Pete Rock

A protégé of Marley Marl for whom he used to memorably destroy the decks on the In Control radio show on WBLS Pete Rock more than any other single producer, exemplified this generation of track-ticians. And his remixes made for some of the most enduring creations of the decade. Tackling EPMD'S "Rampage" on his "Hardcore To The Head Mix" Pete retooled a Kool sax riff over a fast-but-unfurious drum loop, the result simmering like a more sinisterly dialed-in "900 Number." His "Jussumen Remix" for Das EFX set crashing-trashcan-lid snares against the quaintest vibraphones this side of Martin Denny what better concoction to support Drayz and Skoob's salutes to the Thundercats and other pop culture ephemera? His great take on House Of Pain's "Jump Around" disposed with the original's repeated Prince screech, switching in echo-soaked horns that may have seemed more subdued on the surface, yet still stayed lodged in one's memory in the same relentlessly catchy way. Pete Rock's remixes weren't just great music they were also groundbreaking feats of self-promotion.