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

"They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)"
"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	Golden age hip hop; jazz rap;
Length	4:45
Label	Untouchables; Elektra;
Songwriter(s)	Peter Phillips; Corey Penn;
Producer(s)	Pete Rock
Pete Rock & CL Smooth singles chronology
Audio sample
	file; help;
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.

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 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.)."