They_Reminisce_Over_You_(T.R.O.Y.)

They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)

They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)

1992 single by Pete Rock & CL Smooth

"They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)" is a song by Pete Rock & CL Smooth, inspired by the death of their close friend Troy Dixon (better known as "Trouble" T. Roy of Heavy D & the Boyz) in 1990. The song was the lead single off their debut album, Mecca and the Soul Brother, released in 1992, and later became a staple of early 1990s hip hop. The song peaked at #58 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart. The song contains a sample from "Today" which is part of the album The Honeysuckle Breeze by Tom Scott and the California Dreamers.

Quick Facts Single by Pete Rock & CL Smooth, from the album Mecca and the Soul Brother ...

Overview

Pete Rock in a 2007 interview with The Village Voice:

I had a friend of mine that passed away, and it was a shock to the community. I was kind of depressed when I made it. And to this day, I can't believe I made it through, the way I was feeling. I guess it was for my boy. When I found the record by Tom Scott, basically I just heard something incredible that touched me and made me cry. It had such a beautiful bassline, and I started with that first. I found some other sounds and then heard some sax in there and used that. Next thing you know, I have a beautiful beat made. When I mixed the song down, I had Charlie Brown from Leaders of the New School in the session with me, and we all just started crying.[1]

Legacy

"They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)" has since appeared on lists such as Q Magazine's "1001 Best Songs Ever", Spin Magazine's "Top 20 Singles of the 90s", and The Source's "100 Best Rap Singles Of All Time".[2] It was voted #6 in About.com's Top 100 Rap Songs.[3] It was also number 90 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop. Pitchfork included the song at #35 on their Top 200 Tracks of the 90s.[4]

Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song #12 on its list of "The 50 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time."[5] It was ranked #430 on "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2021.[6]

In 2012, Lupe Fiasco's song "Around My Way (Freedom Ain't Free)" from Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1 recreated with studio musicians and did not actually use any of the original Tom Scott sax or James Brown drums, it stirred up a controversy by infuriating Pete Rock, who said he felt "violated."[7] Fiasco further references the song in the title of the final track of Tetsuo & Youth, "They.Resurrect.Over.New (T.R.O.N.)."

Track listing

Side A
  1. "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)"
  2. "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)" (instrumental)
  3. "The Creator (Slide to the Side Remix)"
Side B
  1. "The Creator (Slide to the Side Remix)" (instrumental)
  2. "Creator" (EP mix)
  3. "Creator" (EP mix) (instrumental)

References

  1. [1]
    "dtog". Soulbrothernumberone.blogpsot.com. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  2. [2]
    100 Best Rap Singles of All Time. Archived February 11, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  3. [3]
    Top 100 Rap Songs. About.com.
  4. [4]
    "The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s: 50-21 - Page 2". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  5. [5]
    "50 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time". Rollingstone.com. 5 December 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  6. [6]
    "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 2021-09-15. Retrieved 2022-07-04.
  7. [7]
    "Pete Rock Slams Lupe Fiasco for Crappy 'T.R.O.Y.' Bite". Spin.com. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article They_Reminisce_Over_You_(T.R.O.Y.), and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.