25 Years Ago, Pete Rock Was DJ’ing On Airwaves. Listen In (Mix)
On May 20, 1989, Pete Rock was just 18 years old. The Mount Vernon, New Yorker was Marley Marl’s right-hand-man on WBLS’ “In Control” show. Two years before he would be making hits alongside CL Smooth for Elektra Records, Pete Rock was a heralded sound-selector, moving New York City and the tri-state with his ill mix.
Boogieknight (who just recently released an amazing blend-mix tribute to Ron G) shared one of these nearly 26 year-old relics with the masses. Heads can hear teenage Pete Rock’s unique style, which seemingly used double-copies of every record he played. Pete took then-contemporary Rap music and combined it with innovative turntablism and the prolonged musical effect of Hip-Hop’s pioneers. The effects, techniques, and on-the-fly funk is quite remarkable, as Pete Rock often gets props for his production and rapping, but both of those are thanks to his incredible work behind the tables.
Within the 38-minute mix, Heads can hear fresh records by Roxanne Shante and her then Juice Crew band-mate Biz Markie (after all, Marley Marl is in control). Later in the mix, the Fresh/Sleeping Bag Records’ catalog gets cut and scratched as Pete weaves in some EPMD and Nice & Smooth. Later, MC Lyte gets an extended set, before King Sun, and an oft-overlooked gem in Too Nice’s “Cold Facts.”
The mixes on Boogieknight’s Soundcloud page (including a Marley Marl In Control set) are nothing short of amazing. Here’s hopin’ more keep comin’…
Do moments in time like this remind us the real, seemingly lost meaning of “mix-show”?
Related: Step Into Pete Rock’s Petestrumentals Kitchen & Watch Him Cook (Video)