After the turn of the century and the Millennium occurred, the east coast was slowly starting to go under. With the south clearly putting numbers on Billboard and growing in influence, the necessity of New York's gritty, grimy, boom-bap, hard knock life sound was being replaced with crunk, partying, bow throwing, and trap rap. With the exception of a lot of the nineties tried-and-trues such as Jay, Nas, The Lox, DMX, and Mobb Deep, as a whole, nobody was as into New Yorkers as before. Even the Midwest was coming out and becoming trendsetters themselves, blending elements of all three other regions within their sound. Once we entered the second decade of the thousands, we peeped one particular emcee that was looking to change all that and bring at least some honor and glory back to the home of hip-hop. Born Rahkim Meyer, Roc Marciano started as part of Flipmode for a cup of coffee then became a part of the crew, The U.N., and even dropped an album, the knocking World Domination, in 2009. After enough frustrations with crews and clicks, he decided to go dolo and what a decision that was. The Long Island native has created a vast collection of albums that almost single-handedly brought back the emphasis of the authentic version of NYC hip-hop. When you hear Griselda, Estee Nack, Action Bronson, Rome Streetz, and others, they all look to Roc Marci as arguably the biggest focal point of it's revival. The south is still clearly running the rap game in numbers and influence, but NY's golden sound has returned mostly due to the stylings of Marci. We will be covering the best albums within the discography of Marci, and why he's among the most important emcees of this generation, regardless of geographical sector. Without further ado, let's go!
12. Marcielago
Production: artist, The Alchemist, AniMoss
Guests: Westside Gunn, Ka, Knowledge The Pirate, Stove God Cook$, Willie the Kid
We start off with his 2019 effort, Marcielago, and what an offering it was. Fusing his typical blend of blaxploitation-esque samples, clever rhymes, and an overall made man aura sonically, Marciano gets in his bag with intriguing, yet engaging, narratives on cuts like "Richard Gere", "Molly Ringwald", and "Saylavi". All these cuts have Marci as his own director providing first-hand accounts of betrayal, lust, hustling, and crime patterns in such elegantly menacing sounds. Knowing that he's has his hand on the pulse of the underground and contemporaries such as Hus Kingpin and CRIMEAPPLE pattern much of their rhyming and deliveries after him, he still has to show cats who daddy really is with fantastic cuts such as the Alchemist-blessed "Saw" and the bluesy "Joe Jackson". He makes no bones as to his status within this game and how much you low-key envy him on the Stove God Cook$-assisted, sinister sounding, "Puff Daddy", while also getting us to see a slightly personal side on the reflective, "God Loves You" (once again featuring a hungry Stove God on the hook). While maybe not as filthy gritty as his impeccable debut or as calculated as Reloaded, Marcielago serves as a testament to his position of bringing back that golden era NYC no-frills music that led to the likes of Nas, Mobb Deep, Biggie, and AZ as NYC legends. There's no doubt Marci is up there within the underground and between his drugs, women, cars, and money, Marci has plenty to rest on, as if his legacy wasn't enough.
11. The Pimpire Strikes Back
Production: artist, The Alchemist, Madlib, Evidence, Lord Finesse, others
Guests: Action Bronson, Meyhem Lauren, Cormega, Willie The Kid, Knowledge The Pirate
In order to get us prepared for Marci Beaucoup, his third full-length album, Marci delivered a free mixtape in the form of The Pimpire Strikes Back, a sixteen-track collection of greatness from one of the game's most fascinating and revered emcees. This "mixtape" is more of an album than the album he was promoting in advance of it. The cohesive nature of The Pimpire Strikes Back is quite honestly more polished than Marci Beaucoup, as it can be argued that this should've been the album instead of Beaucoup. In any event, Marci displays his gangsta bravado in eloquent and systematic fashion as much as his prior efforts on cuts such as the Madlib-crafted "The Sacrifice", "German V's", and "Doesn't Last". It can be argued that the effort sounds like more of a Nas Lost Tapes or a Kendrick Lamar Untitled. Unmastered, in terms of cuts that sound like loosies from the first two efforts or cutting room floor cuts overall, but again, they still are effective in presenting Marci in the most Pretty Tony-meets-Doughboy way possible. Getting money, stacking paper, flossing, and being the biggest boss in town is the makeup of Marci all throughout this effort, and cuts like "Ice Cream Man", the Action Bronson/Meyhem Lauren-collaborated "Velvet Cape", and the dumb dope "Bruh Man". He's never far from his Ruger, and cuts like "Higher Learning" and "Slingers" that exemplify the uncompromising look at the gritty streets he still sets up shop in. Besides the skits, which was a different turn from previous albums, the flow of this effort appeared more like a legit full-length project than a mixtape that would be the precursor for Marci Beaucoup. Peeping The Pimpire Strikes Back is the closest audio version we've had of a hip-hop equivalent of Superfly in all its glory. While Marci Beaucoup was more of an example of his production abilities and how colleagues and friends sound rapping over it more so than what brought him to the dance lyrically and stylistically, The Pimpire Strikes Back is more of the traditional storytelling and vivid imagery of a kingpin in both, the ideal and the realistic game of underground hip-hop.
10. Mt. Marci
Production: artist, Chuck Strangers, Nicholas Craven, Jake One
Guests: Action Bronson, Schoolboy Q, Stove God Cook$, Kool Keith
At the beginning of the twenties, we were dealt with one of the world's worst tragedies with the death of NBA icon, Kobe Bryant, his daughter, and two other passengers in a helicopter crash. We also had a world turned completely upside down by the pandemic. COVID was dominating and devastating the world at every sector. It was the worst collective moment in our lifetimes. We needed as many escapes as we could get, especially on the musical end. Enter Roc Marci. Following up his beyond dope 2019 offering, the aforementioned Marcielago, he dropped Mt. Marci, a deliberate and calculated approach to wearing the championship belt he's earned over the decade he emerged as one of the top emcees in the whole game. Soulful samples mixed with minimalist drums, if any, and bareback melodies that have him going over the blueprint of what it's like to be in the lane he's in. Dazzling by sound, merciless by delivery, fascinating by imagery, Marci crafts his pen game to bring you into his lavish world of hos, guns, and money in ways only he can present in cuts such as "Downtown 81", the Blaxploitation-sounding "Pimps Don't Wear Rabbits", and "Baby Powder". His oft-times left of center flow combined with his multi-syllabic delivery and finely crafted wordplay is as apparent here as ever before, and with cuts like "Trenchcoat Wars" and the title track, we see just how seriously he takes strategizing his brand of low-key comical, yet menacing, bars for the listener to absorb and, if possible, visualize. The elegant nature of "Steel Vagina" comes through in such a way where the delightful piano keys and drum-less production has the cut sounding almost hypnotic, even if it masks the non-flattering details in which he's affirming his pimphood. We get darker in texture with "Wicked Days", in which Marci slightly accelerates his flow, but it still sounds hungry against a boneyard-sounding instrumental, but we get to the psychedelic tendencies of the Kool Keith-assisted "Broadway Billy", in which Keith sounds as comfortable as you could imagine over this instrumental, as this doesn't sound too far from production you'd hear on past efforts from him like Dr. Octagonecolegyst or First Come, First Served. More flashy than rugged, Mt. Marci is yet still a class in highly effective delivery and rhymes with Roc Marci being the teacher and principal of this school. A master of the minimalist sound, Marci's ever contagious confidence and boldness makes us believe that he's fully saturated in the lane he's in, and it's up to all his offspring and fans alike to catch up.
9. Rosebudd's Revenge
Production: artist, AniMoss, Knxwledge, others
Guests: Ka, Knowledge The Pirate
Come 2017, Roc Marciano was on a generational roll. His discography, within three albums and a "mixtape", has been astounding and worthy of study. Marci's style of a mafia kingpin from Long Island with dense and methodical lyricism brought us back to a warm, fuzzy feeling going back to the early to mid-nineties of that raw, gritty, no frills hip-hop. We saw the seeds of what would become quite the influential career with the classics of Marcberg and Reloaded, but then we progressed into more of a witty wordplay wordsmith. His third album, Marci Beaucoup, and his mixtape, The Pimpire Strikes Back, weren't quite as dark or thematically hellacious as the two aforementioned albums, but remained tremendous. With album number four, Rosebudd's Revenge, Marci turns the volume up on his pimped-out czar persona that may or may not be authentic. Even if it isn't, it still sounds damn great and it still has him playing his own version of Francis Ford Copolla or Melvin Van Peebles. His writing is top notched as usual, and his talents are on full display with cuts like the menacing "Gunsense", "Pray For Me", and "Herringbone". Trying to decipher who's Roc Marci and who's Rahkim Mayer is the challenging, yet very fun, part of this. This album makes the lines more grey then prior, and that's very intriguing. Cuts such as "History", "Killing Time", and the moody "Here I Am" are strategic enough to make you realize, with enough spins, that he's playing chess, not checkers, the entire time. The layered idiosyncrasies of "Pimp Arrest" make you zoom in on his narratives much like a pro wrestling worked angle that came from real life situations. In one instance, he's a floss boss on "Already", and turns around to be a menace to society with Gucci flip-flops on with cuts like the Ka-assisted, "Marksman". The world of Marci on Rosebudd's Revenge reads like Max Julien with plenty of Tony Montana tendencies, and it finds this album that much more intriguing and worth delving into. One has to love someone that makes to not only make you conscientiously invest in the vision of this artist, but also appreciate the talents and next level flow and delivery of some of the best technical emcees to ever exist such as Kool G. Rap or Big Daddy Kane. The legacy of Roc Marciano rolled on and did so superbly with this album.
8. KAOS
Production: DJ Muggs
Guests: N/A
The momentum the legendary DJ Muggs has been on since the late nineties, with or without Cypress Hill, has been that of exaltation. Working with the widely known such as Goodie Mob, Xzibit, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and Kool G. Rap to more underground acts such as Mach-Hommy, Tha God Fahim, Ill Bill, CRIMEAPPLE, Infamous Mobb, and Meyhem Lauren, Muggs has become a name that's established with the true greats and legends. It's only right he got linked up with a budding legend in his own right with Roc Marciano in 2018. The pair collaborated for the album, KAOS, and the result was quite the tremendous effort as was expected. What stands out about this album is how much Muggs' production is similar to Marci's own production. Muggs' brooding and haunting sounds are as appropriate for Marci as Marci's own production. The album starts hard with the minimalist-sounding "Dolph Lundgren", in which clearly Marci has visions of himself being similar to the much-feared real-life figure whose character killed Apollo Creed with a thunderous right cross in Rocky IV. The crime boss part of him gets exhibited in cuts like "Shit I'm On", the ominous "Aunt Bonnie", and "Wild Oats", while the braggadocio pimp bars of Marci gets on full display on the cuts "Rolls Royce Rugs" and "Wormhole". For nine tracks (the intro is a soulful instrumental that effectively kicks off this album), Marci is in his bag here. Due to how short the album is, it leaves little room for error, and Marci realized this, thus making every cut matter and matter big time. It can be argued that KAOS is one of the better Muggs-produced albums and certainly one of Marci's most acclaimed. Consistent and focused, KAOS delivered on every level possible from these two, and it would be great if we saw another effort between the two again.
7. Marci Beaucoup
Production: artist
Guests: Cormega, Blu, Evidence, Gangrene, Quelle Chris, Guilty Simpson, Ka, Freeway, Boldy James, Knowledge The pirate, others
Following up the epic, Reloaded, was no easy task, just like Reloaded following up Marcberg wasn't the simplest of tasks either. However, Marci was up for the challenge at hand with his 2013 offering, Marci Beaucoup, which was more scaled back in terms of texture and presentation, much less sonically, but no less braggadocio nor any less stylistically thorough. A big difference with this effort is the overabundance of guest spots to where, much like Jay-Z's The Dynasty: Roc La Familia, Rae's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..., or Jadakiss' The Last Kiss, it sounds almost more like a compilation album than an actual solo album. There's a guest on literally every track. Should this deter the listener? No, but could it? possibly. As a standalone album, it's dumb dope. The production is not as brooding or menacing as the first two efforts, but tracks like the Cormega-assisted "War Scars", "Psych Ward" with the duo of Alchemist and Oh No as Gangrene (the trio's Greneberg EP is exceptional by the way), and "456" with an impressive verse from Action Bronson all contain splashes of psychedelic and soul with cleverly placed vocal samples, notably on "456". The grittiness of "Drug Lords" with constant collaborator, Knowledge The Pirate, has glimpses of the prior two albums with its snapping percussion and stripped-back strings, and one wishes we would hear more of these moments. Likewise, we hear the allusive Metal Clergy of Marci and Ka handle theirs along with Guity Simpson on the vocal sample- heavy "Squeeze", while the seventies vibe within the thick basslines of the Matthew Ragazino-assisted "Dollar Bitch" scream of something the likes of Isaac Hayes or Curtis Mayfield would sing over if this was during their time. As for Marci, his bars are more bravado than on his previous efforts, yet still as technically gifted as ever. Sure, other guests such as Freeway, Quelle Chris, A.G., Boldy James, Blu and evidence all provide some decent to dope bars to assist Marci with, Marci shows up each and every time with his flow and impressive penchant for the clever wordplay and systematic rhymes. Those that were expecting another instant classic with Marci Beaucoup may not be as fulfilled as the prior two, but nonetheless this is an album that shows his formidable talent, only this time his focus was just as much on the boards as his pen, and much like his pen game tells of vivid stories, so does his production. Marci was establishing himself as the genuine article by this time, and it only went up from here.
6. RR2: The Bitter Dose
Production: artist, AniMoss, others
Guests: Action Bronson, Knowledge The Pirate
Roc Marciano scored a complete home run with Rosebudd's Revenge. The audio soundtrack to a modern-day Blaxploitation flick as was put earlier. How does follow up that ever-excellent album? He delivers a sequel in the form of RR2: The Bitter Dose. This sequel is more of him getting money and the respect that not only comes with it, but also once he achieves his goal of money and the power as well. The rep of being THAT dude in the streets to both his adversaries, contemporaries, and scandalous women all at the same time. Take for instance, the melodic "Saks Fifth", in which the light keys and sharp bassline go underneath the narrative of someone much like Dolemite when he got fresh out of the Penn and got his women back while still managing to get his respect back in the streets to remind folks of who runs this game. He gets witty and clever with the Knowledge The Pirate-assisted "Major League", as the two emcees compare the drug game to the MLB, while on "Respect", Marci steps out his Bentley to get us up on game, more so his own game to let cats know who daddy really is out here with his "Fox fur as his evening coat" over a minimalist beat. He also manages to get with the off-putting, yet slightly entertaining, "Bedspring King", complete with the squeaking of a mattress within the production. He doubles down on his multi-syllabic flow on the more brooding sounds of "The Sauce", which contains several funny bars and adlibs, but you know he means business at the same time, while he comes across menacing and straight forward on cuts like "Kill You" and alternately becomes mellow and more chilled out on the drum-less, yet jazzy, "Muse". Other standout cuts like "Tent City", the soulful vocal loops of "Happy Endings", and "67 Lobby" all further demonstrate his knack to keep you on your toes when it comes to his ever complex, yet technically brilliant, flow and well-thought-out wordplay. Marci came across as the veteran he was becoming on RR2: The Bitter Dose. While this didn't reinvent the wheel, he didn't need to. It's not complicated with him. Minimalized yet engaging production mixed with his ever-well-crafted lyricism and delivery kept Marci with his ever-increasing momentum with this tremendous offering.
5. Marciology
Production: artist, the Alchemist, AniMoss
Guests: Action Bronson, CRIMEAPPLE, Larry June, Jay Worthy, Knowledge The Pirate, Flee Lord, T.F., GRE8GAWD
It wouldn't be 2024 without a Marci project, and his contribution to this year was one of his finest. He followed up 2024's unbelievable effort with The Alchemist, The Elephant Man's Bones, with Marciology, an album that feels like we've heard traces of this stylistically in other previous albums, but that's not a bad thing whatsoever. While TEMB provided more of a subtle menace hidden by the exquisite sounds of Alchemist while the main character had an Uzi underneath his Gucci bathrobe, Marciology is more upfront and less filtered. Much like albums such as Behold a Dark Horse or KAOS, this album has him confidently going after all his contemporaries and adversaries with the slick grin of a reputable crime boss while pulling it off in style over stripped back melodies and clever sampling, mostly provided by himself in another high-class showing of his excellent production abilities. The first example of this is the first single, "Gold Crossbow", with its sinister piano loop, and Marci reminding us that going against him will result in "bullet holes in your daughter's room", while boldly declaring "he has more style in his toe than your whole torso." Half-"Pimp Named Slickback"/half-O-Dog is what he carries throughout the album and does it an exemplary job doing so. He demonstrates more on cuts like the CRIMEAPPLE-assisted "Killin' Spree", the slick "Floxxx", and the vivid "True Love", which has him stating that he sleeps with "a rifle next to his Bible" over a delightfully fitting vocal sample and a thick bassline. His pen game has never been a hit-or-miss, as clearly, he's a meticulous emcee. He carefully prods how he crafts his multi-syllabic style with the clarity of Scorsese. On the Alchemist-blessed collab with frequent collaborators, Flee Lord and T.F. "Higher Self", the latter two do a great job providing bleak outcomes filled with gun residue, but Marci is still playing chess not checkers, wanting his peers to tell of his talents and if they diss him, "be subtle" as he clearly, "will put them all under the rubble". He also manages to wrap it all up very early in the album with the merciless title track, pretty much putting a stamp on his legacy and reminding us all that he "created his own lane". Truer words were never spoken on this effort. Between the murky, yet psychedelic, production and the fascinating assembly of rhymes from Marci, Marciology is another dynamite display of craftsmanship from an all-time great within NYC underground hip-hop, and this was another taste of the whole smorgasbord Roc Marciano provided the current era of the rap game.
4. Behold A Dark Horse
Production: artist, The Alchemist, Preservation, Q-Tip, AniMoss, others
Guests: Black Thought, Knowledge The Pirate, Busta Rhymes
Earlier in the listing, we reviewed the first album to come out from Roc Marciano in 2018, RR2: The Bitter Dose. We were also treated to a second album from the astounding emcee from LINY. His second album of the year, Behold A Dark Horse, is a bit thicker than The Bitter Dose. Not as stripped back or minimalist. More antiquated by the imagery of his dynamic verbal pictures. A bit darker, yet more cohesive than RR2. His wordplay throughout each track is unique, witty, and clever, especially on cuts like "100 Rounds", the Alchemist-crafted, "Fabio", and the excellent "Amethyst". The brooding elegance of the album, sonically, is actually a backseat compared to the crisp wordplay touted by Marci, and as polished as his rhyme structure is, his storytelling is as glossy as it is thematically robust at times. Tracks such as the opener, "The Horse's Mouth", "Congo", and the eerie "Samson & Delilah" all are so interwoven with engaging imagery and intricate wordplay that you'll swear Marci is the closest thing to a thugged-out chess player you'll ever find. In all of his pimped-out, lavish attire lies a 38 Special, ready to unload at a moment's notice and go right back to sipping his wine while counting his money. That's what comes into the head of the listener, as vivid cuts like "No Love" and the Q-Tip-produced, "Consigliere" so substantiated. Sensible sample choices, along with the density of Marci's lyricism, keep proving why he's one of one throughout his album. One would make the claim that, at this time, Marci's material is starting to become one with each other. If you've heard a couple, you've heard them all. Could the same be said for this album? It's possible, as this basically picks up where RR2 left off at to a degree. However, is that necessarily a bad thing? Marci continues to show his pen game is unfair, and with Behold a Dark Horse, he made a definitive statement, as he began to close out the tens as one of the single most intriguing emcees of the decade.
3. The Elephant Man's Bones
Production: The Alchemist
Guests: Action Bronson, Boldy James, Knowledge The Pirate, Ice-T
It's no secret Rahkeim Meyer is THAT talent from Hempstead, Long Island. Not since the days of another Hempstead native in Prodigy had we seen someone that was equally revered and compelling in terms of what his pen game would present. However, this was put to the forefront even more than before with his much-anticipated collaborative effort with everybody's favorite "uncle", The Alchemist, with The Elephant Man's Bones. First collaborating on Marci's phenomenal cut from Reloaded, "Flash Gordon", these two have been quite the pairing with other tracks such as "Sincerely Antique", "Fabio", and "Saw". Not to mention numerous guest appearances that he would guest on with projects Uncle Al would exclusively do in terms of his compilation albums such as Russian Roulette, This Thing of Ours, and Sandwich. This long-awaited album was every bit the album fans had been waiting for and then some. Marci was as hand-in-hand with Al's production as you could imagine. Marci's pinky-ringed pimp handed crime boss appeal mixing with Al's mostly jazzy, minimalist drum, and brilliantly used sampling was second to none. All it took was the first single and video for "Deja Vu" to give one a taste of what we were in store for. It was only uphill from there. From the meticulous "Rubber Hand grip" and the 80s- old school feel of the Action Bronson-assisted "Daddy Kane" to the laid-back feel of "Liquid Coke", everything here feels perfectly placed considering the styles of Marci and Al. Marci's pen game is lethal here, more so than most other of his projects, and that's saying something. The caliber of his penmanship held weight with the slick production throughout, and him displaying his Superfly meets Nino persona is no more exemplified than on the dazzling and elegant title track, which has Al bringing a beautiful piano loop that screams of a jazz lounge environment, whole Roc spits his bouts of gun talk, getting money, and humorous one-liners that put an eerily alarming clown mask over a much more devious undertone. Al provides minimalistic charm with the excellent "Quantum Leap", while providing a highly effective vocal loop with the equally stripped down "JJ Flash". Both cuts show Marci's wingspan to be witty with the punchlines yet serious as a heart attack with the tone and intentions. This meeting of the two is outstandingly displayed on other cuts such as "Stigmata", the Boldy James-assisted "Trillion Cut", and "Zig Zag Zig", and show that Marci and Al are a deadly combination that the game is no longer safe from. In the horror movie, American Psycho, Patrick Bateman was pronounced serial killer with a demented mind and a lust for savagery, but did so in a double breasted, three-piece suit as he was moonlighting as an investment banker. Nobody knew the true sinister origins of what lied underneath the handsome, debonair and suave physicals one saw on a day-to-day basis. Picture The Elephant Man's Bones as an audio version of this movie: Al's sonically hypnotic, at time jazz like, feel that has elements of mellow murda music underneath Marci's no-nonsense, smooth criminal lure that will hook you in, and then before you know it, you're done for. This is one of the decade's truly finest moments, and best believe this is another benchmark in the careers of artists.
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2. Reloaded
Production: artist, The Alchemist, Q-Tip, others
Guests: Ka, Knowledge The Pirate
If you remember in '95 when Mobb Deep dropped their unforgettable classic, The Infamous, it was seen as the new standard in the thugged-out street hip-hop movement. With its chilling lyricism from Hav and especially P, and the delivery of one of the all-time greatest moments in "Shook Ones Pt. 2", it was seen as a game changer for that particular type of east cast thug dude rap. When they dropped their follow-up, Hell On Earth, the very next year, the argument was made as to whether or not the sophomore was better than the legendary debut. The album was darker, more menacing, and more violent than the debut, and that's saying a mouthful. One can bring the same argument for Roc Marci and the follow-up to his instant classic, Marcberg. Much of the very same variables are parallel to Mobb Deep's first two albums. Debut was a game changer, and the follow-up can be argued that it either met the expectations or even surpassed it. To be frank, Reloaded is an absolute monster. Marci took the momentum he rightfully earned from Marcberg, and created a more macabre-sounding album that fully emphasized that Marci was indeed here and not going anywhere. You need look no further than the astonishing, Alchemist-crafted "Flash Gordon", where Al delivers one of the hypnotic beats he's ever crafted and that's quite the feat to say, and Marci floats on this track with ease. Of course, this was also the album where he experimented with drum-less production periodically throughout the project, most notably on the haunting "We Ill" and the lush vocal samples on the likes of "Deeper" but gets straight cinematic on cuts like "Tek to A Mac" and the sinister-sounding "Diamonds". What's just as standout about this album is the next level writing of Marci. His pen game became one of great studying on this album. While we got the sense of how talented Marci was and could be on his debut, it was this album where he fully adopted his knack for multi-syllabic rhyme structure and his fantastic talent for creating intriguing crime narratives that can resemble any gangster flick like Goodfellas or A Bronx Tale. with the menacing, yet engaging in an eerie way, production that encompasses the majority, if not the entire, album. The brooding sounds and gritty wordplay of "Pistolier" is one such example. He literally can go from "banging actresses from Morena to Anglo-Saxon" to "displaying two nickel-plated ratches" in his own words. The domineering thug pimp that managers to command your attention yet does so in a made-man type of way where you have no choice but to. Similarly on the haunting "Death Parade", Roc takes himself into "the way a crime boss thinks" and does so in such a way why it's no wonders identifiable emcees such as the late Prodigy would end up collaborating with him later down the years. It's not dark and ominous, however, as cuts like the Q-Tip produced "Thread Count" and the utter shit-talking of "Peru", but within the gun talk and drug references, he manages to dish out the occasional humorous one-liners such as in "Flash Gordon", where he "stimulates the clitoris and it tastes like porridge". He closes this effort out with the synth and string heavy "The Man", in which he validates all of his braggadocio raps in such a way where you end up feeling like he took a victory lap. In a way, one could consider Reloaded as exactly that: one big victory lap. This was a definitive statement that exemplified Roc Marci's stance as the best answer to what was void in NYC hip-hop, true school authenticity. Grimy, gutter, gritty, and unshaken, Roc Marciano not only pick up where he left off with Marcberg, put sonically made a declaration that he had officially arrived and delivered yet another decade (and career) best.
1. Marcberg
Production: artist
Guests: N/A
Once the turn of the century happened to come in, the east wasn't as in the house as it was in the nineties. In fact, the south had finally started to become the wave to which the game was forever changed. Even NY and Cali were starting to take some of their sounds from the southern region. Once 2010 came, there was a small wave of emcees that wanted to remind people of what NY was really on. One that stood out from among the rest of his peers was Roc Marciano. The game was in need of the sounds from the nineties that made hip-hop become the juggernaut it became, especially in the streets. Enter Marcberg, a fourteen-track monster that slapped people in the face a lethal dose of reality with some of the hardest and most soulful boom-bap we had seen in over a decade consistently. The former Flipmode and U.N. member was about to change the trajectory of the NY underground with this album, and he knew it. Filled with street imagery and pimp lifestyle, Marci played with nobody on tracks like "Raw Deal", the Blaxploitation-sounding "Whatever, Whatever", and one of a couple odes to cocaine, "Jungle Fever". Marci sounds like a hungry fighter that got lost too many fights and decided to have one more good fight and delivered his most ferocious fight to date due to having a renewed zest and hunger to win. Inspiration such as this is what makes story-driven cuts like "Pop" and the VERY bumping "Panic" such exemplary cuts in technical ability and highly talented penmanship. He maintains his vision of crushing any competition that dares to want to take that crown of restoring the integrity of NYC hip-hop with standouts such as the neck-throbbing, "Snow", in which he is unapologetic about how much of a kingpin he is in these streets. Similarly, the ominous strings and thick basslines of "Ridin' Around" has him delivering gritty rhymes the likes of which identical emcees such as the late, great Prodigy and Sean P would co-sign for (ironically the late Brownsville emcee co-stars on the remix to "Snow" and commands the cut as only he can). With aggression and focus in his direction, other cuts like "Thug's Prayer", "We Do it", and the crazy title track all demonstrate Marci's hunger to keep you in the passenger seat of his vehicle as you ride with him through the streets of NY in all of its robust and turbulent layers. Roc Marci brought the sound of NY back with total vengeance on Marcberg, and ushered in a new era the likes of which the streets had been begging over for a long time. Since this album, especially, we saw the rise of emcees such as Action Bronson, Ka, Westside Gunn, Flee Lord, Estee Nack, and Eto. A new crop of emcees that hold the Golden Era sound in their hands. The fuse was officially lit, and the game would never be the same. An instant classic, all praises due to Rahkeim Meyer for re-establishing what NY hip-hop is supposed to be like.
Roc Marciano is the new school hero of today's NY hip-hop. The influence of his sound and lyricism inspired many emcees that heralded him as the resurgent fixture of the game. Cool, calm, relaxed, yet just as much of a cerebral assassin as Triple H, Marci never fails to bring some of the year's best music and rhymes no matter the time of year. His discography is as consistent and unblemished as any emcee in the game past or present, and there's only more bullets that he has in his chamber ready to unload. Rumors of collaborative efforts with Just Blaze and Pete Rock are among them, and as we approach the mid-twenties, best believe Roc Marci will be among those leading the charge of the true school underground with no sweat at all. Until next time, folks!
As an added bonus, here are some albums that were also exclusively-produced by Roc Marci that should be peeped quickly if you haven't already
Flee Lord & Roc Marciano- Delgado
Jay Worthy & Roc Marciano- Nothing Bigger Than The Problem
Stove God Cook$ & Roc Marciano- Reasonable Drought
Bronze Nazareth & Roc Marciano- Ekphrasis
XP The Marxman & Roc Marciano- Continua A Sparare
T.F., Mephux, & Roc Marciano- Blame Kansas
Here's a list of some of Roc Marciano's Best Tracks
"Panic" (production: artist)
"Flash Gordon" (production: The Alchemist)
"Ice Cream Man" (production: artist)
"We Ill" (production: artist)
"The Elephant Man's Bones" (production: The Alchemist)
"Snow" (production: artist)
"Fabio" (production: The Alchemist)
"Gold Crossbow" (production: artist)
"CVS" (production: artist)
"Death Parade" (production: artist)
"Bad Juju" feat. Larry June (production: The Alchemist)
"Diamond Cutters" feat. Black Thought (production: artist)
"On The Run" feat. Jay Worthy (production: artist)
"Amethyst" (production: AniMoss)
"Steel Vagina" (production: artist)
"Shit I'm On" (production: DJ Muggs)
"Quantum Leap" (production: The Alchemist)
"The Sacrifice" (production: Madlib)
"God Loves You" feat. Stove God Cook$
"JJ Flash" (production: The Alchemist)
"Don Shit" (production: artist)
"Trenchcoat Wars" (production: artist)
"No Smoke" feat. Knowledge The Pirate (production: Knxwledge)
"Higher Learning" (production: artist)
"COVID Cough" feat. Schoolboy Q (production: artist)
"History" (production: AniMoss)
"Pray 4 Me" (production: artist)
"Molly Ringwald" (production: AniMoss)
"White Dirt" (production: DJ Muggs)
"Psych Ward" feat. Gangrene (production: artist)
"Pimps Don't Wear Rabbits" (production: artist)
"Squeeze" feat. Ka, Guilty Simpson (production: artist)
"67 Lobby" (production: artist)
"Aunt Bonnie" (production: DJ Muggs)
"Confucius" feat. Ka (production: artist)
"Paradise For Pimps" (production: The Alchemist)
"Saks Fifth" (production: artist)
"Wicked Dayz" feat. Trent Truce (production: artist)
"I Shot The King" (production: artist)
"Ephesians" feat. Ka (production: artist)
"Ridin' Around" (production: artist)
"1000 Deaths" (production: artist)
"Broadway Billy" feat. Kool Keith (production: artist)
