My mentioning of AZ’s Doe or Die (1995) a few weeks ago when presenting a handful of hip hop-related conversation-enders sparked a recent reawakening of my appreciation for the album, despite its front-loaded nature and hit-or-miss production.  Today I thought I’d tackle one of Pete Rock’s two productions on the record, the Nas-assisted “Gimme Yours,” whose remix was also released as a second single (and produced by the Soul Brother).  I haven’t dissected a beat in quite some time and could always use more entries in the Pete Rock Appreciation Society – shout to Dan Love.

Lyrically, “Gimme Yours” hardly deviates from the street-Mafioso content that defines Doe or Die, or as our narrator succinctly puts it, “rolling trees, stacking Gs.” Nas makes his first of two appearances on the record (the second being the DR Period-helmed “Mo Money, Mo Murder, Mo Homicide”), though he eschews dropping a verse here for merely singing the hook with a blunted, half-conscious inflection.  Pete, following the release of his second full-length with CL Smooth and who was likely working on the Deda and InI records at the time, contributed a track that was typical of his production style then, namely lush, almost saccharine soul samples floating atop rugged drum loops, with little of the chopping and arranging of micro-snippets that would dominate his work toward at the end of the decade.

For “Gimme Yours” Pete resurrects an old Minnie Riperton single, 1980’s “Here We Go,” released just after her death and featuring a posthumously-recorded vocal from Peabo Bryson.  Pete focuses on the four bars of melodic content from 0:21 to 0:33 on the original, where Minnie’s first verse begins and the drums drop out to reveal a harp and synthesizer.  Wisely (given the general public’s familiarity with Riperton’s unique voice), the producer extracts the music between her vocals, most notably a descending arpeggio from the harp at the conclusion of the fourth bar in the original.  Perhaps realizing its sonic prominence, Pete then inserts the arpeggio in the first bar of the loop, and its diminished harmonic color contrasts nicely with the warmth of the Abmaj7 chord.  The E natural and G flat from the arpeggio appear again in the second bar to add some flavor to the harmonically-ambiguous Bb chord, a dreamlike effect that’s heightened by the fluttering Cm7 chord that concludes the loop.  The buzz of the synthesizer is faintly detectable in the mix, though its role seems to enhance rather than complement the harp.  I’m not familiar enough with the logistics of the harp to know for sure whether or not this passage is actually playable, but to these ears it’s some aural candy that’s hard to resist, and the track’s three-minute runtime is all-too-brief because of it.

“Here We Go” – Minnie Riperton feat. Peabo Bryson 4:04 (Love Lives Forever, Capitol 1980)

“Gimme Yours” – AZ feat. Nas 3:08 (Doe or Die, EMI 1995)

Pete Rock “Best Believe (feat. Redman & LD)” NY’s Finest Nature Sounds 2008

I’m a devout follower of All Things Soul Brother as much as the next member of the Pete Rock Appreciation Society (just ask Dan Love), but half a dozen listens into the producer’s latest NY’s Finest (2008) and I still can’t lift the weight of disappointment off my shoulders. The issue lies not with his masterful manipulation of sounds and beats, which is always a wonder to behold, but rather with the C-list lineup of lyricists that, with a few meager exceptions, I really couldn’t give a rat’s about. Add to that a number of questionable detours into styles that clearly aren’t Pete’s foray as well as an overall lack of cohesiveness that the Soul Survivor installments were able to overcome, and what’s left is a haphazard mess of a record with little worth salvaging. Two of the tracks I genuinely never want to hear again: the ill-advised reggae tripe of “Ready Fe War,” and the sole guest production, Green Lantern’s “Don’t Be Mad,” which bears the distinction of having the most stupefyingly moronic hook I’ve heard in years. Even an appearance from Newark’s golden-agers Lords of the Underground can’t keep “The Best Secret” from deflating and falling flat. Tellingly, the record’s two (arguably) strongest selections dropped over a year ago on the “914″/”The PJ’s” 12″, the latter of which features stellar verses from Raekwon and Masta Killa. The rest, it seems, is just padding.

Still, this is Pete Rock we’re talking about, so the production rarely falters, each track radiating with the same warm, soulful bounce that’s characterized his work for nearly twenty years. It’s a detectable feel that’s difficult to place a finger on but is undeniably there, like the slick, velvety groove that makes up for the retarded garbling of Jim Jones and Max B on “We Roll” or the midnight paranoia that overshadows the dulling gun talk from Royal Flush on “Questions.” The always-entertaining Redman and weed carrier LD drop in to contribute to one of the few highlights on “Best Believe,” a mid-tempo cut laced with some juicy scratching and plenty of pimp swagger. Pete’s mic skills, which are more dominant on NY’s Finest than on past solo jaunts, remain tolerable and occasionally cringing, adhering to the usual “respect the game/longevity” content we’ve grown to expect from him. And while a somewhat clumsy 16 from Pete is certainly preferable to, say, a verse from Papoose, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss the days when Puba regularly ghostwrote for the guy. My prediction is that I’ll likely shelve this disc by next week until the double-LP vinyl of NY’s Finest instrumentals is (hopefully) released, at which point I can enjoy the record free of all the verbal clutter.

“Best Believe” – Pete Rock feat. Redman & LD 4:38 (NY’s Finest, Nature Sounds 2008)