With a sample from Q-Tip, In The House rifles off “Pete Rock is in the house.  CL, is in the house” throughout the chorus kicking off a great album put together by the dynamic duo from back in the day.  It is a great start to one of the very few CDs that I have which I can tolerate listening to the entire thing.

While it is not one of the most popular albums in hip-hop history, it is certainly one of the best and you cannot deny the ability and talent of both Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth.  C.L.’s lyrics flow right along with Rock’s production. Unique to the group is not only Rock’s producing skill, but his often times off-beat verbal offerings, which oddly enough, also make the CD as good as it is.  Escape features more of Rocks flow and there are times when it feels forced, but still, it flows.

C.L. is always on point offering up verbal goodness for your earholes.  While he made some appearances on other albums by other artists, he never seemed to break past this group.  Rock on the other hand, was able to drop several solo joints which did decent.  If not mainstream, they at least are more underground collectors items.

This album is a must for any true hip-hop junkie.