Pete Rock, whose production work helped
define the 90s "golden age," is a rare exception;
Rock's one of the few musicians who made his
name in the aggressively unflashy 90s East
Coast sound and managed to stay continually
relevant without capitulating to changing tastes.
80 Blocks from Tiffany's offered proof that
amidst the expeditions rap music's launching
into new sonic territories like EDM, noisy
psychedelia, and quasi-industrial music, the
classic boom-bap stuff still has a place.