Pete Rock has stayed remarkably consistent over his 15-year-career and Soul Survivor II doesn’t seek to surprise the listener or expand the parameters of hip-hop. Instead it reinforces an idea of rap music as a very basic formula that is elevated based on Pete Rock’s high standards and attention to detail. Every cut conveys a specific mood. The jagged samples of “Head Rush” display the sneering-yet-scientific rhymes of GZA and RZA, who steals the song with a self-referential verse: “Slick from the lip lisp, son, sip the citrus / My voice unfolds, with the soul of the Whispers / On the block, we rock loud like the Pistols.” On the other end of the spectrum, the cuts featuring Talib Kweli and Little Brother are marked by Rock’s trademark floating keyboard and woozy atmospherics. Soul Survivor II showcases a range of underground rappers from the past and present, and the album attains an outstanding chemistry on the tracks featuring Rock’s former partner, C.L. Smooth. While the pair’s relationship has been strained, the synthesis in “It’s a Love Ting” and “Appreciate” makes a reunion between these two musical kinsmen seem inevitable.