Rewind: Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth 'The Main Ingredient' (Part 2)

Welcome to our second look at 'The Main Ingredient', Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth's sophomore album.

What is a hip-hop classic without a James Brown beat? Pete Rock samples James Brown's 'Escape-ism' (as well as Ramsey Lewis' 'Sun Goddess' from Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth's track 'Escapism'. On 'Escape''s outro, Rock samples the Pointer Sisters' killer take on 'Yes We Can Can', originally a Lee Dorsey cut written by Allen Toussaint. On 'The Main Ingredient''s title track, Pete Rock samples 'Psychadelic Shack' by Albino Gorilla, 'Submission' by Tyrone Washington, and Les McCann's 'Harlem Buck Dance Strut' from his 1973 album 'Layers'. 'All the Places' samples two more J.B. cuts: 'Mind Power' and 'Take Some - Leave Some', both from James Brown's 1974 album 'The Payback', as well as the title track from Donald Byrd's 1975 album 'Places and Spaces' produced by Fonce and Larry Mizell. On 'Tell Me', Pete Rock samples the drums from the Detroit Emeralds' breakbeat cut 'You're Getting a Little Too Smart', J.B.'s 'Funky President (People It's Bad)' and 'Don't Tell It', and Stan Getz's 'Keep Dreamin'' from 1977's 'Another World'. During the outro, Pete Rock plays a bit of 'On the Hill' by Oliver Sain. 'Take You There' features samples from Joe Farrell's 'Upon This Rock', the Black Heat cut 'Zimba Ku' from 'Keep on Runnin', and 'Risin' to the Top' from Ken Burke's 'Changes'. Pete Rock samples one of rock's major breakbeats on the outro: Mountain's live version of 'Long Red' from 1972's full length 'Mountain Live'.

Check back for the final part of our look at Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth's 'The Main Ingredient'.

The Lowdown:
Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth 'Escapism', 'The Main Ingredient', 'All the Places', 'Tell Me', and 'Take You There'
from 'The Main Ingredient' (1994) (MP3/CD)
James Brown 'Escape-ism'
from 'Hot Pants' (1971) (MP3/CD not available)
Ramsey Lewis 'Sun Goddess'
from 'Sun Goddess' (1974) (MP3/CD)
The Pointer Sisters 'Yes We Can Can'
from 'The Pointer Sisters' (1972) (MP3/CD)
Albino Gorilla 'Psychadelic Shack'
from 'Detroit 1984' (1970) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Tyrone Washington 'Submission'
'Roots' (1971) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Les McCann 'Harlem Buck Dance Strut'
from 'Layers' (1973) (MP3/CD)
James Brown 'Mind Power' (edit) and 'Take Some - Leave Some'
from 'The Payback' (1974) (MP3/CD)
Donald Byrd 'Places and Spaces'
from 'Places and Spaces' (1976) (MP3/CD)
The Detroit Emeralds 'You're Getting a Little Too Smart'
from 'Detroit Emeralds' (1973) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
James Brown 'Funky President (People It's Bad)'
from 'Reality' (1975) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
James Brown 'Don't Tell It'
from 'Bodyheat' (1976) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Stan Getz 'Keep Dreamin''
from 'Another World' (1977) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Oliver Sain 'On the Hill'
from 'The Main Man' (1972) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Joe Farrell 'Upon This Rock'
from 'Upon This Rock' (1974) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Black Heat 'Zimba Ku'
from 'Keep on Runnin'' (1975) (MP3/CD)
Keni Burke 'Risin' to the Top'
from 'Changes' (1982) (MP3/Import CD)
Mountain 'Long Red'
from 'Mountain Live' (1972) (MP3 not available/CD)

Related Posts:
Producer Profile: Pete Rock (Part 1, 1991-1993)
Producer Profile: Pete Rock (Part 2, 1994)

Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 1, 1995)

In 1992, after early cassette tape noodling and the formation of the rap group Slum Village, James Yancey (better known as J Dilla, though then known as Jay Dee) met veteran Detroit producer Amp Fiddler who let Yancey use his equipment to make beats. Only three years later, Dilla had production credits on over a third of the Pharcyde's sophomore album 'Labcabincalifornia'.

'Labcabincalifornia''s most notable single was the sublimely low-key Dilla produced 'Runnin''. Though it was largely ignored at the time of it's release, 'Runnin'' is one the Pharcyde's undisputed classics, thanks in large part to the way Dilla flipped samples from 'Saudade Vam Correndo' by Stan Getz and Luiz Bonfa. The brazilian samba sample adds a hazy touch that works perfectly with Pharcyde's laid-back West Coast style. Dilla also produced the album's first single, 'Drop', which appears on the b-side of 'Runnin'', making for a double loaded and infinitely necessary vinyl single.

One of the most oddball footnotes in Yancey's career, circulated widely the day after his untimely death in 2006 via email, is his beat for modern rock artist Poe. 'Fingertips' from Poe's 'Hello' features a deep and echoey drum track from Dilla, matched with a distant big band sample.

In 1996, Amp Fiddler would introduce Yancey to Q-Tip, leading to production for A Tribe Called Quest's 'Beats, Rhymes, and Life' and the formation of the Ummah. Keep it locked here as I look at more of Dilla's history in a future installment of his Producer Profile on this blog.

The Lowdown:
The Pharcyde 'Runnin'' and 'Drop'
from 'Labcabincalifornia' (1995) (MP3/CD)
Stan Getz and Luiz Bonfa 'Saudade Vem Correndo'
from 'Jazz Samba Encore!' (1963) (MP3/CD)
Poe 'Fingertips'
from 'Hello' (1995) (MP3/CD)

BONUS CUT:
'Runnin'' by the Pharcyde was remade in 2003 by Mýa and the Pharcyde and retitled
'Fallen', which failed to break the top 40. I hope Dilla got his money for this one.