent production for several years, occasionally getting together a project with personal appeal, like his brother's group, InI. Finally signed to Loud/RCA for his first solo album in 1998, Rock called in fans and friends from Wu-Tang Clan to Kool G Rap to Beenie Man for a very promising record. Despite some great material, it wasn't a commercial success and he was unceremoniously dropped from the label (with one final disrespect: five years later, the Loud website was still proclaiming the release of Soul Survivor on November 10, 1998). More productions followed before he signed to Rapster, which treated him more like an artist than a meal ticket, and reissued some old projects (Lost and Found) before following through with the sequel to Soul Survivor. Surprisingly, Soul Survivor II is a much better record than the original, and the best production album Rock's ever done on his own. He's less reliant on hooks than in the past, instead content to simply recruit a cast of great rappers and give them enough to run with. And with more focus (i.e., fewer tracks) this time out, the quality level has gone up. On the second track, "We Good," Kardinal Offishall gets the high honor of Rock's best production (or at least, the most immediately gratifying), and doesn't let it slip with a barrage of dense but freewheeling rhymes. Next on the mike is Pharoahe Monch, the recipient of a classic Rock track (airy effects and slightly stuttered beats) called "Just Do It," on which he preaches self-reliance with informed lyrics. Pete Rock's two-song reunion with C.L. Smooth, "It's a Love Thing" and "Appreciate," illustrate that Smooth still has plenty of what originally gave him his name but hasn't come too far from ten years ago. More than any of his other records, Soul Survivor II displays Rock crafting his productions to fit the rappers -- just compare the tense track that drives the politicized "Warzone" for Dead Prez to the smoothed-out '70s samples and horns laid underneath GZA and RZA for "Head Rush." ~ John Bush | | Pete Rock may be best known for his early-1990s work with C.L. Smooth and particularly for the duo's enduring hit "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)." However, given his collaborations with everyone from A Tribe Called Quest to Talib Kweli, the one-time DJ and his larger influence on hip-hop cannot be underestimated. Rock's beat-layering brilliance is most obvious on his solo albums, and though they are few and far between, each one becomes treasured by loyal fans. | | SOUL SURVIVORS II continues Rock's streak of hip-hop mastery and features a host of respected rappers, who proceed to display their lyrical deftness over the best beats he has to offer. The RZA joins the GZA on the horn-laced "Head Rush," while lesser-known Krumbsnatcha states his case on the sinister "Beef," and the incomparable Pharoahe Monch contributes his rambling-yet-proficient rapping skills to the funky "Just Do It." The best moment, however, may be when Rock reunites with Smooth on the sly "It's a Love Thing." The result reaches the level of rap genius, and tops off a record that does not disappoint. |
| | Artist Overview | | With his partner in crime, C.L. Smooth, Pete Rock was part of one of the True School's most beloved duos. As a DJ, beatmaker, and mixtape guru, however, the Bronx native became flat-out hip-hop royalty. Rock is a pillar of the underground grind, but, thanks to his sterling reputation for beat mining and an undeniable ear for the hit, his production work has graced records by everyone from Public Enemy, Ghostface, and Nas to 50 Cent, Notorious B.I.G., and even Brandy and Keisha Cole. His solo albums blend boom-bap beats and jazzy samples and productions into a distinctively tasteful whole. Simply put, Pete Rock is an institution. |
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| | Technical Info | | Release Date : 01/01/2006 | | Original Release Date : 2004 | | Catalog ID : 32 | | Label : Rapster Records | | Number of Discs : 1 | | Studio/Live : Studio | | Mono/Stereo : Stereo | | SPAR Code : n/a | | UPC : 00730003903229 |
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| | Professional Reviews | | Rolling Stone (p.122)
- 3 stars out of 5 - "Pete Rock has been crushing grooves with consistency. SOUL SURVIVOR II is no exception to Rock's rule."Q (p.118)
- 3 stars out of 5 - "[W]hen Pete's old partner CL Smooth turns up on the irresistible 'Appreicate,' it's clear a master is at the controls." Vibe (p.153)
- 3 1/2 out of 5 - "Even with an assortment of guests, Pete's sample-heavy collages are diverse enough to make SOUL SURVIVOR II a true album experience rather than another compilation." Mojo (Publisher)
(p.113)
- 3 stars out of 5 - "SS2 finds Urban column fave Pete Rock back at the peak of his powers." Stylus 8 of 10
It's to his credit that this album is indeed on par with some of his best recordings, and occasional
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