Slipping under the radar of Roc Marciano fans still drooling over last month's mixtape The Pimpire Strikes Back is the Long Island rapper/producer's Marci Beaucoup, his debut album on Man Bites Dog Records, to which he was just signed as VP of A&R.
Already established as a master of grimy rap, and a very capable, soulful producer through one of the best rap records of 2012, Reloaded, Marciano lyrically sticks to what he does best — drug references, threats of violence, dreary narratives of fiends and whores and the grandeur of a life of crime — all delivered with the believability and nonchalance of a man who's spent as much time in the streets as perfecting his craft. Roc Marciano has been around the block, and when he says he's going to "Knock ya fuckin' block off," believe him.
Entirely self-produced, Roc Marciano is the conductor on what's described as a producer's project. Usual suspects like Action Bronson and Ka rock on his beats alongside other guest appearances from Cormega, Alchemist, Guilty Simpson, while lesser known emcees like Ag Da Coroner and Boldy James, next to Roc Marciano's ease, become slightly tedious to listen to. And how many soul samples can you loop before listeners take solace in The Pimpire?
The entire project lacks fluidity, as evidenced by the sandwiching of "Didn't Know," which sounds like a hip-hop nursery rhyme featuring Freeway and Knowledge The Pirate, between two heavy soul samples on "Dollar Bitch" and "Soul Music."
Still, though not his most cohesive work, Marci Beaucoup is undoubtedly a solid addition to Roc Marciano's impressive and rapidly expanding catalogue. A bookend to a stellar year, Marciano paints listeners a picture of a day in the life of an O.G.
(Man Bites Dog)Already established as a master of grimy rap, and a very capable, soulful producer through one of the best rap records of 2012, Reloaded, Marciano lyrically sticks to what he does best — drug references, threats of violence, dreary narratives of fiends and whores and the grandeur of a life of crime — all delivered with the believability and nonchalance of a man who's spent as much time in the streets as perfecting his craft. Roc Marciano has been around the block, and when he says he's going to "Knock ya fuckin' block off," believe him.
Entirely self-produced, Roc Marciano is the conductor on what's described as a producer's project. Usual suspects like Action Bronson and Ka rock on his beats alongside other guest appearances from Cormega, Alchemist, Guilty Simpson, while lesser known emcees like Ag Da Coroner and Boldy James, next to Roc Marciano's ease, become slightly tedious to listen to. And how many soul samples can you loop before listeners take solace in The Pimpire?
The entire project lacks fluidity, as evidenced by the sandwiching of "Didn't Know," which sounds like a hip-hop nursery rhyme featuring Freeway and Knowledge The Pirate, between two heavy soul samples on "Dollar Bitch" and "Soul Music."
Still, though not his most cohesive work, Marci Beaucoup is undoubtedly a solid addition to Roc Marciano's impressive and rapidly expanding catalogue. A bookend to a stellar year, Marciano paints listeners a picture of a day in the life of an O.G.