American rapper born to Jamaican parents, Pete Rock has been a part of the New York rap scene since the mid-1990s. His best known collaboration was as part of duo Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth. Born June 12, 1970, Bronx, NYC.
Rapper, DJ, and producer Pete Rock first emerged in 1991 as one half of a duo with C.L. Smooth, debuting with the All Souled Out EP. A hit LP, Mecca and the Soul Brother, followed before the two went their separate ways in the wake of 1994's The Main Ingredient, with Rock remaining a prolific studio presence prior to the release of his solo debut, Soul Survivor, on Loud/rca four years later. Dropped from the label, he continued his career as an independent producer, and later signed to Rapster/Bbe in 2001 for PeteStrumentals. Two years later, the label released a two-part compilation of mid-'90s LPs with Lost and Found. In 2004, Rock produced the sequel to his debut, Soul Survivor II, with features coming from Pharaohe Monch, dead prez, Talib Kweli, and former partner C.L. Smooth.
Peter Phillips (born June 21, 1970, in the Bronx, New York), better known by his stage name Pete Rock, is an American record producer, DJ and rapper. He rose to prominence in the early 1990s as one half of the critically acclaimed group Pete Rock & CL Smooth. After the duo went their separate ways, Rock continued with a solo career that has garnered him worldwide respect, though little in the way of mainstream success. Along with groups such as Stetsasonic, A Tribe Called Quest, The Roots and Gang Starr, Rock played a major role in the merging of elements from jazz into hip hop music (also known as jazz rap). He is widely recognized as one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time, and is often mentioned alongside DJ Premier and RZA as one of the mainstays of 1990s East Coast hip hop production. Pete Rock is also the older brother and younger cousin, respectively, of rappers Grap Luva and Heavy D.
Editors from About.com ranked him as #2 in their "Top 50 Hip-Hop Producers" list.