Mecca and the Soul Brother

Last updated

Mecca and the Soul Brother
Pete & cl - mecca & the soul brother.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 9, 1992 [1]
Studio Greene St. Recording (Manhattan, New York)
Genre
Length77:23(CD)
85:14 (2xLP/MC)
Label Elektra
Producer
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
  1. "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)"
    Released: April 2, 1992
  2. "Straighten It Out"
    Released: 1992
  3. "Lots of Lovin'"
    Released: 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. [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).

Contents

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
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [5]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Entertainment Weekly C+ [7]
RapReviews9.5/10 [8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [9]
The Source Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [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

PublicationCountryAccoladeYearRank
About.com United States100 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums [12] 200837
Ego Trip Hip Hop's Greatest Albums by Year: 1992 [13] 19998
Exclaim! Canada100 Records that Rocked 100 Issues [14] 2000*
Rolling Stone United StatesThe Essential Recordings of the 90s [15] 1999*
The 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time [16] 2022130
The Source The 100 Best Rap Albums of All Time [17] 1998*
Mojo UKMojo 1000, the Ultimate CD Buyers Guide [18] 2001*
(*) designates lists that are unordered.

Track listing

#TitlePerformer(s)Time
1"Return of the Mecca"5:42
2"For Pete's Sake"5:48
3"Ghettos of the Mind"5:01
4"Lots of Lovin'"5:07
5"Act Like You Know"4:01
6"Straighten It Out"4:12
7"Soul Brother #1"4:30
8"Wig Out"4:10
9"Anger in the Nation"5:31
10"They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)"4:44
11"On and On"5:10
12"It's Like That"3:55
13"Can't Front on Me"4:18
14"The Basement"5:22
15"If It Ain't Rough, It Ain't Right"5:04
16"Skinz"4:14
Notes

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

YearSongChart positions
Billboard Hot 100 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks Hot Rap Singles Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales
1992They Reminisce Over You [T.R.O.Y.]5810120
Straighten It Out-65737
1993Lots of Lovin-661-

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 .

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