On a producers panel at the Rock the Bells Cruise, Pete Rock revealed that the late R&B legend Luther Vandross thanked him for sampling his 1981 hit, "Don't You Know That" for Heavy D's 1994 hit "Got me Waiting."

"Luther Vandross thanked me for sampling 'Don't You Know That' for Heavy D," the "T.R.O.Y." producer shared. "He said that I did a wonderful job, and I was like, 'wow.'"

Pete went on to credit Marley Marl and his innovation in sampling. "Marley was like the first James Brown in Hip-Hop. He told me that a lot of the things in the beats that he made were mistakes that sounded like they belonged in the records."

In the same conversation, which was moderated by Rock The Bells Radio personality Torae, Pete Rock explained that there are many artists who aren't fond of their material being sampled.

"Steely Dan, I don't touch their stuff," he said. "Gilbert O Sullivan [who sued Biz Markie in a landmark sampling case] - don't even listen to his music. Manny Fresh who was also a panelist says that Tears For Fears denied them the usage of their hit "Shout" as well.