Gritty and claustrophobic, punchy and cold, Marcberg, Roc Marci’s 2010 debut, set ripples in the industry which were validated when aesthetics he familiarized began to emerge thereafter. Older cats and longtime fans, of course, already knew of Roc through his stint with Flipmode Squad, or perhaps random features, be it production or vocals — or both.
Some heard of his work with venerated underground Long Island clique The UN, whose only release, UN or U OUT, is overdue for a reissue in some capacity given newfound curiosity in Roc’s history. He recently formed Greneberg, an indie supergroup of sorts with Oxnard’s Oh No and almighty Alchemist (whose prior group project together was called Gangrene).
This year’s Reloaded is a vivid solo followup which finds Roc over self-made beats that increasingly sound like movie scores — strings and pitter-pat — with robust aid from friend Alchemist and legends like Q-Tip. Extravagant dinners, slick talk, whores, and moral dilemmas are ingrained in Reloaded’s universe, one that’s created and delicately controlled by Roc’s obvious knack for detail. On “Tek To A Mack” he whispers: “What I do with the pen is, stupendous…” and it’s true.
Born Rakeem Myer and considered a true champ by many, we asked Roc Marciano to drop his list of top records that remain personally undefeated and of utmost importance.
NWA — Niggaz4life [Ruthless, 1991]
I was into this immediately. I was already a fan from Straight Outta Compton so I checked this out as soon as I could. I was still real young then and it was the first album that I remember getting excited to get to the end. It was like an action movie to me. It taught me that you need to entertain throughout the entire duration of an album. “Always Into Somethin” is one of my favorite Dre instrumentals ever. It’s ridiculous. And the video of them in the Benz and everything? Wow, it’s one of the most smoothest beats but it’s also so hard at the same time. The production and the topics it all covered went together so smoothly. It was the first time I really started looking up to Dr. Dre and all the little things he puts into his releases.
GZA — Liquid Swords [Geffen, 1995]
It’s one of my favorite albums and the beats here are some of my favorite ever in all of music — not just rap. It’s really is just dope beats and rhymes. I already respected RZA because all those early Wu albums are just genius. And GZA just shows that he took time and studied rapping and just personifies what an MC is. He didn’t just smoke a blunt and write this in an hour. I smoke a lot of blunts so I don’t remember exactly where I was or how old I was, but I know it left an impression on me early on. To me, Cuban Linx is neck-and-neck with this, but at the end of the day, I feel Liquid Swords for whatever reason doesn’t get mentioned as much. And how GZA starts off “Duel Of The Iron Mic” is just so visual. It grips you and never lets you go.
D’Angelo — Voodoo [Virgin, 2000]
I had the CD and he’s someone I kind of pattern my rap career after. He’s a brave artist to me and stands out amongst the crowd. He made R&B that didn’t sound like any R&B out at the time. He made stuff that had moments that sounded like it was from my mom’s record collection, not from a modern singer. Even though I dig a lot of the tracks, “The Root” is what stands out to me on this one. Cats already sample D’Angelo but I think younger cats will be sampling this album more and more as time goes on for sure.
Main Source — Breaking Atoms [Wild Pitch, 1991]
There are so many good fucking songs on here. I always really loved “Friendly Game of Baseball” and Large Professor was like a mad scientist. That’s why I love it so much, especially how it flows from beginning to end. Large Pro just makes everything come together perfectly and his beats are just so gripping. Hearing Nas on there for the first time is something I think most listeners would never forget — I mean, I never did. This album introduced so many legendary things to hip-hop but at the time you as the listener didn’t know it. That just makes it better to me. It’s just truly legendary.
Biggie — Life After Death [Bad Boy, 1997]
Man, Biggie had the writing ability of a genius. He could make you feel like death is in the room, like the grim reaper is right next to you. “Long Kiss” was produced by RZA too. I mean, Wu-tang already had the entire East believing in them. They were all over the place and Big just matched the beat so damn great. RZA is a genius beatmaker and talk about rising to the occasion. Big’s rhymes on here are ridiculous. What can I say man? Biggie Smalls, the illest.
