CL Smooth (born Corey Penn, October 8, 1968 in New Rochelle, New York) is an American rapper from Mount Vernon, New York and the vocal half of the influential hip-hop duo Pete Rock & CL Smooth. After the pair split in 1995, Pete Rock, whose work with CL had garnered him a reputation as one of the finest producers in hip-hop, went on to produce (and remix) tracks for dozens of marquee-name and/or well-respected acts, and to release a batch of solo and instrumental albums. CL Smooth remained musically inactive.