| "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Pete Rock & CL Smooth | ||||
| from the album Mecca and the Soul Brother | ||||
| Released | April 2, 1992 | |||
| Recorded | 1991 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:45 | |||
| Label |
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| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Pete Rock | |||
| Pete Rock & CL Smooth singles chronology | ||||
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| Audio sample | ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)" on YouTube | ||||
"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" from the album The Honeysuckle Breeze (1967) by Tom Scott and the California Dreamers, originally performed by Jefferson Airplane.
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]
"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 also ranked #430 on its "The 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 used the same sample from "Today" that "They Reminisce Over You" did. In response, Pete Rock 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.)."
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