Imagine the shock the art world would feel if they had stumbled upon a vault of never-seen-before paintings by Pablo Picasso, some one hundred years after his death. Or imagine what the buzz would be like in the film world, if they discovered a completed Kurosawa film from 1972, which was locked away in his safe. For hip-hop heads, the resurgence of INI’s Center Of Attention is just as monumental as the aforementioned scenarios.

See, the story is, after Pete Rock & CL Smooth broke up, Pete Rock joined up with his younger brother, Grap Luva, and Rob-O, and formed the group I.N.I. Around 1995-1996, the three-man troupe signed to Elektra, and threw out one single, “Fakin Jax”. Hardly the strongest cut on the album, it didn’t create too much buzz outside of the underground, and at this same time, hip-hop was beginning to change. Major labels begin to realize that they could sell a shinier version of our art form and make a lot more money. At this time, Elektra was seeing major crossover success with Busta Rhymes, and Puff Daddy was beginning to become the superstar he is today. Basically, given these factors of the time, it seemed like Elektra had no idea exactly what to do with this album. There wasn’t anything that could be played in a club, and these guys didn’t have the animated personas that you could exploit in a video.

The thing was, the album was a finished product. Some 15 tracks produced entirely by Pete Rock, right about the time when he was in the prime of his career! But for labels, it’s bottom line dollar sign - so no matter how good the album came out, if they couldn’t sell it to 14 year-olds, then it got shelved - King Tee, Ras Kass, Last Emperor, Lord Have Mercy, Large Professor, and so many others will all tell you the same story.

Now, by some mysterious circumstance, the album is once again released into the wild. It’s been bootlegged many times over, whether Pete Rock was slipping out white label 12-inches of each of the tracks five years ago, or even landing on a red label vinyl LP around the same time. It’s even landed on CD, with completely different artwork than it’s most current incarnation. But here it is again, on “Soul Brother Records” imported all the way from the U.K. So basically, one of two things is happening ? I.N.I. pulled a J-Live and released their own album under the radar, or someone was kind enough to do it for them. Nobody knows for sure, and those that do aren’t willing to talk about it.

Regardless, however you manage to get a copy of this album, do so. What you have is CLASSIC Pete Rock production, spanning fifteen tracks. It’s like taking a trip down memory lane, and recognizing a group of complete strangers. It’s all here - his more raw style of today (“Grown Man Sport”), his trademark horns that he left back in the 90′s (“Props”, “Step Up”), to an unforgettable collabo with Q-Tip and Large Professor. Sure, you’ve heard a few of the loops before (“To Each His Own”), as by now other producers have used them, but listening to this release, it’s evident that nobody hooks them up as well as Pete Rock. Listening to the production on tracks like “Square One”, “Kross Roads”, or “Center Of Attention” brings a tear to the eye. Not only because Pete Rock’s beats are filled with massive emotion and feeling, but because it’s evident that this is an era of hip-hop music that we may never experience again. Funny thing is, Pete realized this even back then, as he opened “Square Won” with the lines “when was the last time you heard some real hot shit - people don’t hear that no more”.