Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth
Photo: Elektra

It's been a while since seminal producer Pete Rock's soulful loops, jazzy rhythms and trademark horns saturated the radio as musical backdrops for hitmakers such as Nas, Heavy D, Public Enemy, Mary J. Blige, Run-DMC and Das EFX. Now he's ready for another big run.

Not only has Rock reunited with his MCing partner, C.L. Smooth, but after releasing an instrumental LP in May, he's also working on the sequel to his guest-star-studded 1998 solo LP, Soul Survivor.

"If you heard the first Soul Survivor, then it's basically like that, but I'm doing it with different people this time," he said of Soul Survivor 2. "I'm working real hard to make sure every beat I do make is ridiculous."

Ten years ago, Rock and C.L. released their debut EP, All Souled Out, and followed it up with the full-length opuses Mecca and the Soul Brother and The Main Ingredient. With C.L. living up to his name, spitting his effortless flow and reflective lyrics, the duo shined with hits such as their anti-bootlegger anthem "Straighten It Out" and the reflective biography on wax "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)."

In 1995, the two stunned their fans by breaking up.

"I don't got regrets about it," Rock said. "Things happen. Sometimes reality steps in a little early. You never know when its gonna hit. Basically it was us trying to gel with each other's lifestyles. He was one way, I was another. That kinda clashed. Now that we're older and wiser, we all know what we want. We have goals we're trying to set. Why not do it together and make history again?"

After being estranged for years, the two have been working together for the past two months. Their reunion came relatively easy, according to the track master.

"We found each other, I guess," Rock said. "We started talking to each other again through a friend. Next thing you know, we started linking up and doing sh-- again."

One of the first projects the two collaborated on was the remix to Mary J. Blige's "Family Affair," which is just getting play on New York radio stations. "A guy from MCA called and wanted me to do a remix, and it didn't get used because of political reasons," Rock quipped. (Another remix of the song, featuring Fabolous and Jadakiss, circulated earlier.) "They had some CDs and gave it to DJs anyway. Somebody pressed it up."

Rock said that he and C.L. didn't immediately click in the studio. It took a little bit of time for him and his partner to feel each other out and redevelop their chemistry.

"We ain't been together in a while, but we gelled," Rock said. "We still know what it takes. We know how we did it before. I always kept on my toes as far as making beats. He's still got it. I'm not worried about [his rhymes]. As long as I make a beat to bring it out of him, he'll always deliver."

Rock said the duo have recorded four songs so far and hope to release the LP sometime next year after they secure a record deal. Of his solo project, Rock's planning to take the independent route and release that first. He isn't letting the cat out of the bag yet with regard to the guests he's working with.

Rock's work can currently be heard on Busta Rhymes' Genesis LP via a remake of Rock's remix of Public Enemy's "Shut 'Em Down." "I like how [Busta] did it," Rock said of the track. "By quoting some of Chuck D's lyrics, it brought the feeling back." He's also producing tracks for Pharoahe Monch and Planet Asia.

"I miss the heavy work thing, but it's a lot of people that just work within their own camp, and I respect that," Rock said. "My thing is, I just love to do music. If I'm needed, so be it."

• Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth
• Mary J. Blige
• Run-D.M.C.
• Nas
• Das EFX

As the boys of summer get prepared to settle into the pennant chase, some hip-hop artists are apparently getting caught up in their own diamond fever, as Big Daddy Kane, Sunz of Man, Das EFX and Heltah Skeltah, among others, have signed up to go to bat for charity as part of the "Hip-Hop World Series."

• Big Daddy Kane
• Das EFX

The tongue-twisting rappers Das Efx have just released their fourth record, "Generation Efx," which finds the group expanding its sonic stylings in order to remain relevant to hip-hop's ever-changing audience.

The band first emerged on the scene with 1992's "Dead Serious" and has been credited with interjecting a spirited dose of fun back into hip-hop music. But while in the studio, Das Efx decided that their new record should be more representative of the urban genre's growing diversity.

"Das has been around for a little while," Skoob told MTV Radio. "And just being able to go around to different countries, you get to see different people. [500k QuickTime] Like, since '92 the game has really widened. The audience is a lot bigger than it was back in the day, especially for hip hop. We didn't want to make an album and just target one specific audience as far as an R&B or an underground hip-hop audience."

Aside from appearances by long-time collaborator Parrish Smith, Redman, Nocturnal and Smith and Eric Sermon under the guise of EPMD, the record also features the band's experiment with a more hardcore edge on "No Doubt," a track the duo cut with MOP and Teflon. "Generation Efx" is in stores now.

• Das EFX