Pete Rock is rounding back into his second renaissance, producing bangers for the likes of Smoke DZA (The very dope Don’t Smoke Rock) and other new wave emcees. This time around he’s partnering up with one of our favorite emcees, Skyzoo for September’s coming opus Retropolitan. Here is the second missile from the album, Eastern Conference All-Stars, featuring the Griselda Trinity ( Benny West and Conway) and frequent collaborator, Elzhi.
The posse cut is becoming a lost art, with guest stars for added clout. Eastern Conference All-Stars is a throwback to when cats who really fucked with each other get together and just spit dope verses over a dope beat.
The beat is piano-paced atop a basic boom-bap and sporadic horn blasts. Of course Griselda ain’t rapping without Westside Gun’s wild ass ad libs and sound effects. Scratched in samples and a Nas vocal sample adds some prime grit. Pete is razor sharp on this, even if not meeting the iconic level of T.R.O.Y.
Nobody gets caught lacking on this, and there is no wasted motion or histrionics but Elzhi with the penultimate verse stands out. He doesn’t blow everyone away but his flow and vocab are slightly more intricate.
It’s cool hearing Benny sounding strong on a non gutter beat and hearing West talk his shit without the awkward pauses that sometimes accompany his flossy flow. MLK dropping a speech at the end is just for gravy. Eastern Conference All-Stars is dope. Enjoy
Pete Rock and Skyzoo are two for two. Retropolitan Dropping September 20th. You can pre-order below.
