@@TruthFLA might just be. There are a fuck ton of competitors and really close picks you could take too. This song is the kind of song everyone knows the melody to but mightn’t necessarily know the song. Proves it’s truly timeless and exceeds being a hip hop track
This song is so good because it has layers and depth that previous songs in this genre did not. Prior to this, hip-hop was 2 dimensional, either it spoke about partying or street life. This song touched on life, death, loss, love and friendship. It touched our souls & made a deep impression that still resonates.
I knew Troy. I met him when he was on tour with Heavy D back in '87. My friend (my kids' godmother), Monica Payne, sang back-up for Heavy D. I was crazy about him. I got in soooo much trouble with my mom because of all of the long distance calls to NY. Core memory unlocked. Anyway, this will ALWAYS be in my top 10 faves of all time!
Please listen to that first verse again, he told his family history in 16 bars. A lot of people tend to focus on the production and beats (which are absolutely incredible), but the lyrics are real gems. Truly timeless song.
That piano sample is crazy. 10seconds of a 7minute track. One reason why i love Hip Hop. The Piano is from the Ahmad Jamal Track - I love music. Ahmad Jamal died last month🙏🏻❤️
Actually CL’s father was in his life. He’s describing how his mother and father married after they had children. Another fun fact is Pete Rock and Heavy D are cousins and Troy was Heavy D’s dancer. They all grew up together in Mt. Vernon, NY.
Love of my favorites. Trouble T.Roy who inspired this song was only one year older than I am. It hurt that he died so young from a freak accident. R.I.P Troy Dixon and R.I.P. Heavy D (Dwight Myers). Friends of Pete Rock & CL Smooth. Hearing this song always makes this 54-year-old woman miss being in her 20's.
As a New Yorker I can say this song STILL reps New York City in a big way. I've listened to it on my commute to work and in the Subway trains and I can say it feels like home every time I'm listening to it in the city.
CL just rapped about how he came up and his family, but it's all stuff people can relate to. the uncle with a nice car. the aunt that owns a business. the older relative that drinks a little and falls asleep to a jazz record. it could be people from your family, or your neighborhood. it's a very easy song to connect to.
The best way to discover Pete Rock is to listen to that exact album. He is a master of blending jazz and hip hop together. Another cut from the album to check out is called "Straighten it out". But the entire album is a great listen.
I'm from Miami, FL. My father said this was the first rap song I ever heard. It's been my favorite song since I could remember. 1992 was the year of the 90s! 92 Til Infinity! Sorry Souls of Mischief, 92 should have been the year. Speaking of Souls of Mischief, 93 til Infinity should be the next song
Family. Love. Sacrifice. Redemption. Life. These are the themes that propel humanity and are commonly reflected upon when a loved one passes. They are the subject of this song. As an added tidbit, CL is reflecting on his Afro-Portuguese relatives by name in the song and his lyrics carry that nuance to just an otherwise, urban black story.
Hey guys, he's literally reminiscing, as the title of the song suggests. Also his mother just had him and his sister, Pam. CL mentioned his own 5 kids which may have given you the impression his mom was having one kid after another. You may want to listen to it again.
T.R.O.Y. is definetly their best song, a true masterpiece! Their first album has also some really great tracks on it, however I recommend to listen to their second album The Main Ingredient! For me it is Pete's best album and one of the best produced Hip Hop albums ever. And go for the whole album as the vibe from the whole album is exceptional.
English isn't my first language, so i can't rate their lyrics too much. but i can rate the vibe. my favorite track is "one in a million" makes me feel good all the time
This is the quintessential hip hop song that really embraces the beauty of the musical genre during that era. Also, I recommend that y’all listen to AZ “Rather Unique” if you want to hear super dope lyrics over an amazing Pete Rock beat!
Hearing this song triggers so many memories for me... Real classic! Pete Rock produced for all the oldskool legends and produced many underground classics. Some of my favorites: Big L - Holdin' It Down ft Miss Jones, Stan Spit & A.G RUN DMC - Down With The King Pete Rock - Tha Game ft Ghostface Killah, Raekwon & Prodigy Pete Rock - Half Man Half Amazin ft Method Man Nas - The World Is Yours Red Cafe - Heart & Soul of New York City Termanology - We Killing Ourselves AZ - Rather Unique Rakim - The Saga Begins Edo. G & Pete Rock - Boston
In my opinion, this is the best beat to ever come out of Hip Hop. Rock will forever be a legend for this. Even with no lyrics, it tells the whole story. Timeless Diamond
east coast rap in the 90's especially was very jazz heavy. it's special to me as the sounds of my childhood. this song just has such a dreamy quality to it that made it special to me, along with the sentiment of reminiscing about days gone by and friends gone too soon. i loved this era for music. this song, nas "it ain't hard to tell", queen latifah "unity", camp lo "luchini", the pharcyde "passin me by", biggie "unbelievable", a bunch more i can't remember with that dreamy quality..... it was a great decade for hip hop...
T.R.O.Y. will forever be my all time fav hip hop beat. Check out “Down With the King”, a Pete Rock produced track. That was the biggest single off the eponymous album and ushered in a new sound for Run DMC, bringing them into the 90s. I remember being a 17 year old on my couch in DC, watching MTV all day long that summer. When I saw the DWTK video I was like “ok Run DMC is still relevant, I like this”. (They had kinda lost some cred in my eyes for doing Walk This Way.) “Straighten it Out” and “Take You There” are also great Pete Rock & CL Smooth tracks. And of course Nas’ “The World is Yours”.
'instant classic' the moment it was released. Peace to 'Trouble T-Roy'..Heavy D, the whole 'money earnin' Mount Vernon, NY............. Pete Rock on the masterful track...CLSmooth on the God flow.. & FrontRoom..appreciate you bringing' the Classics to the forefront!!
thank you for this one. We gotta show Dad more of these classic hip hop groups from then. i think A Tribe Called Quest must be coming up here soon. Either Low End Theory, or Midnight Marauders is a must in the history of all-time hip hop albums
I HAVE THIS ON VINYL WHITE LABEL PROMO SINCE DAY ONE WHEN T~ROY DIED 🔥 NOT SURE I WILL EVER LET IT GO, AS IT STILL BRINGS CHILLS EVERY LISTEN 🔥 SALUTE #T.R.O.Y 🙏🏽 #RIP HEAVY D 💙
Pete Rock - Take Your Time AZ - Rather Unique Big L - Holdin It Down These are some really good Pete Rock produced Songs, that I recommend reacting to. Greetings from Germany
Just fell over you channel. I grew up on this music and I have a 7 year old son that I hope I can sit with and listen to this classic masterpiece wjen he gets older. Love to see you guys share this music together
fyi that car in the middle is a Mercedes SL from the 90s specifically an SL R129. My father luckily is able to own one today as a modern classic, it was a big car back in the day but very affordable theses days. Its such a cool cover for such a cool song and absolutely one of the best beats of all time, iconic east coast song.
92 I lost my Boi back in Staten Island ( Hec ) and this song seems like it was written for him before he died. Still listen to this song like it was yesterday and still get that feeling like it was first heard.
Even though I consider Rakim as the God MC. This song right here if I could only listen to one hip hop song for the rest of my life, it would be this one. This song immediately takes me back to freshman year of college life just starting with all it's hopes and possibilities. Truly in my opinion one of the greatest rap songs period. My shame is that I only learned last year where the sax sample came from "Today" Tom Scott!... This speaks to the Genius of Pete Rock and his ability to take a song from '67 and turn it into an instant Hip Hop classic and icon.
Another great video! Y'all should react to Nice & Smooth too. Jazz had a defining moment in NYC during the Harlem renaissance/flapper era, and was a big musical influence on early eastcoast hip hop bc of it. Too, funk was popular in California with he generation before, which is why it was such a big influence in early westcoast rap.
I'm west coast all day every day... but this has been in rotation in whatever device i'm listening to since the 90's lol. I'm 48 now still love this track!
This is one of the best Hip Hop songs ever. The production by Pete Rock is top 5. The lyrics and delivery by CL Smooth top 5. PLUS the video is also top 5. Truly tied it together. Also the meaning behind the song ie tribute to TROY is on a different level. Shout out to Mount Vernon! - RIP TROY
When speaking about Pete Rock’s comparisons as a producer, you should have mentioned that he produced on Illmatic along with DJ Premier. The World is Yours was Pete’s
I love this song so much word for word, I put it on repeat in the video game settings for Street Volume II back in the day , I played it so much my dad asked me to change it 😂 I was born in 92’ the synchronicity and love for that era music and sound will always be undeniable
I was 14 when this came out, still know every single word. Easily in my top 5 favorite hip-hop joints of all time. I'd also go back and watch the video at some point.
This is by far one of the smoothest certified classic 💯🙏🥊👍🙌🎉🎤 trouble t Roy I remember crying when they came back together and toured 🥹 so nostalgic they have so many bangers too searching, take you there, Carmel city, tell me how you feel, and many more 🥲
Always stirs emotion when this song plays, a rousing piece. Check 'Soul Brother # 1' from the 'Soul Survivor' album. Amazing production and Pete flowing lovely on the mic... Also, PR produced 'The World Is Yours' from Illmatic...
I love it when people make videos that revisit golden era hip hop. I was 19 when this song dropped. At that very moment I also thought this song would be hip hop's legacy song. To my surprise I was right. Everything about this song is perfect from the arrangement, the sampling, the drum pattern and vocal cadence and delivery as well as clever word play. Just incredible staying power. To the young man who made this video, nothing but respect for you because of excellent research and knowing the origins of the song. You have a great feel with the purpose of songs of this era salute and 👍great commentary. As far as which Pete Rock? There's plenty. One that stands out in my mind that was released in 2002 is Grown Man Sport, Pete Rock feat Ini. Some of my favorites are: I got a love, Lots of lovin, Take you there, The creator, and of course the old school Sprite commercial
For more Pete Rock recommendations, my second favorite Pete Rock song is Step Up from Lost & Found: Hip Hop Underground Soul Classics. It's no T.R.O.Y., but I have it included low on my list of best rap songs.
@frontroom First off, I love the vibes in here, fellas. At best, I'm a casual hip-hop fan (you're fluent, I'm conversational) because I'm very easily distracted by tracking down all the funky samples and listening to the source material. Consequently funk, neo-soul, and R&B are among my favorite genres. Ya'll have done Erykah, Anderson Paak, and Jill Scott. Have you considered giving some D'Angelo a spin? Voodoo is one my favorite albums and it's right down your alley. Most of the Soultronics are involved, including Questlove and Pino Paladino (bass). Ya'll would get a kick out of it. Gentlemen, keep up the good work!
You guys misunderstood the lyrics. C.L.'s mother didn't have a lot kids - just C.L. and his younger sister, Pam. And he did have a father figure in the house because his mother moved on from their biological father and married another man. I'm glad you enjoyed the song, though. It's one of my all-time favorites. It's an amazing celebration of family, life, and their lost friend. You should also check out the song that it samples, "Today" by Tom Scott (also sampled in Black Sheep's "Similak Child").
Such a great hip hop song to introduce anyone into the Genre and it's classics. The song is named after Pete Rock brother who passed away and describes CL smooths life as they reminisce over loved ones. In the Black community, we might throw this on during a BBQ to let people chill out and eat or whatever before throwing more party music on. Look, I can't trust you if you don't like this song after hearing it. 😂
