“This is music, you’re disillusioned, to think you can remove my Cuban. I have you poked up oozing, and that’s the conclusion.”
I’m sure you’re already thinking that was some ill shit, but when you listen to just how smooth this week’s spotlight artist makes it sound over the minimalistic self-produced beat, you’ll be wondering why he hasn’t secured a spot in your rotation over the last decade. This week on the spotlight, we look at Long Island’s most polished and influential mic-wielder of the last decade, Rahkeim Calief Meyer AKA Roc Marciano.
While some might say he’s already cemented a spot in underground rap lore (which is correct) and some will say that he might be a little too big for the completely “unknown” status (looking at you Jose), I have no reasonable doubt in my mind that he rightfully deserves a mention just off of how underappreciated he is. With lyricism likened to icons like Big L and Prodigy, paired with the dynamism and mafioso charisma of Kool G, Marciano combines several classic styles over tremendously unique instrumentals and razor-sharp focus. On top of having all of that, the underground poet has already built up a discography you can play Russian roulette to without landing on a single dud, shit you can’t really say for most in his lane of work.
On records like Bruh Man, Marciano waxes lyrically on just about anything that describes what his newfound fame feels like, including mouth-dropping lines like, “The legacy, the flesh of an emcee is a delicacy. I delicately squeeze shots from the celibacy.” Fast-forward years later on Corniche, The Rosebudd’s Revenge rapper gives one of his more introspective verses by speaking on how the strong times have helped him to grow and remain humble, all with some of his usual top-tier punchlines.
Much like how Doom was regarded as during the peak of his story-like powers, Marciano can simply be described as this generation’s favorite “rapper’s rapper.” And that’s the thing, how the underground MC can be so criminally overlooked is what really confuses me the fuck out because he has the artistic arsenal and ear-for instrumentals that many of his more successful contemporaries can’t hold a mic to.
The way he’s created a new wave and mastered the lane of minimalistic underground rap with no hooks and lo-fi samples has had a huge influence, without it we don’t get acts like Griselda, Action Bronson, and many more. It’s safe to say that when it comes to bringing elite pen-game over soul sample chops, Roc Marciano really doesn’t miss.
