| Mecca and the Soul Brother | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Pete Rock & CL Smooth |
| Cover: | Pete & cl - mecca & the soul brother.jpg |
| Released: | June 9, 1992[1] |
| Studio: | Greene St. Recording (Manhattan, New York) |
| Length: | 77:23 (CD) 85:14 (2xLP/MC) |
| Label: | Elektra |
| Producer: |
|
| Prev Title: | All Souled Out |
| Prev Year: | 1991 |
| Next Title: | The Main Ingredient |
| Next Year: | 1994 |
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).
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'").
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.[5] 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.
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| About.com | United States | 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums[6] | 2008 | 37 | |||
| Ego Trip | Hip Hop's Greatest Albums by Year: 1992[7] | 1999 | 8 | ||||
| Exclaim! | Canada | 100 Records that Rocked 100 Issues[8] | 2000 | ||||
| Rolling Stone | United States | The Essential Recordings of the 90s[9] | 1999 | ||||
| The 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time[10] | 2022 | 130 | |||||
| The Source | The 100 Best Rap Albums of All Time[11] | 1998 | |||||
| Mojo | UK | Mojo 1000, the Ultimate CD Buyers Guide[12] | 2001 | ||||
| (*) designates lists that are unordered. | |||||||
| Title | Performer(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 |
| Single information | |
|---|---|
"They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)"
| |
"Straighten It Out"
| |
"Lots of Lovin"
|
| Year | Song | Chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billboard Hot 100 | Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | Hot Rap Singles | Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | |||
| 1992 | They Reminisce Over You [T.R.O.Y.] | 58 | 10 | 1 | 20 | |
| Straighten It Out | - | 65 | 7 | 37 | ||
| 1993 | Lots of Lovin | - | 66 | 1 | - | |
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.