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With the highly anticipated collab album between Roc Marciano and The Alchemist on the way, you have to take a moment to acknowledge Roc’s greatness as a producer in his own right. Revolutionizing this new underground wave of drumless boombap, he actually has quite a few full length albums he has produced beyond his solo work. Here we will discuss some essentials.
Stove God Cook$ – Reasonable Drought
One of the best debut albums in recent memory, Reasonable Drought is a phenomenal display of what makes Stove God Cook$ so special. From infectious hooks to raw imagery and endless punchlines about bricks, he was instantly catapulted to the forefront of the New York boombap scene by his connection to Roc. On Reasonable Drought, Roc laces him with some seriously pimpish, blaxploitation style beats that are memorable and a perfect match.
While we don’t want to speak on something so private, we can only hope that rumors of a falling out between the two aren’t true and that there might be more great music to come.
Listen to Reasonable Drought on Spotify
Bronze Nazareth – Ekphrasis
A somewhat out-of-the-blue collaboration (perhaps made possible by an old Apollo Brown collaboration), Roc linked with underrated Detroit MC Bronze Nazareth for a solid album in 2021. Marci opts for some notably dark, minimal, droning sounds on here that make for a unique atmosphere and bring attention to Bronze’s raps. It should be noted that Bronze is a dope producer himself, as he shows on Willie the Kid’s Living Daylights in particular.
Listen to Ekphrasis on Spotify
Flee Lord – Delgado
A frequent collaborator of Roc’s, it was no surprise when this album dropped given Flee Lord’s penchant for frequent drops by a single producer. You always know what you’re gonna get with Flee – energetic flows, tough shit talk, and consistent quality – so how much you enjoy one of his albums often comes down to the beats. That’s why Delgado stands out as some of his best work; On top of some amazing features, Roc meets him well with some more upbeat, crisp sounds than usual and makes for a very cohesive listening experience.
T.F – Blame Kansas
While it might be a surprising collaboration – Roc with an LA gangster rapper – T.F’s links to Flee and Lord Mobb, as well as a taste for grimy boombap production, make for a very special listen on Blame Kansas. While Roc only produced half of this album, the other is handled by the highly capable and forward thinking Mephux.
Check out our full review here on one of the best albums of the year!
Listen to Blame Kansas on Spotify
Pimpstrumentals
Most Roc fans already knew that he is one of the best producer/MCs to ever do it just based on his solo albums, but 2020’s Pimpstrumentals is a direct statement of his capabilities. A phenomenal beat tape (much of which sounds prime to be rapped over as is), he blends all of his most soulful, smooth, dirty and mean sounds into something dense and replayable. This project really functions as a reminder of how Roc is more than just a dope rapper, but one of the most important and quality beatsmiths of his time.
Listen to Pimpstrumentals on Spotify
Some more Roc Marciano produced albums:
Knowledge the Pirate – Flintlock (with ELEMNT & Mushroom Jesus)