Pete Rock
Producer and co-writer of Nas's classic "The World Is Yours."
Pete Rock produced the song "The World Is Yours" for Nas's debut album, Illmatic (1994). He also wrote the song alongside Nas and sang the chorus. The single was released in May 1994 by Columbia Records. Pete Rock's production samples T La Rock and Jazzy Jay's "It's Yours" and Ahmad Jamal's "I Love Music" from The Awakening. The song reached number 13 on the US Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart and was certified Gold by the RIAA on January 28, 2019.
Quick Facts
- Birth Name
- Peter O. Phillips
- Alias
- Soul Brother No. 1 · The Chocolate Boy Wonder
- Birth Date
- 1970-06-21
- Birth Place
- The Bronx, New York City, U.S.
- Origin
- Mount Vernon, New York, U.S.
- Death Date
- YYYY · MM · DD · YYYY · MM · DD
- Genre
- East Coast hip hop · alternative hip hop · experimental hip hop · jazz rap · turntablism
- Discography
- Production discography
- Occupation
- Record producer · DJ · rapper
- Years Active
- 1987–present
- Label
- Babygrande · Elektra · Loud · Rapster · BBE · Nature Sounds · Mello · Tru Soul · Soul Brother #1 Productions
- Past Member Of
- Pete Rock & CL Smooth
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The track samples Ahmad Jamal's "I Love Music" and T La Rock and Jazzy Jay's "It's Yours," and Rock himself sings the chorus. The song pays homage to the film Scarface and references drug dealer Howard "Pappy" Mason and the unknown serial killer of the Texarkana Moonlight Murders. A remix of the song, produced by Q-Tip, was also released as a single by Columbia Records, alongside the original. Both versions were promoted with music videos. In summer 2015, Sprite put the song's title on its cans and bottles as part of their "Obey Your Verse" campaign. The song has appeared in video games Tony Hawk's Underground, NBA 2K13, and NBA 2K26, as well as in the films Antwone Fisher (2002), The Wackness (2008), and Dope (2015). Nas later mentioned the song in his tracks "Got Ur Self a Gun" and "Firm Biz." The Tip Mix of "The World Is Yours" has been sampled in many rap songs, including tracks by Logic, Joey Bada$$, and Jay-Z's "Dead Presidents," which itself has been reinterpreted by Lil Wayne, J. Cole, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and Mac Miller.
Reader's Guide
To understand Pete Rock's contribution to Nas's catalog, focus on "The World Is Yours" from Illmatic (1994). He produced the track, co-wrote it with Nas, and sang the chorus. The song samples Ahmad Jamal's "I Love Music" and T La Rock and Jazzy Jay's "It's Yours." It was released as a single in May 1994 by Columbia Records, reaching number 13 on the US Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart. A remix by Q-Tip was also released as a single. The song was certified Gold by the RIAA on January 28, 2019. It has appeared in video games Tony Hawk's Underground, NBA 2K13, and NBA 2K26, and in the films Antwone Fisher (2002), The Wackness (2008), and Dope (2015). Nas referenced the song in his later tracks "Got Ur Self a Gun" and "Firm Biz." The Tip Mix has been sampled by Logic, Joey Bada$$, and Jay-Z's "Dead Presidents," which was later reinterpreted by Lil Wayne, J. Cole, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and Mac Miller.
Did You Know?
- Pete Rock sang the chorus on "The World Is Yours."
- The song's title was printed on Sprite cans in summer 2015 as part of their "Obey Your Verse" campaign.
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