Producer Spotlight: Pete Rock

Peter Phillips (born June 21, 1970 in Bronx New York), better known by his stage name Pete Rock, is an American DJ/Record Producer, and Emcee of Jamaican descent.

He rose to prominence in the early 1990's 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, while not significant in terms of mainstream success.

Pete Rock played a major role in the merging of elements from jazz into hip-hop music, also known as jazz-rap, along with the groups Stetsasonic, A Tribe Called Quest, The Roots, and Gang Starr.

Considered one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time, he is often mentioned alongside DJ Premier and RZA as one of the mainstays of 1990's 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.